[ic] Interchange consultants to set up a store?

[Jim Balcom]

On Mon, 7 Jan 2002, Ryan Grace wrote:

RG>>I'm working with a local jewelry company here in Arcata, CA who wants to
RG>>start selling their product online.  We've decided on Interchange and are
RG>>now soliciting bids for the task of setting up our shop.  This is a 20 year
RG>>old jewelry manufacturer with a large, constantly changing inventory.  We're
RG>>also looking for a good Interchange host to move our site to.

My personal feelings are that someone in that shop, if not the owner, at
least an employee that plans on being around for quite some time, needs to
be deeply involved in this endeavor. Or, else, a consultant is hired on
contract on a predetermined annual price. Otherwise, every time new
inventory is added, the shop is going to have to pay for a consultant to
make that change. The shop gets in a nice turquoise ring that he sells for
$49.95 and he has to pay a consultant $50/hour (or fraction thereof) to add
it in to the store page. Whereas an employee that knows what he is doing can
add it in in 5 minutes.

A year ago, the folks at Interchange were willing to do a total install for
you. After my experience I am reluctant to recommend them, but once they set
it up, it's set up right, and it's simply a matter of removing the demo
inventory and putting in the real stuff.

In my experience, I would never trust an outsider to write up the
descriptions for my products. Amplify them, yes. Make them more appealing,
yes. But, I (as a shop owner) want content control.

RG>>Does anyone have recommendations for consultants or hosts who specialize in
RG>>Interchange?  Feel free to contact me on or off the list at
RG>>ryan_grace@yahoo.com and I will provide a URL to the existing site.

In my personal opinion...

Make sure that the server that you put it on is a high speed CPU - 1.2 gHz
for a start. 512 megs of RAM, at least - more is better.

It needs to connect to the internet via a T-1, at least. The T-1 should not
be overloaded, but should have sufficient unused bandwidth to more than
handle your needs, and to allow for expansion. The server should have a
respectable UPS providing emergency power.

The main 'tech-type' at the site should understand Interchange, even better
if he is running a store of his own on it. He should be running Analog, or
some other web page log analyzer and sending you those reports on a daily
basis. This gives you management tools to see what's hot, and what's not.
You can see where your visitors are coming from and where they are going.

-= Jim =-

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