ShopCreator is pushing forward strongly into the e-shop and cart market by adding a new ‘no sales – no pay’ option to its offerings called Transact, and by integrating PayPal into its stores on all levels in an effort to help small/medium merchants who don’t have their own merchant services account.

Transact is ShopCreator’s new entry level store, and on the surface it presents an unmissable opportunity to begin trading online. The package is based on revenue share rather than on recurring monthly hosting and other charges. Too good to be true? Not really. To begin with it carries no license fees or set-up costs, instead, fees are charged based on monthly store turnover, ranging from 2% to 5.5% depending solely on the level of sales. Transact’s tag-line is: “No Sales – No Charge.

If you happen to be interested a Transact store can be set-up and running in minutes from ShopCreator’s own website. Once you’ve completed a simple form a new store is created and instructions are given for accessing the content management system (CMS) which powers ShopCreator stores. Logging into the CMS is easy as is customising the site’s look and feel. Upload your product information, set up shipping rates, add a payment provider, and you’re all set to begin trading on-line.

Packed with functions including multiple product images, an automatic image resizer, customer product reviews, top seller lists and Google Anlaytics, this has to be an option beginners need to consider.

Finally, Shop Creator has taken note of High Street stores moving to offer PayPal as an option to their own merchant services – Boots-Alliance being one of them – and has integrated PayPal into its stores. Don’t worry though, if you happen to be among the PayPal haters, most other major payment services can be integrated too.

All in all, Shop Creator is definitely an e-commerce system to keep in mind when taking the plunge and deciding to start out on your own.

Kate