Mercantec Since 1995, the Web's E-Commerce Pioneer Thank you for using Mercantec's E-Commerce Express the world's first FREE shopping cart. This guide is designed to get you up and running in 5 minutes with the following 3 quick and easy steps: Step 1: Add your Items Tell E-Commerce Express what you are selling. Items can be products, services or anything that will cause someone to send money to you. Step 2: How do you want to get paid? Tell E-Commerce Express how your customers will pay. Options include: Credit Cards (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, etc.) PayPal Amazon Google Checkout Direct Order (cash or check) Step 3: Finalize your online store Whether you have an existing web site or you want Mercantec to host your online store, E-Commerce Express generates the needed pieces such as: Buy It Now buttons Instant Storefront Shopping Cart That's all there is to it. Step-by-step instructions are on the following pages.
E-Commerce Express (ECX) is a free and simple-to-manage shopping cart. It can be used in two ways: 1) display items on your own web site, or 2) have Mercantec host your online store free of charge. To set up your shopping cart, follow these steps: 1. Once you have logged-in to your ECX Account, click on "Items" to enter the products you are selling. For the items you are selling, enter the: 1. Name 2. Description 3. Item Price 4. Shipping Charge 5. Select "Yes" to have ECX create a default product page for the item and "Yes" to allow this item to be seen from other pages ECX creates.
Item Attributes This allows you to create a descriptive list (small, medium, large or red, blue, green) or an area for special instructions, such as a monogram. Click on "(Examples)" to see how each option looks. 2. SET UP PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS IN "STORE CONFIGURATION". Checkout ECX allows you to give your customers a variety of ways to pay, including PayPal, Google, Amazon and more. Select the ones you will offer to your customers and follow the wizard for setting up each of them. ECX has built-in "hooks" to these payment systems, making it easy to add them to your checkout. Note: Payment options can be added or removed from your shopping cart at any time. Shipping If you charge for shipping, ECX allows you to charge a flat rate per order, an amount per line item or a combination of the two. This gives you the flexibility to determine what works out best for you and your product / service. Taxes You can configure to have ECX add sales tax to orders based on your local requirements. Coupons If you want to offer specials or promotional discounts, ECX allows you to do this with the built-in Coupon feature. Coupons are a great marketing opportunity, especially if advertising on a different site or promoting a special to your existing database. Options Here you may personalize your storefront with your organization name and logo, if you wish.
3. FINALIZING YOUR STORE WITH "STORE BUILDER" As mentioned before, you can use ECX to display your items on your own web site or have Mercantec host your storefront for free. Free Hosting of Your Online Store Select Instant Storefront to have Mercantec create and host your store. You then direct customers to your free Mercantec store, such as from your blog or web site. Free Shopping Cart for Your Web Site Select Shopping Cart Snippets (Snippets are short pieces of code) to have ECX generate HTML code that you use on your web site. Options here include: 'Add to Cart' puts the item in their cart while they continue to shop 'Mini Cart' allows Customers to see what is in their cart while they are shopping 'View Cart' Customers can amend/remove items in the cart, then proceed to checkout Create an Order Form for Your Web Site With E-Commerce Express, you can display an order form that contains some or all the items you have available. The code that is generated can be pasted into your web site.
Create 'Buy It Now' Buttons for Your Web Site Buy It Now buttons allow your customers to instantly buy one specific item and proceed directly to checkout. This is a great option for e-mail promotions or specials. Congratulations!!! If you followed the three steps, your site is now set up and you are an active online merchant. E-Commerce Express has additional features that further enhance the online experience for you and your customers. Examples include: Google Base functionality enables you to list your items on Google. Set up ECX to list your items on ebay. Order Download module enables more robust reporting for importing to popular accounting programs such as Quickbooks or MS Money. Shipping module gives you flexibility to offer various promotions and incentives concerning shipping charges. It is for these reasons that our users feel that E-Commerce Express is the most robust free shopping cart available. Comments and feedback are always welcome. If you need help with any advanced features of your free shopping cart, please call us at 630-305-3200 or visit /Consulting for more information. Happy Selling!