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I was wondering if anyone has created a large-scale commercial site using just EE 2.1.x and available add-ons for e-commerce. I’m trying to understand if EE is capable and the right tool for a prospective client, or if I need to look elsewhere.

I’m looking to build a site that offers both print reproductions and digital licenses of paintings created by a single artist to be used as anything from stock illustrations on a holiday card to being framed and hung on a wall. So, there are about 3,000+ unique paintings.

The client wants to integrate third party stuff too, like the framing options that accompany each entry at art.com.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve not built any BIG ecommerce sites using EE, but i’ve built a few small ones. E-commerce is a little young, and products are still having some growing pains. That said, both Cartthrob and FoxEE are GREAT products, though it sounds like Cartthrob’s a better fit for what you’re after. The number of products wouldn’t be a big issue; EE’s great at large datasets!

FWIW, though, both of those products are EE1 only. I’m still mostly developing in EE1; i’ve used EE2 and like it but in some ways I feel like it’s not “there” yet for client sites. Cartthrob is aggressively working on an EE2 version, though!

(EE2 does still ship with EE1.6 as an available option, I believe; so you can still get EE1 and use Cartthrob.)

I’m not sure what you mean by “integrate third party stuff”—show products from other sites? Or somehow pull options from other sites into the catalog itself?

Thanks for the input Adrienne. I actually began a new site on EE2 and so far I have not run into any major problems. But, I used to use EE1 with very few add-ons for a personal site, so I don’t have much to compare to.

By integrating third-party stuff, I was asked to consider framing options specifically like art.com. When you choose any of their products, there is an option to ‘see it framed’. I guess this has little to do with EE or e-commerce actually, but just thought I’d mention it.

Hey stephanosuh,

I looked at the art.com site and the framing option selector is, well - really cool. It’s a Flash based store running on .NET. To duplicate it’s effects you can do everything in javascript with some work.

Because the different frames effect the price differently you will need to make sure that those options are controlled by your e-commerce software. Foxee can do it with the foxee_pricing_options tag and is available for EE 1.X.

ACME CART is our e-commerce module for EE 2. We are currently in Beta testing and just about complete. I have attached a screenshot of the pricing options form for you. We will be releasing an official announcement soon about it’s availability.

Because the different frames effect the price differently you will need to
make sure that those options are controlled by your e-commerce software.
Foxee can do it with the foxee_pricing_options tag and is available for EE
1.X.

Thanks for this bit of information Michael, and for taking the time to look into our needs. Good to know that if we’re able to implement something similar, that it will work with Foxee/ACME. Ultimately I won’t be the one responsible for this project, but I will pass on my suggestions and I’m sure that whoever is in charge will have more specific questions for you at HCC, and we’ll wait for the official announcement of ACME.

I might be a little late to the discussion but I’ve used Cartthrob and Magento with ExpressionEngine. In my opinion it really comes down to the clients requirements as each system is unique and has it’s pros and cons. If you haven’t already selected an option and interested in learning more about our experiences feel free to contact me.

Here are two e-commerce sites we created with EE.
Advanced Home Actives - Magento - http://advancedhomeactives.com
Evoke Development - Cartthrob - http://evokedevelopment.com

ACME CART is our e-commerce module for EE 2. We are currently in Beta testing and just about complete. I have attached a screenshot of the pricing options form for you. We will be releasing an official announcement soon about it’s availability.

Any real timeframe for this? I too have a site waiting for EE 2 shopping cart support. In fact, I was severely disappointed to purchase Foxee and find out it wasn’t compatible with EE 2.1.0

Thanks

I might be a little late to the discussion but I’ve used Cartthrob and Magento with ExpressionEngine. In my opinion it really comes down to the clients requirements as each system is unique and has it’s pros and cons. If you haven’t already selected an option and interested in learning more about our experiences feel free to contact me.

Here are two e-commerce sites we created with EE.
Advanced Home Actives - Magento - http://advancedhomeactives.com
Evoke Development - Cartthrob - http://evokedevelopment.com

Did you have trouble working with Magento or Cartthrob? I’ve talked to some developers that say both are difficult.  BrilliantRetail’s new e-commerce add on looks promising for a smaller sized e-commerce site.

I’d like your thoughts.

Magento is a CMS in its own right.  Having 2 CMS for 1 site seems like a lot of trouble to go through to me.

I recommend Cartthrob for EE1 and BrilliantRetail for EE2