Charging for a Shopping Cart 2

[fxcolin]

I'm curious as to what the good people of this forum would charge for a shopping cart?

I've done shopping carts for myself, but not for a client, until now.
I'm building a new site and have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to charge for the main part of the site. The shopping cart, however, is practically a site in itself and I'm not sure what to charge.

I am planning to use something out of the box like oscommerce.com and heavily customize it.

http://www.chefmedia.ca

http://www.fxstudios.ca

 

[cian]

Hi,

Check to see what other companies are charging for similar packages and drop off 10%!
Compare also what the package include, installation? trouble shooting? tech support?



É

http://www.endamcg.com/finland-gaa

 

[onpnt]

Give you a little to go by

I jsut finished adding a cart to a 477 pages flag company and I charged them by the item which came out to around 2300.
I went by $3 per item so the total was around $7000.
That included writing the cart etc....

This was also for a friend so I gave them a little break on the cost.

hope that helps
I may not get it the 1st or 2nd time,
but how sweet that 15th time can be.
admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[fxcolin]

Thanks guys,

onpt, Wow, $7,000 ?
But... if I am only working on 50 items X 3 = $150.00
Hardly seems worth it.
But I suppose in that case there would be a minimum for atleast the basic design, components, database integration etc. ?

No offence cian, but I do go to other web sites, the trouble is also that most don't display pricing, preferring prospective clients to contact them.

I was a little more interested in what people here are charging and what they base it on (eg.) per item, per hour, per size of cart, etc.

Anyone else ??

http://www.chefmedia.ca

http://www.fxstudios.ca

 

[onpnt]

fxcolin
Remember the cost I stated was without writing the actually cart or adding it. Also on top of that I would charge a hourly rate for adding the cart to the site. The $3 per item was a cost variance I use (which would normally have been around $5 or so) for the time frame of adding the cart to the exsiting site.
For instance....at $30 a hour for working in the site, if it only took me 40 hours that would only be $1200. Hardly worth the job. So I always use this formula when doing shopping cart work
(CPI*items)+(HR*hours)=FC
CPI = cost per item
HR = hourly rate
final cost
so at ($5item * 50 items) ($30ph * 40hrs) = $1450

Don't lose charges on using a straight hourly rate with shopping carts. It's a good thing to do a set cost per item then use a hourly rate for the actual additions.
I found it to be a good way to justify the cart.
I may not get it the 1st or 2nd time,
but how sweet that 15th time can be.
admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[cian]

Hi fxcolin,

I assumed you did visit sites, but I meant to actually get quotations from companies, as if you were going to sub-contract the work! Then you could ask for a cost-breakdown with the offer!


Btw onpnt deserves a star for his very informative answers!



É

http://www.endamcg.com/finland-gaa

 

[onpnt]

Hey cian, sometimes it takes a little
to get the point across
thanks for the compliments
I may not get it the 1st or 2nd time,
but how sweet that 15th time can be.
admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[cian]

Hehe no problemo! LOL É

http://www.endamcg.com/finland-gaa

 

[fxcolin]

Thanks again,

cian -that's actually a great idea!, to contact competitors as if I wanted to sub-contract. nice!

onpt -perfect! thanks for the formula.
It gives me some kind of direction, which is what I was lookin' for.
BTW, nice icons -sometimes I look AND feel like the one gettin' pounded !!

Howsabout a coupla stars !

http://www.chefmedia.ca

http://www.fxstudios.ca

 

[DeZiner]

I have created 2 carts in different languages. I reuse the code and drop ot in were needed. The cart itself is images and descriptive text and add to cart buttons. I usually create new buttons (graphics) if it fits the site nicer. I charge a flat fee of $650 because it's cut and paste from saved code. Takes about an hour to complete. I created an admin area for adding and deleting. Here I change the title of the page to match there business name and it's done. Every cart is in a cart folder so the page names never change. It's cheap for my clients and quick money for me. DeZiner
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that amateurs built the Ark.
Professionals built the Titanic

 

[onpnt]

DeZiner
It's cheap for my clients and quick money for me

I understand the idea of it being cheap for them and you gaining some extra cash, BUT what about the ones that have to make a living at this????

A little more understanding where I'm coming from in this thread, thread253-311168
I'm not trying to take a stab at the fact you do this for such a small price at all. It just really gets me when a web designer that is trying with all their might to get clients has to get a part time job when what we do here is worth the price tag.




I may not get it the 1st or 2nd time,
but how sweet that 15th time can be.
admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[fxcolin]

Hi onpnt,

Thanks for the link to that post.
Really excellent read.
I'm still kind of a newbie and it seems to be a common thread to under-charge, fearing that the client will tell you to get lost !

I started this post 'cause I have my first 'official' client. I've done a couple for myself and a couple for friends.
So, I was a little worried about charging too much.
This client is a high-end clothing shop in an exclusive part of town. They also ship world-wide, so I'm sure they can afford it.
Along with the shopping cart (50-100 items), they need a flash intro page and the site has to be trendy, funky and fun. With probably regular updates(new clothing lines,etc.)

I was orignially thinking $2,000.
NOW, I'm leaning towards $4,000.
Maybe that's too low also. Anyway, I won't know until have the follow up meeting to discuss more indepth.

Thanks again,

Later, Skater

http://www.chefmedia.ca

http://www.fxstudios.ca

 

[onpnt]

Well, if it's a shopping cart only and it's 50 to 100 items then the first choice was a good one, but after the flash portion your going into a new ball game and the price gets going up more from that point. I haven't done any flash work for a client thus far so hopfully another can post on that reference. here's another link you should check out. I actually started it recently and it is a very good idea to consider (I found out the hard way) if you haven't yet.
thread253-316078

good luck fxcolin
I may not get it the 1st or 2nd time,
but how sweet that 15th time can be.
admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[DeZiner]

Well when you consider companies like retailcart at $10 a month, commerce.cgi $0 and many more practically free carts, $650 sounds good to a designer. You create the module and sell it over and over. You can't expect to make a living on 3-4 sites a year. The ones in my area make a living by volume. In this economy people want A LOT for NOTHING. That is what I sell and make a decent living. I sell a realtor package in the same manner. The biggest company a year ago was sellling to realtors for $6000. I compare the price and sell for $3800. It's all relative. DeZiner
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that amateurs built the Ark.
Professionals built the Titanic