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I'm looking for an e-commerce software, which I can host myself (hence I want to import a lot of products. Our catalogue includes every product you can order, not just our stock. So that's why the no product limit would be important).

Advanced import: I would like to import my products from an XLS or CSV file. At the file upload, specify the rows, the data, what to get imported, if I want to merge or replace, etc. Everything you would expect. I don't want to edit the products one-by-one. That would take forever.

PHP: I have a Debian 6.0 server up and running, which I can modify any way I want. So anything that can be run on a Linux server is fine. (ASP.net would cost me wonders, hence you have to buy Server2008R2 AND the SQL.)

Open-source, and free alternatives: I tried many of them, just recently. They provide a viable webshop, for anyone who starts a new small shop, and wants to have his stock uploaded. That's fine. But you can't manage mass amount of items. Nor modify them, etc. Installing plugins is one way, but the only plugins I found were not free, and really badly written. Poor quality, full of security holes. The developer couldn't be found once you paid him. Hiring a developer again, is a waste of money and time. Hence he have to code this all down, and he will ask magnitude larger amount of money, also, if he obfuscates the code or decides to leave, I can't do anything.

That said, free software is not out of the league, but my personal experience says otherwise. This is not a shopping recommendation. I'm looking for a software.
(There is a Wikipedia entry, and many hits if you do a search. But the Wiki is really outdate, and the hits are mostly just SEO based. Even if you manage to find a product, it's highly overpriced, and hosted by the company (thus monthly paid). It also comes with a low product limit.)

2 Answers 2

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CS-Cart community edition is free open source php with smarty templates it's great, I use it as well as their pro version and meets all your needs.

http://www.cs-cart.com

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  • Let me know if it met your needs or if you need any help with it
    – Anagio
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 4:32
  • So far, it's a disappoint. Why: First, the admin panel's text got highlighted with a weird color. Green (like the OK status messages). Why? I don't know. I only logged out, then logged in after some time. (Bugreport submitted). | Multi-language store setup: I couldn't find any support for this. Tried to set it up, but the admin panel is really hard to get around, takes some time to learn it. (Having descriptions, etc in two languaegs.) | And now? I disabled some of the modules. Gift certificates for example. And added a new country. What happened? All the example data disappeared.
    – Apache
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 17:46
  • I don't even get, how these could happen. I mean.. disabling a plugin is totally unrelated to the products, so why would they disappear at all? (You can have a look at the webpage: vasaroljokosan.info . The admin panel still says ~112 products, yet none of the makes it to the homepage.)
    – Apache
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 17:47
  • Have you set your stock levels on all products, and to show products which are out of stock? Are the products enabled? I have installed CS-Cart dozens of times with and without sample data and know it works well.
    – Anagio
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 17:50
  • It's the default data that the latest version ships with. I didn't modify the stock data or visibility, nothing crucial like that. But I'll look it up. I don't even know how did the highlight come in. noob.hu/2012/03/12/toothpaste.jpg
    – Apache
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 17:52
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If you're OK with learning a new system and potentially hiring a developer for custom functionality, try out Magento. In my opinion, it's the best around.

It's default import/export functionality isn't that great, but can do most everything you're looking for. Instead of using the built-in functionality try Magmi with Magento. It will load thousands of products in seconds, and can be completely customized to download product CSV, reformat, and update products automatically.

Try it out, you won't be disappointed. Unless you're looking for a turnkey solution. If that's the case I would stay away from Magento. It's a steep learning curve for the non-technical.

If you're not convinced check out some of the brands that are using it: http://www.magentocommerce.com/showcase

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  • I'll take a look right after I checked CS-Cart. Ty.
    – Apache
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 17:57
  • No problem. Feel free to follow up if you have any snags with it.
    – SEO
    Commented Mar 13, 2012 at 19:42

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