Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Ken Hohhof]

In 2006?

From: Jaime Solorza 
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2015 6:21 PM
To: Animal Farm 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

I had good service with ElectroComm 

On Sep 8, 2015 5:01 PM, "Jerry Head" <li...@blountbroadband.com> wrote:

  Although I quit CTI over a year ago, Jonte was my guy and he was very good.
  Having said that, I will go back into the wrecker business before I trade 
with CTI again.
  I HATED the wrecker business

  On 9/3/2015 6:43 PM, Jon Auer wrote:

I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.  
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example. 
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the 
end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send 
them business. 
It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating. 

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), 
get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if 
it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up 
next day. 

1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have 
stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe 
stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and 
miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating. 
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when 
items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I 
do appreciate that.

Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to 
have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders.

At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear 
and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI. 
If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll 
order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are accurate--if 
they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it will be in my 
office by noon the following day.

Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly 
every order I've placed with them...

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

  If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
complicated.




  -
  Mike Hammett
  Intelligent Computing Solutions
  http://www.ics-il.com



  Midwest Internet Exchange
  http://www.midwest-ix.com




--

  From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
  To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
      Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce



  On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
<li...@packetflux.com> wrote:

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


  I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've 
been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome 
APC-compatible surge cards...

  I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber 
trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jaime Solorza]

I had good service with ElectroComm 
On Sep 8, 2015 5:01 PM, "Jerry Head" <li...@blountbroadband.com> wrote:

> Although I quit CTI over a year ago, Jonte was my guy and he was very good.
> Having said that, I will go back into the wrecker business before I trade
> with CTI again.
> I HATED the wrecker business
>
> On 9/3/2015 6:43 PM, Jon Auer wrote:
>
> I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now
> Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
> Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed
> backhaul is a good example.
> In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the
> end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to
> send them business.
> It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
>
> My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers),
> get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct
> (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1)
> shows up next day.
>
> 1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have
> stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe
> stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit
> and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
> Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when
> items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items.
> I do appreciate that.
>
> Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to
> have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for
> small/uncomplicated orders.
>
> At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear
> and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
> If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll
> order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are
> accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it
> will be in my office by noon the following day.
>
> Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly
> every order I've placed with them...
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>
>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>> complicated.
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Mike Hammett
>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>
>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>> --
>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>
>>
>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>
>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>> etc.
>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jerry Head]

Although I quit CTI over a year ago, Jonte was my guy and he was very good.
Having said that, I will go back into the wrecker business before I 
trade with CTI again.

I HATED the wrecker business

On 9/3/2015 6:43 PM, Jon Auer wrote:
I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and 
now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a 
licensed backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't 
the end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to 
want to send them business.

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part 
numbers), get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part 
number is correct (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, 
and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.


1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they 
have stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further 
away, maybe stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. 
Ubiquiti is hit and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty 
is frustrating.
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know 
when items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding 
alternate items. I do appreciate that.


Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and 
theirs to have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction 
cycle for small/uncomplicated orders.


At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT 
gear and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) 
I'll order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are 
accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that 
it will be in my office by noon the following day.


Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on 
nearly every order I've placed with them...


On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net 
<mailto:af...@ics-il.net>> wrote:


If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with
CTI...  too complicated.



-
Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com


<https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL><https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb><https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions><https://twitter.com/ICSIL>

Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com


<https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix><https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange><https://twitter.com/mdwestix>

*From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net <mailto:j...@tapodi.net>>
*To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>>
*Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
*Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce


On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account)
<li...@packetflux.com <mailto:li...@packetflux.com>> wrote:

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's
warehouses). I've been seriously tempted to just do it with
/someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible surge cards...

I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and
fiber trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in
going to Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now
instead of emailing Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving
the quote, placing the order, etc.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jaime Solorza]

Yep. Liked those cats
On Sep 8, 2015 5:40 PM, "Ken Hohhof" <af...@kwisp.com> wrote:

> In 2006?
>
> *From:* Jaime Solorza <losguyswirel...@gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 08, 2015 6:21 PM
> *To:* Animal Farm <af@afmug.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
> I had good service with ElectroComm 
> On Sep 8, 2015 5:01 PM, "Jerry Head" <li...@blountbroadband.com> wrote:
>
>> Although I quit CTI over a year ago, Jonte was my guy and he was very
>> good.
>> Having said that, I will go back into the wrecker business before I trade
>> with CTI again.
>> I HATED the wrecker business
>>
>> On 9/3/2015 6:43 PM, Jon Auer wrote:
>>
>> I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and
>> now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
>> Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a
>> licensed backhaul is a good example.
>> In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the
>> end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to
>> send them business.
>> It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
>>
>> My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers),
>> get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct
>> (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1)
>> shows up next day.
>>
>> 1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have
>> stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe
>> stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit
>> and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
>> Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when
>> items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items.
>> I do appreciate that.
>>
>> Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs
>> to have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for
>> small/uncomplicated orders.
>>
>> At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear
>> and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
>> If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll
>> order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are
>> accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it
>> will be in my office by noon the following day.
>>
>> Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on
>> nearly every order I've placed with them...
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>
>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>>> complicated.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -
>>> Mike Hammett
>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>
>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>> --
>>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>
>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>>> etc.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Daniel White]

I’d drive my truck down there and fill up a trailer full of stuff all the time.



Was nice having a big stocking distributor in your backyard.



Thank you,



Daniel White

 <mailto:afmu...@gmail.com> afmu...@gmail.com

Cell: +1 (303) 746-3590

Skype: danieldwhite
Social:  <http://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwhite84> LinkedIn:  
<https://twitter.com/DanielWhite84> Twitter



From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Ken Hohhof
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 4:40 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce



In 2006?



From: Jaime Solorza <mailto:losguyswirel...@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2015 6:21 PM

To: Animal Farm <mailto:af@afmug.com>

Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce



I had good service with ElectroComm 

On Sep 8, 2015 5:01 PM, "Jerry Head" <li...@blountbroadband.com 
<mailto:li...@blountbroadband.com> > wrote:

Although I quit CTI over a year ago, Jonte was my guy and he was very good.
Having said that, I will go back into the wrecker business before I trade with 
CTI again.
I HATED the wrecker business

On 9/3/2015 6:43 PM, Jon Auer wrote:

I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.

Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example.

In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the end of 
the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send them 
business.

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.



My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), get a 
quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if it's 
even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.



1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have stock, 
are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe stock 
levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and miss, 
other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.

Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when items 
have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I do 
appreciate that.



Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to have 
to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders.



At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear and 
we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.

If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll order 
from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are accurate--if they 
show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it will be in my office by 
noon the following day.



Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly 
every order I've placed with them...



On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net 
<mailto:af...@ics-il.net> > wrote:

If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
complicated.



-
Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com

 <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>  
<https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>  
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>  
<https://twitter.com/ICSIL>

Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com

 <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>  
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>  
<https://twitter.com/mdwestix>


  _


From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net <mailto:j...@tapodi.net> >
To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com> >
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce



On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
<li...@packetflux.com <mailto:li...@packetflux.com> > wrote:

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards...



I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc.









---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jason McKemie]

Dan is who I used as well, I have ordered significantly less from CTI since
his departure. Baltic is my go-to anymore because I like their online store
and speed that I receive items.  I use Streakwave for occasional items I
can't find elsewhere, although it takes considerably longer to get orders
from them and, as others have said, the inventory on their site isn't the
greatest (sometimes it doesn't show stock at all).

On Thu, Sep 3, 2015 at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I
> wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but
> that guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as
> good.  The only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan
> Ortega was an android.
>
> I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now
> Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
> Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed
> backhaul is a good example.
> In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the
> end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to
> send them business.
> It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
>
> My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers),
> get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct
> (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1)
> shows up next day.
>
> 1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have
> stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe
> stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit
> and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
> Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when
> items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items.
> I do appreciate that.
>
> Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to
> have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for
> small/uncomplicated orders.
>
> At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear
> and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
> If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll
> order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are
> accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it
> will be in my office by noon the following day.
>
> Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly
> every order I've placed with them...
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett < <af...@ics-il.net>
> af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>
>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>> complicated.
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Mike Hammett
>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>> <http://www.ics-il.com>http://www.ics-il.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>
>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>> <http://www.midwest-ix.com>http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>> --
>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>> *To: *"Animal Farm" < <af@afmug.com>af@afmug.com>
>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>> <li...@packetflux.com>li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>
>>
>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>
>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>> etc.
>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mathew Howard]

So would I...

On Thu, Sep 3, 2015 at 7:13 AM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

> I'd rather peruse an online shopping cart, choose what I want and have it
> show up.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --
> *From: *"Mathew Howard" <mhoward...@gmail.com>
> *To: *"af" <af@afmug.com>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 11:32:18 PM
>
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
> I always just email our rep and tell them what I want, and it shows up the
> next day... I've never had to deal with any of that.
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Things changed for the better then.  I have a folder that's full of
>> nothing but those stupid signed agreements to pay the charges quoted.
>>
>>
>> Josh Luthman
>> Office: 937-552-2340
>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>> 1100 Wayne St
>> Suite 1337
>> Troy, OH 45373
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:24 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I know, just teasing.
>>>
>>> BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at
>>> ConVergence.  Heck, I take them by text!
>>>
>>> Jeff Broadwick
>>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>>> 312-205-2519 Office
>>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>>
>>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hey, hey, compliment to you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -
>>> Mike Hammett
>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>
>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>> --
>>> *From: *"Jeff Broadwick - Lists" <jeffl...@att.net>
>>> *To: *af@afmug.com
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM
>>>
>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>
>>> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>>>
>>> Jeff Broadwick
>>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>>> 312-205-2519 Office
>>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>>
>>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
>>> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
>>> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>>>
>>>
>>> Josh Luthman
>>> Office: 937-552-2340
>>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>>> 1100 Wayne St
>>> Suite 1337
>>> Troy, OH 45373
>>>
>>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...
>>>> too complicated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -
>>>> Mike Hammett
>>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>>
>>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>>> --
>>>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>>>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses).
>>>> I've been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>>
>>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>>>> etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Ty Featherling]

+1

-Ty
On Sep 3, 2015 7:13 AM, "Mike Hammett" <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

> I'd rather peruse an online shopping cart, choose what I want and have it
> show up.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --
> *From: *"Mathew Howard" <mhoward...@gmail.com>
> *To: *"af" <af@afmug.com>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 11:32:18 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
> I always just email our rep and tell them what I want, and it shows up the
> next day... I've never had to deal with any of that.
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Things changed for the better then.  I have a folder that's full of
>> nothing but those stupid signed agreements to pay the charges quoted.
>>
>>
>> Josh Luthman
>> Office: 937-552-2340
>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>> 1100 Wayne St
>> Suite 1337
>> Troy, OH 45373
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:24 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I know, just teasing.
>>>
>>> BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at
>>> ConVergence.  Heck, I take them by text!
>>>
>>> Jeff Broadwick
>>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>>> 312-205-2519 Office
>>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>>
>>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hey, hey, compliment to you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -
>>> Mike Hammett
>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>
>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>> --
>>> *From: *"Jeff Broadwick - Lists" <jeffl...@att.net>
>>> *To: *af@afmug.com
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM
>>>
>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>
>>> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>>>
>>> Jeff Broadwick
>>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>>> 312-205-2519 Office
>>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>>
>>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
>>> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
>>> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>>>
>>>
>>> Josh Luthman
>>> Office: 937-552-2340
>>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>>> 1100 Wayne St
>>> Suite 1337
>>> Troy, OH 45373
>>>
>>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...
>>>> too complicated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -
>>>> Mike Hammett
>>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>>
>>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>>> --
>>>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>>>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses).
>>>> I've been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>>
>>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>>>> etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mike Hammett]

I'd rather peruse an online shopping cart, choose what I want and have it show 
up. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 


- Original Message -

From: "Mathew Howard" <mhoward...@gmail.com> 
To: "af" <af@afmug.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 11:32:18 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 


I always just email our rep and tell them what I want, and it shows up the next 
day... I've never had to deal with any of that. 



On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Josh Luthman < j...@imaginenetworksllc.com > 
wrote: 



Things changed for the better then. I have a folder that's full of nothing but 
those stupid signed agreements to pay the charges quoted. 






Josh Luthman 
Office: 937-552-2340 
Direct: 937-552-2343 
1100 Wayne St 
Suite 1337 
Troy, OH 45373 

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:24 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists < jeffl...@att.net > 
wrote: 




I know, just teasing. 


BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at 
ConVergence. Heck, I take them by text! 

Jeff Broadwick 
ConVergence Technologies , Inc. 
312-205-2519 Office 
574-220-7826 Cell 
jbroadw...@converge-tech.com 

On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett < af...@ics-il.net > wrote: 





Hey, hey, compliment to you. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 




From: "Jeff Broadwick - Lists" < jeffl...@att.net > 
To: af@afmug.com 
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM 




Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 




I know where both of you live! :-) 

Jeff Broadwick 
ConVergence Technologies , Inc. 
312-205-2519 Office 
574-220-7826 Cell 
jbroadw...@converge-tech.com 

On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman < j...@imaginenetworksllc.com > wrote: 





Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number, 
signing it and then submitting it? I mean maybe if the order was $100k but all 
of them?! Glad it's not that way with Jeff around. 






Josh Luthman 
Office: 937-552-2340 
Direct: 937-552-2343 
1100 Wayne St 
Suite 1337 
Troy, OH 45373 

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett < af...@ics-il.net > wrote: 




If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI... too 
complicated. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 




From: "Jon Auer" < j...@tapodi.net > 
To: "Animal Farm" < af@afmug.com > 
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 







On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) < 
li...@packetflux.com > wrote: 



Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like. 




I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards... 


I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc. 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jon Auer]

Huh. I must have missed them.
I've been using Telect's ELF panel system in a handful of situations lately
and they nail the listing (except for some characterset issues in their
descriptions). Example:
http://www.amazon.com/TELECT-Multifunction-Connectivity-Module-ELF-9716-2300/dp/B00KVLHLCS/

Amazon prime (in their warehouse) so I know it will get to me quickly and
that quantity is accurate, picture of the actual item, and
description/features help me feel confident that what I'm ordering matches
my expectations.

I don't know if it makes business sense because margin or volume (telco
gear that people want to order outside the normal disty chain might be too
niche).

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:53 PM, <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

> I actually had a handful of our products on Amazon and got zero sales.
>
> *From:* Jon Auer <j...@tapodi.net>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 2, 2015 1:32 PM
> *To:* Animal Farm <af@afmug.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>
>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>
>
> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
> APC-compatible surge cards...
>
> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
> etc.
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jon Auer]

I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed
backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the
end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to
send them business.
It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers),
get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct
(if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1)
shows up next day.

1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have
stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe
stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit
and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when
items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items.
I do appreciate that.

Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to
have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for
small/uncomplicated orders.

At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear
and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll
order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are
accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it
will be in my office by noon the following day.

Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly
every order I've placed with them...

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
> complicated.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --
> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>
>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>
>
> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
> APC-compatible surge cards...
>
> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
> etc.
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[CBB - Jay Fuller]

I use newegg a lot, have gotten some of my best tv deals from them.
Recently I want to scream trying to find ubnt gear or mikrotik routers for 
customer use
in fact today, a website which shall remain nameless, but it was the third site 
i checked.
They had stock (or so it appeared).  i tried to click confirm and continue.  
The confirm button
wouldn't click!

Different browser...same result.

Online ordering should be easy.

Baltic should always have stuff in :)

I should have emailed Broadwick.  I've done that a few times - but I just 
wanted it done.
I ran out of time - i had to hit the door.  Turns out one of my partners took 
care of the order.
Looks like doubleradius was the lucky vendor.  I don't think i've ever ordered 
anything from them.

  - Original Message - 
  From: Ken Hohhof 
  To: af@afmug.com 
  Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:44 PM
  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce


  There are some places I shop exclusively using their online stores, like 
McMaster, Allied and Tessco.  With Tessco you need to click “Confirm Price” at 
checkout which also checks availability.  I have never had any of these 
companies screw up an order.  Mouser, Newark, DigiKey as well, they are all 
very reliable and have good online ordering.  McMaster takes the cake though, I 
think they have the world’s best online store.

  Baltic I usually order online but if I need it next day I have found to check 
if it shows “pick up at will call” as a shipping option, if not, then “in 
stock” probably means drop ship from somewhere else like Streakwave or Primus.

  I have never had Jon at Streakwave (Ohio) or Mark at WAV mess up an order or 
tell me something was in stock that wasn’t.  But I email or call them.  It’s 
quick and easy.  I think we all face the issue that you spend an entire week of 
days in the field and can’t order parts until bedtime when places are closed 
and an online store with accurate stock status is a great thing.  But I can 
also shoot an email to Jon or Mark, go to bed, and check my email the next 
morning or they will call me.

  What I really hate are the places that want you to sign the quote and FAX it 
back with a credit card authorization.  Actually they don’t bother me anymore 
because if there are any left like that, I just don’t buy stuff from them.  It 
used to be common practice.

  Two places I shop less than I used to are Newegg and Amazon.  I don’t know 
what happened to Newegg, I think they have really gone downhill.  One place I 
do buy from that I used to steer clear of is Tiger Direct, they used to be an 
outlet store, but they are pretty mainstream now.

  At Amazon, I don’t buy a lot of stuff from third party sellers unless it says 
fulfilled by Amazon.  Even then, a lot of stock is comingled, and there is a 
risk of getting grey market goods or outright knockoffs.  I’ve had Amazon do 
stupid stuff.  Like one time I ordered 10 surge strips, and it turned they had 
quantity=1 at each of their warehouses, so the UPS guy literally delivered 10 
Amazon boxes each with one surge strip in it.  Now I order surge strips from 
Tiger Direct.  Also one time I was having trouble finding Bishop/Plymouth butyl 
mastic tape and Amazon had some, when it came it was not Bishop at all, it was 
a Chinese knockoff.  Returning it was easy, but it shouldn’t have happened.  


  From: Tyler Treat 
  Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:05 PM
  To: af@afmug.com 
  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

  I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type who'd 
pick up the phone and call. 

  Hey Matt I need this
  Ok, how bad?
  Really bad,
  Ok you'll have it tomorrow.  

  He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.  

  Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where it's in 
stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something wasn't coming from 
there it was pretty obvious.  

  ___
  Mangled by my iPhone.
  ___
  Tyler Treat
  Corn Belt Technologies, Inc. 
  tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com
  ___


  On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote:


Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I 
wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but that 
guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good.  The 
only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an 
android.


  I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and 
now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.  
  Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a 
licensed backhaul is a good example. 
  In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the 
end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send 
them business. 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mathew Howard]

Mike is our rep now too - I've had nothing but good experiences dealing
with him.

On Thu, Sep 3, 2015 at 9:11 PM, Brandon Yuchasz <li...@gogebicrange.net>
wrote:

> I had Dan as well and your absolutely right. After that …. Well we stopped
> using them. Back around January our new rep Mike Janachowowski called me.
> Polite and letting me know he was the new rep. He followed up about once a
> month. I had no interest in using CTI anymore and really hated to use
> streakwave either.  In a pinch I needed something and he came through. A
> little while later I needed something else fast and it was here the next
> day again. I told him I was the owner of the company and didn’t need
> written quotes or any hoops in the way just wanted to call him or email him
> and have him send it with his best price. If I call before 4:00 its hear
> the next day before noon with standard shipping. If it’s something that
> won’t be here the next day because of drop shipping he calls and makes sure
> that’s alright. He is my go to on orders now.
>
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Brandon Yuchasz
>
> GogebicRange.net
>
> www.gogebicrange.net
>
>
>
> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 03, 2015 8:27 PMhe
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
>
> Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I
> wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but
> that guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as
> good.  The only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan
> Ortega was an android.
>
> I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now
> Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
>
> Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed
> backhaul is a good example.
>
> In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the
> end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to
> send them business.
>
> It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
>
>
>
> My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers),
> get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct
> (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1)
> shows up next day.
>
>
>
> 1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have
> stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe
> stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit
> and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
>
> Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when
> items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items.
> I do appreciate that.
>
>
>
> Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to
> have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for
> small/uncomplicated orders.
>
>
>
> At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear
> and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
>
> If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll
> order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are
> accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it
> will be in my office by noon the following day.
>
>
>
> Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly
> every order I've placed with them...
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>
> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
> complicated.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --
>
> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
> li...@packetflux.com> wro

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Chuck McCown]

Forrest, NEVER MIND.

I did a sample store with shopify and bigcommerce.

Bigcommerce is much more suited to my products.  Much easier to add custom 
categories and product specs etc etc.Harder to add “Antenna Gain” or “F/B 
Ratio” custom fields to shopify.  Or it seemed harder.  Bigcommerce made it 
very easy to figure out how to do this.  More knobs to tweak.

I liked the theme Forrest uses, but I am going with a different one just to be 
different...

Now to learn the intricacies of importing my current website via CSV files

If I was a one product or  simple product store, shopify is probably the better 
choice.  

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Adam Moffett]

On Amazon I look for "Prime".  Free two day shipping with membership.  
Even if you don't have the membership items marked prime must be able to 
ship immediately, so they're usually safe to assume they'll get right 
over to you.


Some items I'm shocked have free shipping.  Like Exide MC-31 marine 
batteries at 70lbs /each.  Primn with Free two-day shipping.  Not sure 
how they made money shipping that, but I got it in two days.


There are some places I shop exclusively using their online stores, 
like McMaster, Allied and Tessco.  With Tessco you need to click 
“Confirm Price” at checkout which also checks availability.  I have 
never had any of these companies screw up an order.  Mouser, Newark, 
DigiKey as well, they are all very reliable and have good online 
ordering.  McMaster takes the cake though, I think they have the 
world’s best online store.
Baltic I usually order online but if I need it next day I have found 
to check if it shows “pick up at will call” as a shipping option, if 
not, then “in stock” probably means drop ship from somewhere else like 
Streakwave or Primus.
I have never had Jon at Streakwave (Ohio) or Mark at WAV mess up an 
order or tell me something was in stock that wasn’t.  But I email or 
call them.  It’s quick and easy.  I think we all face the issue that 
you spend an entire week of days in the field and can’t order parts 
until bedtime when places are closed and an online store with accurate 
stock status is a great thing.  But I can also shoot an email to Jon 
or Mark, go to bed, and check my email the next morning or they will 
call me.
What I really hate are the places that want you to sign the quote and 
FAX it back with a credit card authorization. Actually they don’t 
bother me anymore because if there are any left like that, I just 
don’t buy stuff from them.  It used to be common practice.
Two places I shop less than I used to are Newegg and Amazon.  I don’t 
know what happened to Newegg, I think they have really gone downhill.  
One place I do buy from that I used to steer clear of is Tiger Direct, 
they used to be an outlet store, but they are pretty mainstream now.
At Amazon, I don’t buy a lot of stuff from third party sellers unless 
it says fulfilled by Amazon.  Even then, a lot of stock is comingled, 
and there is a risk of getting grey market goods or outright 
knockoffs.  I’ve had Amazon do stupid stuff.  Like one time I ordered 
10 surge strips, and it turned they had quantity=1 at each of their 
warehouses, so the UPS guy literally delivered 10 Amazon boxes each 
with one surge strip in it.  Now I order surge strips from Tiger 
Direct.  Also one time I was having trouble finding Bishop/Plymouth 
butyl mastic tape and Amazon had some, when it came it was not Bishop 
at all, it was a Chinese knockoff.  Returning it was easy, but it 
shouldn’t have happened.

*From:* Tyler Treat <mailto:tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:05 PM
*To:* af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type 
who'd pick up the phone and call.

Hey Matt I need this
Ok, how bad?
Really bad,
Ok you'll have it tomorrow.
He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.
Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where 
it's in stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something 
wasn't coming from there it was pretty obvious.

___
Mangled by my iPhone.
___
Tyler Treat
Corn Belt Technologies, Inc.
tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com <mailto:tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com>
___

On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com 
<mailto:dmmoff...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and 
everything I wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how 
he managed it, but that guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega 
experiences were never as good.  The only thing as reliable as Dan 
Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an android.


I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, 
and now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a 
licensed backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't 
the end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons 
to want to send them business.

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part 
numbers), get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part 
number is correct (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, 
and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.
1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they 
have stock, are sending from a 3r

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Adam Moffett]

Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I 
wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, 
but that guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never 
as good. The only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan 
Ortega was an android.


I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and 
now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a 
licensed backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't 
the end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to 
want to send them business.

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part 
numbers), get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part 
number is correct (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, 
and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.


1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they 
have stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further 
away, maybe stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. 
Ubiquiti is hit and miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty 
is frustrating.
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know 
when items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding 
alternate items. I do appreciate that.


Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and 
theirs to have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction 
cycle for small/uncomplicated orders.


At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT 
gear and we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) 
I'll order from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are 
accurate--if they show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that 
it will be in my office by noon the following day.


Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on 
nearly every order I've placed with them...


On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net 
<mailto:af...@ics-il.net>> wrote:


If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with
CTI...  too complicated.



-
Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com


<https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL><https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb><https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions><https://twitter.com/ICSIL>

Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com


<https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix><https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange><https://twitter.com/mdwestix>

*From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net <mailto:j...@tapodi.net>>
*To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>>
*Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
*Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce


On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account)
<li...@packetflux.com <mailto:li...@packetflux.com>> wrote:

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's
warehouses). I've been seriously tempted to just do it with
/someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible surge cards...

I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and
fiber trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in
going to Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now
instead of emailing Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving
the quote, placing the order, etc.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mike Hammett]

*nods* that's why I like where I'm at... WAV, Baltic, CTI, Roc-Noc, AIR802 and 
I'm sure more are all within an hour, most less. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 


- Original Message -

From: "Brandon Yuchasz" <li...@gogebicrange.net> 
To: af@afmug.com 
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2015 9:11:06 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 



I had Dan as well and your absolutely right. After that …. Well we stopped 
using them. Back around January our new rep Mike Janachowowski called me. 
Polite and letting me know he was the new rep. He followed up about once a 
month. I had no interest in using CTI anymore and really hated to use 
streakwave either. In a pinch I needed something and he came through. A little 
while later I needed something else fast and it was here the next day again. I 
told him I was the owner of the company and didn’t need written quotes or any 
hoops in the way just wanted to call him or email him and have him send it with 
his best price. If I call before 4:00 its hear the next day before noon with 
standard shipping. If it’s something that won’t be here the next day because of 
drop shipping he calls and makes sure that’s alright. He is my go to on orders 
now. 


Best regards, 
Brandon Yuchasz 
GogebicRange.net 
www.gogebicrange.net 



From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett 
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 8:27 PMhe 
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 


Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass. I would send one email and everything I wanted 
would show up two days later. I don't know how he managed it, but that guy got 
stuff done. Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good. The only thing 
as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon. Maybe Dan Ortega was an android. 



I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK. 

Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example. 

In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the end of 
the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send them 
business. 

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating. 



My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), get a 
quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if it's 
even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up next 
day. 



1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have stock, 
are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe stock 
levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and miss, 
other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating. 

Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when items 
have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I do 
appreciate that. 



Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to have 
to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders. 



At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear and 
we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI. 

If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll order 
from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are accurate--if they 
show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it will be in my office by 
noon the following day. 



Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly 
every order I've placed with them... 




On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett < af...@ics-il.net > wrote: 


If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI... too 
complicated. 



- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 





From: "Jon Auer" < j...@tapodi.net > 
To: "Animal Farm" < af@afmug.com > 
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 






On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) < 
li...@packetflux.com > wrote: 

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like. 

I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards... 



I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc. 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Brandon Yuchasz]

I had Dan as well and your absolutely right. After that …. Well we stopped 
using them. Back around January our new rep Mike Janachowowski called me. 
Polite and letting me know he was the new rep. He followed up about once a 
month. I had no interest in using CTI anymore and really hated to use 
streakwave either.  In a pinch I needed something and he came through. A little 
while later I needed something else fast and it was here the next day again. I 
told him I was the owner of the company and didn’t need written quotes or any 
hoops in the way just wanted to call him or email him and have him send it with 
his best price. If I call before 4:00 its hear the next day before noon with 
standard shipping. If it’s something that won’t be here the next day because of 
drop shipping he calls and makes sure that’s alright. He is my go to on orders 
now. 

 

Best regards,

Brandon Yuchasz

GogebicRange.net

www.gogebicrange.net <http://www.gogebicrange.net/> 

 

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 8:27 PMhe 
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

 

Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I wanted 
would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but that guy got 
stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good.  The only 
thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an android.

I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.  

Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example. 

In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the end of 
the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send them 
business. 

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating. 

 

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), get a 
quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if it's 
even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up next 
day. 

 

1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have stock, 
are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe stock 
levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and miss, 
other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating. 

Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when items 
have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I do 
appreciate that.

 

Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to have 
to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders.

 

At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear and 
we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI. 

If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll order 
from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are accurate--if they 
show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it will be in my office by 
noon the following day.

 

Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly 
every order I've placed with them...

 

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
complicated.



-
Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com

 <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>  
<https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>  
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>  
<https://twitter.com/ICSIL> 

Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com

 <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>  
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>  
<https://twitter.com/mdwestix> 


  _  


From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

 

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
<li...@packetflux.com> wrote:

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards...

 

I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc.

 

 

 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Ken Hohhof]

There are some places I shop exclusively using their online stores, like 
McMaster, Allied and Tessco.  With Tessco you need to click “Confirm Price” at 
checkout which also checks availability.  I have never had any of these 
companies screw up an order.  Mouser, Newark, DigiKey as well, they are all 
very reliable and have good online ordering.  McMaster takes the cake though, I 
think they have the world’s best online store.

Baltic I usually order online but if I need it next day I have found to check 
if it shows “pick up at will call” as a shipping option, if not, then “in 
stock” probably means drop ship from somewhere else like Streakwave or Primus.

I have never had Jon at Streakwave (Ohio) or Mark at WAV mess up an order or 
tell me something was in stock that wasn’t.  But I email or call them.  It’s 
quick and easy.  I think we all face the issue that you spend an entire week of 
days in the field and can’t order parts until bedtime when places are closed 
and an online store with accurate stock status is a great thing.  But I can 
also shoot an email to Jon or Mark, go to bed, and check my email the next 
morning or they will call me.

What I really hate are the places that want you to sign the quote and FAX it 
back with a credit card authorization.  Actually they don’t bother me anymore 
because if there are any left like that, I just don’t buy stuff from them.  It 
used to be common practice.

Two places I shop less than I used to are Newegg and Amazon.  I don’t know what 
happened to Newegg, I think they have really gone downhill.  One place I do buy 
from that I used to steer clear of is Tiger Direct, they used to be an outlet 
store, but they are pretty mainstream now.

At Amazon, I don’t buy a lot of stuff from third party sellers unless it says 
fulfilled by Amazon.  Even then, a lot of stock is comingled, and there is a 
risk of getting grey market goods or outright knockoffs.  I’ve had Amazon do 
stupid stuff.  Like one time I ordered 10 surge strips, and it turned they had 
quantity=1 at each of their warehouses, so the UPS guy literally delivered 10 
Amazon boxes each with one surge strip in it.  Now I order surge strips from 
Tiger Direct.  Also one time I was having trouble finding Bishop/Plymouth butyl 
mastic tape and Amazon had some, when it came it was not Bishop at all, it was 
a Chinese knockoff.  Returning it was easy, but it shouldn’t have happened.  


From: Tyler Treat 
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:05 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type who'd pick 
up the phone and call. 

Hey Matt I need this
Ok, how bad?
Really bad,
Ok you'll have it tomorrow.  

He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.  

Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where it's in 
stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something wasn't coming from 
there it was pretty obvious.  

___
Mangled by my iPhone.
___
Tyler Treat
Corn Belt Technologies, Inc. 
tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com
___


On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote:


  Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I 
wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but that 
guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good.  The 
only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an 
android.


I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.  
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example. 
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the 
end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send 
them business. 
It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating. 

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), 
get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if 
it's even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up 
next day. 

1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have 
stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe 
stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and 
miss, other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating. 
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when 
items have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I 
do appreciate that.

Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to 
have to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders.

 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Chuck McCown]

CQ Forrest
I sent you some big commerce questions off list.  Not sure I used your favorite 
email address...

For the rest of you, I signed up for the trial version of shopify and started 
to play with it.  It appears it would take some hand coding to make a page look 
and act like what Forrest has on his site.  I am wondering if big commerce made 
it easy to do some of that stuff or if  he had to hand code some things as 
well.  

I like Forrest’s site.  I don’t like my site...

I want to do a database export into whatever platform I end up going with and I 
only want to do this once this decade.  


From: Ken Hohhof 
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 8:44 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

There are some places I shop exclusively using their online stores, like 
McMaster, Allied and Tessco.  With Tessco you need to click “Confirm Price” at 
checkout which also checks availability.  I have never had any of these 
companies screw up an order.  Mouser, Newark, DigiKey as well, they are all 
very reliable and have good online ordering.  McMaster takes the cake though, I 
think they have the world’s best online store.

Baltic I usually order online but if I need it next day I have found to check 
if it shows “pick up at will call” as a shipping option, if not, then “in 
stock” probably means drop ship from somewhere else like Streakwave or Primus.

I have never had Jon at Streakwave (Ohio) or Mark at WAV mess up an order or 
tell me something was in stock that wasn’t.  But I email or call them.  It’s 
quick and easy.  I think we all face the issue that you spend an entire week of 
days in the field and can’t order parts until bedtime when places are closed 
and an online store with accurate stock status is a great thing.  But I can 
also shoot an email to Jon or Mark, go to bed, and check my email the next 
morning or they will call me.

What I really hate are the places that want you to sign the quote and FAX it 
back with a credit card authorization.  Actually they don’t bother me anymore 
because if there are any left like that, I just don’t buy stuff from them.  It 
used to be common practice.

Two places I shop less than I used to are Newegg and Amazon.  I don’t know what 
happened to Newegg, I think they have really gone downhill.  One place I do buy 
from that I used to steer clear of is Tiger Direct, they used to be an outlet 
store, but they are pretty mainstream now.

At Amazon, I don’t buy a lot of stuff from third party sellers unless it says 
fulfilled by Amazon.  Even then, a lot of stock is comingled, and there is a 
risk of getting grey market goods or outright knockoffs.  I’ve had Amazon do 
stupid stuff.  Like one time I ordered 10 surge strips, and it turned they had 
quantity=1 at each of their warehouses, so the UPS guy literally delivered 10 
Amazon boxes each with one surge strip in it.  Now I order surge strips from 
Tiger Direct.  Also one time I was having trouble finding Bishop/Plymouth butyl 
mastic tape and Amazon had some, when it came it was not Bishop at all, it was 
a Chinese knockoff.  Returning it was easy, but it shouldn’t have happened.  


From: Tyler Treat 
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:05 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type who'd pick 
up the phone and call. 

Hey Matt I need this
Ok, how bad?
Really bad,
Ok you'll have it tomorrow.  

He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.  

Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where it's in 
stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something wasn't coming from 
there it was pretty obvious.  

___
Mangled by my iPhone.
___
Tyler Treat
Corn Belt Technologies, Inc. 
tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com
___


On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote:


  Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I 
wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but that 
guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good.  The 
only thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an 
android.


I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.  
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example. 
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the 
end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send 
them business. 
It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating. 

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), 
get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if 
it's even listed), then

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Tyler Treat]

I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type who'd pick 
up the phone and call.

Hey Matt I need this
Ok, how bad?
Really bad,
Ok you'll have it tomorrow.

He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.

Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where it's in 
stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something wasn't coming from 
there it was pretty obvious.

___
Mangled by my iPhone.
___
Tyler Treat
Corn Belt Technologies, Inc.
tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com<mailto:tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com>
___


On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett 
<dmmoff...@gmail.com<mailto:dmmoff...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and everything I wanted 
would show up two days later.  I don't know how he managed it, but that guy got 
stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega experiences were never as good.  The only 
thing as reliable as Dan Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an android.

I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, and now 
Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a licensed 
backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't the end of 
the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons to want to send them 
business.
It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.

My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part numbers), get a 
quote back, make sure the price is sane and part number is correct (if it's 
even listed), then email back saying yes, and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.

1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they have stock, 
are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further away, maybe stock 
levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a problem. Ubiquiti is hit and miss, 
other things, vary wildly. The uncertainty is frustrating.
Although lately Jonte has gotten really good about letting me know when items 
have long lead times or are out of stock and finding alternate items. I do 
appreciate that.

Aside from stock uncertainties, it feels wasteful of my time and theirs to have 
to go through a "traditional" sales rep interaction cycle for 
small/uncomplicated orders.

At this point if we're replenishing stock by ordering a case of UBNT gear and 
we haven't run out yet, we'll order it from CTI.
If it's for a small project (e.g. AF5x link+spare or some UniFi APs) I'll order 
from Baltic because the stock levels on their website are accurate--if they 
show it in stock and I order before 3 PM I know that it will be in my office by 
noon the following day.

Inaccurate stock levels on Streakwave's web store have bitten me on nearly 
every order I've placed with them...

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 3:28 PM, Mike Hammett 
<<mailto:af...@ics-il.net>af...@ics-il.net<mailto:af...@ics-il.net>> wrote:
If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
complicated.



-
Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
<http://www.ics-il.com>http://www.ics-il.com

[http://www.ics-il.com/images/fbicon.png]<https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>[http://www.ics-il.com/images/googleicon.png]<https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>[http://www.ics-il.com/images/linkedinicon.png]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>[http://www.ics-il.com/images/twittericon.png]<https://twitter.com/ICSIL>

Midwest Internet Exchange
<http://www.midwest-ix.com>http://www.midwest-ix.com

[http://www.ics-il.com/images/fbicon.png]<https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>[http://www.ics-il.com/images/linkedinicon.png]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>[http://www.ics-il.com/images/twittericon.png]<https://twitter.com/mdwestix>

From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net<mailto:j...@tapodi.net>>
To: "Animal Farm" <<mailto:af@afmug.com>af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>>
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce


On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
<<mailto:li...@packetflux.com>li...@packetflux.com<mailto:li...@packetflux.com>>
 wrote:
Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.

I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards...

I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[George Skorup]

Yep. I won't buy anything from Newegg that isn't sold and shipped by 
them. And I always look for at least "Fulfilled by Amazon" unless it's 
something I can't find anywhere else.


On 9/3/2015 9:44 PM, Ken Hohhof wrote:
There are some places I shop exclusively using their online stores, 
like McMaster, Allied and Tessco.  With Tessco you need to click 
“Confirm Price” at checkout which also checks availability.  I have 
never had any of these companies screw up an order.  Mouser, Newark, 
DigiKey as well, they are all very reliable and have good online 
ordering.  McMaster takes the cake though, I think they have the 
world’s best online store.
Baltic I usually order online but if I need it next day I have found 
to check if it shows “pick up at will call” as a shipping option, if 
not, then “in stock” probably means drop ship from somewhere else like 
Streakwave or Primus.
I have never had Jon at Streakwave (Ohio) or Mark at WAV mess up an 
order or tell me something was in stock that wasn’t.  But I email or 
call them.  It’s quick and easy.  I think we all face the issue that 
you spend an entire week of days in the field and can’t order parts 
until bedtime when places are closed and an online store with accurate 
stock status is a great thing.  But I can also shoot an email to Jon 
or Mark, go to bed, and check my email the next morning or they will 
call me.
What I really hate are the places that want you to sign the quote and 
FAX it back with a credit card authorization. Actually they don’t 
bother me anymore because if there are any left like that, I just 
don’t buy stuff from them.  It used to be common practice.
Two places I shop less than I used to are Newegg and Amazon.  I don’t 
know what happened to Newegg, I think they have really gone downhill.  
One place I do buy from that I used to steer clear of is Tiger Direct, 
they used to be an outlet store, but they are pretty mainstream now.
At Amazon, I don’t buy a lot of stuff from third party sellers unless 
it says fulfilled by Amazon.  Even then, a lot of stock is comingled, 
and there is a risk of getting grey market goods or outright 
knockoffs.  I’ve had Amazon do stupid stuff.  Like one time I ordered 
10 surge strips, and it turned they had quantity=1 at each of their 
warehouses, so the UPS guy literally delivered 10 Amazon boxes each 
with one surge strip in it.  Now I order surge strips from Tiger 
Direct.  Also one time I was having trouble finding Bishop/Plymouth 
butyl mastic tape and Amazon had some, when it came it was not Bishop 
at all, it was a Chinese knockoff.  Returning it was easy, but it 
shouldn’t have happened.

*From:* Tyler Treat <mailto:tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, September 03, 2015 9:05 PM
*To:* af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
I always had great luck with Matt Kahle.  But I was always the type 
who'd pick up the phone and call.

Hey Matt I need this
Ok, how bad?
Really bad,
Ok you'll have it tomorrow.
He actually met me in Bloomington one time after same day back to back 
lightning wiped out my backhaul stock.
Then again, it's important to ask if everything is in stock or where 
it's in stock.   Chicago was overnight UPS for us, so if something 
wasn't coming from there it was pretty obvious.

___
Mangled by my iPhone.
___
Tyler Treat
Corn Belt Technologies, Inc.
tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com <mailto:tyler.tr...@cornbelttech.com>
___

On Sep 3, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com 
<mailto:dmmoff...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Dan Ortega at CTI was a badass.  I would send one email and 
everything I wanted would show up two days later.  I don't know how 
he managed it, but that guy got stuff done.  Our post Dan Ortega 
experiences were never as good.  The only thing as reliable as Dan 
Ortega is Amazon.  Maybe Dan Ortega was an android.


I'm fairly happy with CTI (our rep: James until last year I think, 
and now Jonte) for cases where high-touch is OK.
Ordering everything for a tower being built 3-4 months out with a 
licensed backhaul is a good example.
In those cases a few clarifying phone calls and a email thread isn't 
the end of the world. They're pretty good to us and I have reasons 
to want to send them business.

It's ordering the one-off/small project items that can be irritating.
My usual order cycle is: email what I want (include exact part 
numbers), get a quote back, make sure the price is sane and part 
number is correct (if it's even listed), then email back saying yes, 
and it hopefully(1) shows up next day.
1) That's the part where things break down. I'm never sure if they 
have stock, are sending from a 3rd party (maybe a warehouse further 
away, maybe stock levels aren't in sync). Cambium is never a 
problem. Ubiquiti is hit and miss, other things, vary wildly. The 
uncertainty is frustrating.
Although lately Jonte has 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mike Hammett]

If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI... too 
complicated. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 
http://www.ics-il.com 



Midwest Internet Exchange 
http://www.midwest-ix.com 


- Original Message -

From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net> 
To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce 





On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) < 
li...@packetflux.com > wrote: 



Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like. 




I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've been 
seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome APC-compatible 
surge cards... 


I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber trays. 
There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to Amazon, 
searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing Power or 
CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, etc. 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Chuck Hogg]

Maybe nobody knew ;)

Regards,
Chuck

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:53 PM, <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

> I actually had a handful of our products on Amazon and got zero sales.
>
> *From:* Jon Auer <j...@tapodi.net>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 2, 2015 1:32 PM
> *To:* Animal Farm <af@afmug.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>
>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>
>
> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
> APC-compatible surge cards...
>
> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
> etc.
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Mathew Howard]

I always just email our rep and tell them what I want, and it shows up the
next day... I've never had to deal with any of that.

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
wrote:

> Things changed for the better then.  I have a folder that's full of
> nothing but those stupid signed agreements to pay the charges quoted.
>
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:24 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I know, just teasing.
>>
>> BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at
>> ConVergence.  Heck, I take them by text!
>>
>> Jeff Broadwick
>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>> 312-205-2519 Office
>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>
>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>
>> Hey, hey, compliment to you.
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Mike Hammett
>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>
>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>> --
>> *From: *"Jeff Broadwick - Lists" <jeffl...@att.net>
>> *To: *af@afmug.com
>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM
>>
>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>
>> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>>
>> Jeff Broadwick
>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>> 312-205-2519 Office
>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>
>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
>> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
>> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>>
>>
>> Josh Luthman
>> Office: 937-552-2340
>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>> 1100 Wayne St
>> Suite 1337
>> Troy, OH 45373
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>
>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>>> complicated.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -
>>> Mike Hammett
>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>
>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>> --
>>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>
>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>>> etc.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jon Auer]

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
li...@packetflux.com> wrote:

> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>

I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
APC-compatible surge cards...

I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
etc.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
> complicated.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --
> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>
>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>
>
> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
> APC-compatible surge cards...
>
> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
> etc.
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jeff Broadwick - Lists]

Bob or Patrick?  ;-)

Jeff Broadwick
ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
312-205-2519 Office
574-220-7826 Cell
jbroadw...@converge-tech.com

> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:39 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> wrote:
> 
> In a pineapple, under the sea.
> 
> 
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
> 
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:37 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net> 
>> wrote:
>> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>> 
>> Jeff Broadwick
>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>> 312-205-2519 Office
>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>> 
>>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number, 
>>> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but 
>>> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Josh Luthman
>>> Office: 937-552-2340
>>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>>> 1100 Wayne St
>>> Suite 1337
>>> Troy, OH 45373
>>> 
>>>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
>>>> complicated.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -
>>>> Mike Hammett
>>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>>> To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
>>>>> <li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>> 
>>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've 
>>>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome 
>>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>> 
>>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber 
>>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to 
>>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing 
>>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, 
>>>> etc.
> 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Jeff Broadwick - Lists]

I know, just teasing.

BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at 
ConVergence.  Heck, I take them by text!

Jeff Broadwick
ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
312-205-2519 Office
574-220-7826 Cell
jbroadw...@converge-tech.com

> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
> 
> Hey, hey, compliment to you.
> 
> 
> 
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
> 
> 
> 
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
> 
> 
> From: "Jeff Broadwick - Lists" <jeffl...@att.net>
> To: af@afmug.com
> Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
> 
> I know where both of you live!  :-)
> 
> Jeff Broadwick
> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
> 312-205-2519 Office
> 574-220-7826 Cell
> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
> 
> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> wrote:
> 
> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number, 
> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but 
> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
> 
> 
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
> 
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too 
>> complicated.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -
>> Mike Hammett
>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>> http://www.ics-il.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>> 
>> 
>> From: "Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>> To: "Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>> 
>> 
>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
>>> <li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>> 
>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've 
>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome 
>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>> 
>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber 
>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to 
>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing 
>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order, 
>> etc.
> 
> 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

Gary.


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:23 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
wrote:

> Bob or Patrick?  ;-)
>
> Jeff Broadwick
> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
> 312-205-2519 Office
> 574-220-7826 Cell
> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>
> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:39 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
> wrote:
>
> In a pineapple, under the sea.
>
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:37 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>>
>> Jeff Broadwick
>> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
>> 312-205-2519 Office
>> 574-220-7826 Cell
>> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>>
>> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
>> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
>> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>>
>>
>> Josh Luthman
>> Office: 937-552-2340
>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>> 1100 Wayne St
>> Suite 1337
>> Troy, OH 45373
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>>
>>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>>> complicated.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -
>>> Mike Hammett
>>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>>
>>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>>
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>>> --
>>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>>
>>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>>> etc.
>>>
>>>
>>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

Things changed for the better then.  I have a folder that's full of nothing
but those stupid signed agreements to pay the charges quoted.


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 5:24 PM, Jeff Broadwick - Lists <jeffl...@att.net>
wrote:

> I know, just teasing.
>
> BTW, I don't know of anyone that won't take a verbal or email order at
> ConVergence.  Heck, I take them by text!
>
> Jeff Broadwick
> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
> 312-205-2519 Office
> 574-220-7826 Cell
> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>
> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:40 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>
> Hey, hey, compliment to you.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> --------------
> *From: *"Jeff Broadwick - Lists" <jeffl...@att.net>
> *To: *af@afmug.com
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:37:26 PM
>
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
> I know where both of you live!  :-)
>
> Jeff Broadwick
> ConVergence Technologies, Inc.
> 312-205-2519 Office
> 574-220-7826 Cell
> jbroadw...@converge-tech.com
>
> On Sep 2, 2015, at 4:31 PM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
> wrote:
>
> Jesus I know...manually printing out an agreement with the quote number,
> signing it and then submitting it?  I mean maybe if the order was $100k but
> all of them?!  Glad it's not that way with Jeff around.
>
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
>
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Mike Hammett <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:
>
>> If it wasn't for Jeff Broadwick, i wouldn't do business with CTI...  too
>> complicated.
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Mike Hammett
>> Intelligent Computing Solutions
>> http://www.ics-il.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
>> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
>> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
>>
>> Midwest Internet Exchange
>> http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
>> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
>> --
>> *From: *"Jon Auer" <j...@tapodi.net>
>> *To: *"Animal Farm" <af@afmug.com>
>> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:32:38 PM
>> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) <
>> li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>>>
>>
>> I love it when manufacturers do this (and use Amazon's warehouses). I've
>> been seriously tempted to just do it with /someone's/ very awesome
>> APC-compatible surge cards...
>>
>> I was very happy when Telect was doing that with fuse panels and fiber
>> trays. There's so much less cognitive load and time spent in going to
>> Amazon, searching part number, and clicking buy now instead of emailing
>> Power or CTI, getting a quote, approving the quote, placing the order,
>> etc.
>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[chuck]

That’s not so bad.  Especially for something new that probably will not take 
off.  Hate to get tied to a large monthly bill that could totally eat the 
income for the first few months.  

From: Travis Johnson 
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 7:25 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

Their cheapest package is $29/month and the rate is 2.9% plus a $.30 
transaction fee. There are no other "hidden" charges or taxes like with many 
other processors.

Travis



On 9/1/2015 5:40 PM, ch...@wbmfg.com wrote:

  Their cheap tier charges an extra 1.5% I think.� So, 3.8% would go to them 
if I want to keep my monthly expense as low as possible while I wait to see if 
this thing takes off.� 
  �
  From: Travis Johnson 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 4:18 PM
  To: af@afmug.com 
  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
  �
  We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We have 
done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had a single 
problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3% (including 
the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when I looked 
before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you actually 
factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.

  The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card merchant 
account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that with Shopify. You 
simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)

  Travis



  On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:

I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my current products but I have 
some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.
�
Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually 
sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.� 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Cameron Crum]

There is also this...not sure if it will work for you.


https://bootstraphunter.com/theme/kapda-mart-minimal-opencart-theme-BSH040



On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Joshaven Mailing Lists 
wrote:

> A possibility:  http://www.shopify.com/starter
>
> Sincerely,
> Joshaven Potter
> MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, UACA
> Google Hangouts: yourt...@gmail.com
> Cell & SMS: 1-517-607-9370
> supp...@joshaven.com
>
>
>
> On Sep 1, 2015, at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown  wrote:
>
> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
> site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I
> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
> online.
>
> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and
> shopify, and magento etc etc.
> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.
>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Chuck McCown]

Thanks Forrest, sounds like I could do worse than bigcommerce.  

Watching the after-sharktank show the other night (whatever it is called, 
perhaps after the tank) , Mark Cuban was strongly urging the woman with the red 
dress store to not spend $400K (of his money) on re-tooling her ecommerce site. 
 He had had his guys fix up her site for free (after it crashed when she was on 
the regular shark tank show)  and I think he was insulted that she wanted to 
re-do everything with a developer.  

In any event, I discovered that she was using Magento and that is what Mark was 
urging her to stay with.  I figured that was a pretty good endorsement for a 
business with a huge number of transactions.  

From: Forrest Christian (List Account) 
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:58 PM
To: af 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

I run on bigcommerce, but the new pricing isn't as good as I am paying.   We 
tried several others and it was such a pain to use them and/or they were 
missing features that when I found bigcommerce and it just worked, that's what 
we stuck with.   Recently, they've been removing various features (mostly all 
the useful reports), and wanting you to upgrade to get the "new improved 
version" of them.   Fortunately, I use shipstation as a shipping platform which 
is going just the other way - I can run all the reports over there.


But... I'm seriously considering moving to WordPress+Woo Commerce.   Mainly for 
the WordPress integration since we're going to need a CMS soon for corporate 
reasons.


If you care about 'too big to fail', see 
https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/e-commerce-platforms/


Note that Magento (the top market share) was one which we found just too 
cumbersome to use.   


Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.


-forrest



On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

  I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I have some 
other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.

  Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
  They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually sell, 
I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.  



-- 

  Forrest Christian CEO, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.

  Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602
  forre...@imach.com | http://www.packetflux.com

 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Joshaven Mailing Lists]

Magento is a not at all light weight.  It is quite slow in relation to the 
resources you give it.  If your going high volume and Magento then make sure 
you have it on a nice server.  I’ve done consulting work for customers that got 
over their heads with Magento.

I’d try the easy solution with something like Forrest is using.  If you find 
you need something custom then I suspect it will be worth your time to work 
with a web development team that specializes in e-commerce and use their 
preferred system.  You end up paying consulting fees that way but I suspect the 
service level and experience will be worth the trouble if you end up needing 
more then a canned e-commerce solution.

Sincerely,
Joshaven Potter
MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, UACA
Google Hangouts: yourt...@gmail.com
Cell & SMS: 1-517-607-9370
supp...@joshaven.com



> On Sep 1, 2015, at 3:21 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) 
> <li...@packetflux.com> wrote:
> 
> I kinda get the impression that magento is good if  you have the time to do 
> the care and feeding.  I just found the integration time to be painful, and 
> Debbie couldn't figure out basic things.   But if I was launching a high 
> volume site, I'd be running Magento or WooCommerce.   For me, I just want 
> something I don't have to deal with.  Or more accurately, I don't have to pay 
> someone lots of money to deal with.
> 
> One thing to think about is also how many of the cool tools out there each 
> integrate with.  For instance, bigcommerce integrates with lots and lots of 
> apps...   see https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/ 
> <https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/>
> 
> I find that what is useful is to look around at other third party tools and 
> see which ecommerce platforms are best supported.   For instance:
> 
> Shipstation (Shipping):  http://www.shipstation.com/partners/ 
> <http://www.shipstation.com/partners/>
> Zendesk (Support): https://www.zendesk.com/apps/ 
> <https://www.zendesk.com/apps/>
> Zapier (Very cool data moving tool): https://zapier.com/zapbook/ 
> <https://zapier.com/zapbook/>
>Note:  if it connects to zapier, it connects to everything that zapier 
> talks to
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:05 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com 
> <mailto:ch...@wbmfg.com>> wrote:
> Thanks Forrest, sounds like I could do worse than bigcommerce. 
>  
> Watching the after-sharktank show the other night (whatever it is called, 
> perhaps after the tank) , Mark Cuban was strongly urging the woman with the 
> red dress store to not spend $400K (of his money) on re-tooling her ecommerce 
> site.  He had had his guys fix up her site for free (after it crashed when 
> she was on the regular shark tank show)  and I think he was insulted that she 
> wanted to re-do everything with a developer. 
>  
> In any event, I discovered that she was using Magento and that is what Mark 
> was urging her to stay with.  I figured that was a pretty good endorsement 
> for a business with a huge number of transactions. 
>  
> From: Forrest Christian (List Account) <mailto:li...@packetflux.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:58 PM
> To: af <mailto:af@afmug.com>
> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>  
> I run on bigcommerce, but the new pricing isn't as good as I am paying.   We 
> tried several others and it was such a pain to use them and/or they were 
> missing features that when I found bigcommerce and it just worked, that's 
> what we stuck with.   Recently, they've been removing various features 
> (mostly all the useful reports), and wanting you to upgrade to get the "new 
> improved version" of them.   Fortunately, I use shipstation as a shipping 
> platform which is going just the other way - I can run all the reports over 
> there.
> 
> But... I'm seriously considering moving to WordPress+Woo Commerce.   Mainly 
> for the WordPress integration since we're going to need a CMS soon for 
> corporate reasons.
> 
> If you care about 'too big to fail', see 
> https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/e-commerce-platforms/ 
> <https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/e-commerce-platforms/>
> 
> Note that Magento (the top market share) was one which we found just too 
> cumbersome to use.   
>  
> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>  
> -forrest
>  
>  
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com 
> <mailto:ch...@wbmfg.com>> wrote:
> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
> with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I have 
> some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.
>  
> Lots of options out there.  Been l

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Paul McCall]

We have had good luck with Magento

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Joshaven Mailing Lists
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 2:58 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

A possibility:  http://www.shopify.com/starter

Sincerely,
Joshaven Potter
MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, UACA
Google Hangouts: yourt...@gmail.com<mailto:yourt...@gmail.com>
Cell & SMS: 1-517-607-9370
supp...@joshaven.com<mailto:supp...@joshaven.com>



On Sep 1, 2015, at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown 
<ch...@wbmfg.com<mailto:ch...@wbmfg.com>> wrote:

I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I have some 
other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.

Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and shopify, 
and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually sell, I 
want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Chuck McCown]

Just now stumbled upon it.  

Forrest, how has your experience been?

From: Josh Luthman 
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:46 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

Packeflux uses this: 

https://www.bigcommerce.com/pricing/



Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

  I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I have some 
other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.

  Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
  They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually sell, 
I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.  

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[David]

Drupal/w ubercart module

I have found over drupal maturity that it seems to have one of the more 
flexible usability.
has a medium to hard learning curve but I have done 4 sites using drupal 
and kept them maintained

without having to move to something different every few years.

There are other store modules out there. Ubercart and  Erpal are some 
very nice ready made for ecommerce tools

for building a good site.

They also have some good payment gateway support in them



On 09/01/2015 01:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce 
site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products 
but I have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may 
want to sell online.
Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not 
actually sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Forrest Christian (List Account)]

Overall, we're happy with it  The only frustration is the continued
insistence of removing useful reports.   For instance, I can't even tell
how many of a product I've sold.  And I can't find all customers who have
bought a given item.  Both of which I used to be able to do.   Their
marketing department keeps telling me about all the cool reporting features
I'm missing out on, but it doesn't look like they even gain be back what
I'm missing.

On the other hand, the stuff just works.   And since I handle all my
shipping through shipstation (which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you have any
volume of shipping at all), I find I can do all the reporting over
there.

The only reason I'm considering moving to the Woocommerce solution is the
tighter integration with what I'd call more of a "marketing website".
We're working on getting more product information done, and better "waht
works with what" and similar stuff done, and that's going to probably be in
a wordpress site.  At which point, it would be nice to just have the
ecommerce set up in there as well.   I'm not convinced the ecommerce
portion is going to work as well though...





On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:52 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

> Just now stumbled upon it.
>
> Forrest, how has your experience been?
>
> *From:* Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:46 PM
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
> Packeflux uses this:
>
> https://www.bigcommerce.com/pricing/
>
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:
>
>> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
>> site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I
>> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
>> online.
>>
>> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and
>> shopify, and magento etc etc.
>> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
>> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.
>>
>
>



-- 
*Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.*
Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602
forre...@imach.com | http://www.packetflux.com
<http://www.linkedin.com/in/fwchristian>  <http://facebook.com/packetflux>
<http://twitter.com/@packetflux>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

Packeflux uses this:

https://www.bigcommerce.com/pricing/


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown  wrote:

> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
> site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I
> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
> online.
>
> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and
> shopify, and magento etc etc.
> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Forrest Christian (List Account)]

I run on bigcommerce, but the new pricing isn't as good as I am paying.
We tried several others and it was such a pain to use them and/or they were
missing features that when I found bigcommerce and it just worked, that's
what we stuck with.   Recently, they've been removing various features
(mostly all the useful reports), and wanting you to upgrade to get the "new
improved version" of them.   Fortunately, I use shipstation as a shipping
platform which is going just the other way - I can run all the reports over
there.

But... I'm seriously considering moving to WordPress+Woo Commerce.   Mainly
for the WordPress integration since we're going to need a CMS soon for
corporate reasons.

If you care about 'too big to fail', see
https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/e-commerce-platforms/

Note that Magento (the top market share) was one which we found just too
cumbersome to use.

Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.

-forrest


On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown  wrote:

> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
> site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I
> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
> online.
>
> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and
> shopify, and magento etc etc.
> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.
>



-- 
*Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.*
Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602
forre...@imach.com | http://www.packetflux.com
  

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Joshaven Mailing Lists]

A possibility:  http://www.shopify.com/starter 

Sincerely,
Joshaven Potter
MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, UACA
Google Hangouts: yourt...@gmail.com
Cell & SMS: 1-517-607-9370
supp...@joshaven.com



> On Sep 1, 2015, at 2:42 PM, Chuck McCown  wrote:
> 
> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
> with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I have 
> some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.
>  
> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
> shopify, and magento etc etc.
> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually sell, 
> I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible. 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Forrest Christian (List Account)]

I kinda get the impression that magento is good if  you have the time to do
the care and feeding.  I just found the integration time to be painful, and
Debbie couldn't figure out basic things.   But if I was launching a high
volume site, I'd be running Magento or WooCommerce.   For me, I just want
something I don't have to deal with.  Or more accurately, I don't have to
pay someone lots of money to deal with.

One thing to think about is also how many of the cool tools out there each
integrate with.  For instance, bigcommerce integrates with lots and lots of
apps...   see https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/

I find that what is useful is to look around at other third party tools and
see which ecommerce platforms are best supported.   For instance:

Shipstation (Shipping):  http://www.shipstation.com/partners/
Zendesk (Support): https://www.zendesk.com/apps/
Zapier (Very cool data moving tool): https://zapier.com/zapbook/
   Note:  if it connects to zapier, it connects to everything that zapier
talks to




On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 1:05 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:

> Thanks Forrest, sounds like I could do worse than bigcommerce.
>
> Watching the after-sharktank show the other night (whatever it is called,
> perhaps after the tank) , Mark Cuban was strongly urging the woman with the
> red dress store to not spend $400K (of his money) on re-tooling her
> ecommerce site.  He had had his guys fix up her site for free (after it
> crashed when she was on the regular shark tank show)  and I think he was
> insulted that she wanted to re-do everything with a developer.
>
> In any event, I discovered that she was using Magento and that is what
> Mark was urging her to stay with.  I figured that was a pretty good
> endorsement for a business with a huge number of transactions.
>
> *From:* Forrest Christian (List Account) <li...@packetflux.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:58 PM
> *To:* af <af@afmug.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
>
> I run on bigcommerce, but the new pricing isn't as good as I am paying.
> We tried several others and it was such a pain to use them and/or they were
> missing features that when I found bigcommerce and it just worked, that's
> what we stuck with.   Recently, they've been removing various features
> (mostly all the useful reports), and wanting you to upgrade to get the "new
> improved version" of them.   Fortunately, I use shipstation as a shipping
> platform which is going just the other way - I can run all the reports over
> there.
>
> But... I'm seriously considering moving to WordPress+Woo Commerce.
> Mainly for the WordPress integration since we're going to need a CMS soon
> for corporate reasons.
>
> If you care about 'too big to fail', see
> https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/e-commerce-platforms/
>
> Note that Magento (the top market share) was one which we found just too
> cumbersome to use.
>
> Don't discount just adding your products to amazon and the like.
>
> -forrest
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com> wrote:
>
>> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
>> site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products but I
>> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
>> online.
>>
>> Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and
>> shopify, and magento etc etc.
>> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
>> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> *Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.*
> Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602
> forre...@imach.com | http://www.packetflux.com
> <http://www.linkedin.com/in/fwchristian>  <http://facebook.com/packetflux>
>   <http://twitter.com/@packetflux>
>
>


-- 
*Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.*
Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602
forre...@imach.com | http://www.packetflux.com
<http://www.linkedin.com/in/fwchristian>  <http://facebook.com/packetflux>
<http://twitter.com/@packetflux>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[chuck]

Their cheap tier charges an extra 1.5% I think.  So, 3.8% would go to them if I 
want to keep my monthly expense as low as possible while I wait to see if this 
thing takes off.  

From: Travis Johnson 
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 4:18 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We have done 
over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had a single 
problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3% (including 
the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when I looked 
before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you actually 
factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.

The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card merchant 
account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that with Shopify. You 
simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)

Travis



On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:

  I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce site 
with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my current products but I have 
some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell online.
  �
  Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
  They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually sell, 
I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.� 

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Travis Johnson]

Their cheapest package is $29/month and the rate is 2.9% plus a $.30 
transaction fee. There are no other "hidden" charges or taxes like with 
many other processors.


Travis


On 9/1/2015 5:40 PM, ch...@wbmfg.com wrote:
Their cheap tier charges an extra 1.5% I think.  So, 3.8% would go to 
them if I want to keep my monthly expense as low as possible while I 
wait to see if this thing takes off.

*From:* Travis Johnson <mailto:t...@ida.net>
*Sent:* Tuesday, September 1, 2015 4:18 PM
*To:* af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce
We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We 
have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never 
had a single problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC 
fee is 2.3% (including the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I 
could find when I looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote 
lower rates, until you actually factor in their "gateway" and other 
misc. charges.


The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card 
merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that 
with Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)


Travis


On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an 
ecommerce site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my 
current products but I have some other, non internet/wisp related 
products that I may want to sell online.

�
Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, 
and shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not 
actually sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as 
possible.�

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Travis Johnson]

We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We 
have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had 
a single problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 
2.3% (including the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could 
find when I looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower 
rates, until you actually factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.


The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card 
merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that 
with Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)


Travis


On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce 
site with credit card payment gateway.  Not for my current products 
but I have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may 
want to sell online.
Lots of options out there.  Been looking at the wordpress method, and 
shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not 
actually sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

What about automating shipping?  Ideally the purchase is made and the
warehouse gets a printable label.

Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373
On Sep 1, 2015 6:37 PM, "Travis Johnson"  wrote:

> It should work for any company that wants to sell anything online. They
> have hundreds of free templates, as well as hundreds of custom designed
> templates that cost $50 to $500 (one-time).
>
> One thing to note... Shopify is a complete hosting/e-commerce/processing
> system. You pay them monthly for the hosting as well as the e-commerce
> package (from $50 - $179/month if I remember correctly) and it runs on
> their servers. They do provide unlimited technical support (via telephone
> even), so for someone new to the online world, this is a great feature.
>
> Travis
>
>
> On 9/1/2015 4:23 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:
>
> Would Shopify work for a car parts vendor?
>
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
>
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Travis Johnson  wrote:
>
>> We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We
>> have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had a
>> single problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3%
>> (including the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when
>> I looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you
>> actually factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.
>>
>> The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card
>> merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that with
>> Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)
>>
>> Travis
>>
>>
>> On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
>>
>> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
>> site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my current products but I
>> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
>> online.
>> �
>> Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, and
>> shopify, and magento etc etc.
>> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
>> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.�
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

I have a friend that spends a lot of time manually doing shipping - figured
I'd toss this lead.


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 7:02 PM, Travis Johnson  wrote:

> I know there are many options for shipping modules and add-on extensions.
> You will just have to research it and see. :)
>
> Travis
>
>
> On 9/1/2015 4:40 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:
>
> What about automating shipping?  Ideally the purchase is made and the
> warehouse gets a printable label.
>
> Josh Luthman
> Office: 937-552-2340
> Direct: 937-552-2343
> 1100 Wayne St
> Suite 1337
> Troy, OH 45373
> On Sep 1, 2015 6:37 PM, "Travis Johnson"  wrote:
>
>> It should work for any company that wants to sell anything online. They
>> have hundreds of free templates, as well as hundreds of custom designed
>> templates that cost $50 to $500 (one-time).
>>
>> One thing to note... Shopify is a complete hosting/e-commerce/processing
>> system. You pay them monthly for the hosting as well as the e-commerce
>> package (from $50 - $179/month if I remember correctly) and it runs on
>> their servers. They do provide unlimited technical support (via telephone
>> even), so for someone new to the online world, this is a great feature.
>>
>> Travis
>>
>>
>> On 9/1/2015 4:23 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:
>>
>> Would Shopify work for a car parts vendor?
>>
>>
>> Josh Luthman
>> Office: 937-552-2340
>> Direct: 937-552-2343
>> 1100 Wayne St
>> Suite 1337
>> Troy, OH 45373
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Travis Johnson < 
>> t...@ida.net> wrote:
>>
>>> We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We
>>> have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had a
>>> single problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3%
>>> (including the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when
>>> I looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you
>>> actually factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.
>>>
>>> The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card
>>> merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that with
>>> Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)
>>>
>>> Travis
>>>
>>>
>>> On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
>>>
>>> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
>>> site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my current products but I
>>> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
>>> online.
>>> �
>>> Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, and
>>> shopify, and magento etc etc.
>>> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
>>> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.�
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Travis Johnson]

It should work for any company that wants to sell anything online. They 
have hundreds of free templates, as well as hundreds of custom designed 
templates that cost $50 to $500 (one-time).


One thing to note... Shopify is a complete hosting/e-commerce/processing 
system. You pay them monthly for the hosting as well as the e-commerce 
package (from $50 - $179/month if I remember correctly) and it runs on 
their servers. They do provide unlimited technical support (via 
telephone even), so for someone new to the online world, this is a great 
feature.


Travis


On 9/1/2015 4:23 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:

Would Shopify work for a car parts vendor?


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Travis Johnson > wrote:


We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online.
We have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and
never had a single problem. We are using their top pricing model,
so the CC fee is 2.3% (including the transaction fee). That's the
lowest price I could find when I looked before. Many other
e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you actually factor in
their "gateway" and other misc. charges.

The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card
merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of
that with Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start
selling. :)

Travis


On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:

I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an
ecommerce site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my
current products but I have some other, non internet/wisp related
products that I may want to sell online.
�
Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress
method, and shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may not
actually sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as
possible.�

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Josh Luthman]

Would Shopify work for a car parts vendor?


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Travis Johnson  wrote:

> We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99% online. We have
> done over $160,000 in a single month (avg ticket $63) and never had a
> single problem. We are using their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3%
> (including the transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when
> I looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates, until you
> actually factor in their "gateway" and other misc. charges.
>
> The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit card
> merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or any of that with
> Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site, and start selling. :)
>
> Travis
>
>
> On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:
>
> I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an ecommerce
> site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for my current products but I
> have some other, non internet/wisp related products that I may want to sell
> online.
> �
> Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress method, and
> shopify, and magento etc etc.
> They will all do what I want, but since these products may not actually
> sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as low as possible.�
>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] OT eCommerce

[Travis Johnson]

I know there are many options for shipping modules and add-on 
extensions. You will just have to research it and see. :)


Travis


On 9/1/2015 4:40 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:


What about automating shipping?  Ideally the purchase is made and the 
warehouse gets a printable label.


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Sep 1, 2015 6:37 PM, "Travis Johnson" > wrote:


It should work for any company that wants to sell anything online.
They have hundreds of free templates, as well as hundreds of
custom designed templates that cost $50 to $500 (one-time).

One thing to note... Shopify is a complete
hosting/e-commerce/processing system. You pay them monthly for the
hosting as well as the e-commerce package (from $50 - $179/month
if I remember correctly) and it runs on their servers. They do
provide unlimited technical support (via telephone even), so for
someone new to the online world, this is a great feature.

Travis


On 9/1/2015 4:23 PM, Josh Luthman wrote:

Would Shopify work for a car parts vendor?


Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340 
Direct: 937-552-2343 
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:18 PM, Travis Johnson > wrote:

We are using Shopify with one of our companies that is 99%
online. We have done over $160,000 in a single month (avg
ticket $63) and never had a single problem. We are using
their top pricing model, so the CC fee is 2.3% (including the
transaction fee). That's the lowest price I could find when I
looked before. Many other e-commerce sites quote lower rates,
until you actually factor in their "gateway" and other misc.
charges.

The other advantage is you don't have to get an actual credit
card merchant account, so there are no personal guarantees or
any of that with Shopify. You simply sign-up, setup the site,
and start selling. :)

Travis


On 9/1/2015 12:42 PM, Chuck McCown wrote:

I am wondering about the lowest cost method of setting up an
ecommerce site with credit card payment gateway.� Not for
my current products but I have some other, non internet/wisp
related products that I may want to sell online.
�
Lots of options out there.� Been looking at the wordpress
method, and shopify, and magento etc etc.
They will all do what I want, but since these products may
not actually sell, I want to get the monthly expense down as
low as possible.�