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octavian
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Hello
I'm sure this has been answered before, but I can't find it. This is what I would like to be able to do. Can you tell me if it's possible please with Marketpress?
Multi-site install:
Main Site has shop that displays selected products from all other shops on other sites within the network. When products are updated on individual sites, (price etc) they update on main site.
Customers can select products from the main site (including products from other sites in the network) and add them to a shopping cart - payment is made through the main site's PayPal account.
Each site has it's own mapped domain and so to consumers is visible as an independent site.
Each site has it's own shopping cart, for just products from that site. When customer checks out payment is made through that sites PayPal account.
In other words, each site is autonomous, but also able to share products on the main site.
xxxxx
The reason for this is we would like to be able to allow consumers to buy multiple products from one site, but also give the sites hosted in the network the choice of taking payments for their own products.
I hope this is clear and that you can help before I get too deep into setting this up.
21521 pointsCommunity rank #0Supreme DeityWPMU DEV StaffLifetime member
Support Kangaroo
(joined March 2011)
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Greetings Ian,
Once again MTB1701 is spot on by pointing out the limitations of global shopping cart with directing you to that post and I will add it is turned on while logged into the network admin dashboard go to --> Setting --> Market Press --> Enable Global shopping cart --> Yes
35 pointsCommunity rank #1726VeteranJust Getting Started
Member
(joined October 2010)
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Hi Both
Maybe I didn't explain this very well.
I have found that when I try to use global products and shopping cart in my main store the following happens:
User clicks on a global product in the main store and they are directed to the sub site for the product. The button by default is "buy now", not "add to cart".
As the sub site is supposed to be seen as independent of the main store, the user now is in a totally different environment with no way to navigate back.
the solution I'm looking for is:
1. Main store has all products from network stores and these can be added to cart in the main store.
2. All network stores are independent and have their own checkouts.
In other words someone could have their own web store within the network and be totally independent, but would have the advantage of having their products listed in a larger store.
****As the sub site is supposed to be seen as independent of the main store, the user now is in a totally different environment with no way to navigate back****
I do not have the other answers that you are wanting, but i can tell you how to let your visitor get back to your main website.
If you go to menu in the dashboard just below the navigation menu choices; there is a option for custom menu. Just type i the URL you want them to return to and give it the name you want. Then place it in the order you want it in the nav menu >> click save. This works well for me when linking multisites and other resources from different websites as well. Hope you find a use for it.
35 pointsCommunity rank #1726VeteranJust Getting Started
Member
(joined October 2010)
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Thank you MTB1701
I know exactly what you mean and have used this on other networks in the past.
The point of this site, though, is that I want each of the sub sites to be independent of the main store. In other words, they exist entirely on their own, but can have the advantage of their products being available in the main store along with other products.
The user need not be aware of the existence of any of the sub sites from the main store and vice versa. This may, of course, not be possible with MarketPress.
From a business model point of view, it means that you can host ecommerce sites which are completely independent, but also have the advantage of displaying their products in a bigger market place. This is a great advantage to many online traders, who suffer from limited products.
Hope this explains better and thanks again for your answer.
Hi! octavian
I have a thread with a similar question.
I am trying to have multiple stores in different languages and currencies and have these stores to use the same inventory. I am looking for a fellow member who has been hacking away at MarketPress for about a month now. I am going to offer him some Rep. Points for a solution to my problem and inform him of yours. He is very busy but want’s the free membership. So he should work for Rep. Points. I will share his solution with you. Mean time I will follow this thread to see if it gets here answered first. Have a good Day/night!
21521 pointsCommunity rank #0Supreme DeityWPMU DEV StaffLifetime member
Support Kangaroo
(joined March 2011)
Likes (0)
Greetings octavian,
Thank you for the additional clarification, it is greatly appreciated.
The point of this site, though, is that I want each of the sub sites to be independent of the main store. In other words, they exist entirely on their own, but can have the advantage of their products being available in the main store along with other products.
This it does without a doubt.
The user need not be aware of the existence of any of the sub sites from the main store and vice versa. This may, of course, not be possible with MarketPress.
Anything is possible - you just need to have the skills and time to make it happen and I admit that I personally do not.
This is the Achilles heal in this model and also protecting you at the same time.
Realize I am indeed on your side and want to help, but there are some very real and important things to consider in any business model.
Example 1:
I purchase from the main store without being aware who it really comes from or is responsible for delivery. My product does not come. I sue you, game over.
Try to explain that this is not your store and you are not responsible to a judge when most cannot even how a simple web site works in the first place.
Example 2:
I am not happy with my purchase and I start whining all over the Internet about how horrible your store is, not the individual vendor that is truly responsible, but your store where I believe I purchased the item from.
So there is definitely an advantage to the end user realizing that it is a vendor and not you directly as I hope that you can see.
From a business model point of view, it means that you can host ecommerce sites which are completely independent, but also have the advantage of displaying their products in a bigger market place. This is a great advantage to many online traders, who suffer from limited products.
This can already be done just not where it does not leave the main store.
So it is my opinion that the only real issue here is that they leave the main store to the sub store to make the purchase or add the item to the cart?
35 pointsCommunity rank #1726VeteranJust Getting Started
Member
(joined October 2010)
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Hello Joe
You're absolutely right in what you say... the big issue is users leaving the store to buy products. Essentially we want a main store that aggregates products with one shopping cart and individual stores with their own baskets.
In our model, each of the products is a brand and the producer of that brand is being represented. This is no different to a large department store stocking products from brands that are also available from independent stores. I appreciate what you say, but we look after a number of ecommerce stores and the in all of them some of the issues reside with the store owner while others are with the manufacturer or producer.
The particular solution we are looking for is connected to the representation of a number of producers who would like to have local delivery to consumers which becomes possible when their is more choice.
the advantage that multi-site would offer is that when each individual store alters price, description etc, this is reflected in the main store and so makes administration much simpler.
each brand is represented in the main store, but also able to have their independence as a stand alone website.
3985 pointsCommunity rank #15Supreme DeityWPMU DEV StaffLifetime member
Support Hamster
(joined March 2012)
Likes (0)
After reading this post and all it's comments, I have come to this conclusion:
What you actually need is NOT a global store, but a store in which all products from all other stores are cloned.
The default MarketPress "global store" is just a list of all the products from other stores, linked to their individual store locations. What you seem to need here is a store that clones each product and adds them to a new "superstore".
Suppose we could do this... hack MarketPress to clone everything in a new "superstore".
When a user buys something from the "superstore", the payment will go to the superstore's owner, but the individual store owner would be responsible for shipping etc.
How would that work?
I'm just trying to figure out exactly what you want to achieve and your business model here in order to find a good solution to your issue.
35 pointsCommunity rank #1726VeteranJust Getting Started
Member
(joined October 2010)
Likes (0)
Hello Aristath
Thanks for your comment:
This really not that complicated, neither is it a unique business model, imagine this situation. The shipping by the individual stores is not important.
1. A store exists to sell products to consumers and has a marketplace in which in it can reach those consumers and deliver to them. (this is the main site).(store A)
2. A number of other businesses also want to have stores to sell their own products direct to consumers. (these are the sub sites) (stores B, C & D).
Scenario 1: - Store A lists products from all the stores (B,C & D) and buys at wholesale price from them. Because of the nature of the product, consumers will add products to their basket in store A from each of the stores. In this scenario they are dealing with store A and make their payment. The products are delivered by store A.
Scenario 2: - Store B lists it's own products at full retail price, a consumer visits store B and adds a product to their basket. This transaction is dealt with by store B and delivered by store B. This consumer is a customer of store B and has no relationship with store A.
Imagine that the product is fruit:
Store A is a fruit seller and lists, Brand B Apples, Brand C Pears and Brand D Bananas in it's products. The consumer finds store A and orders some Apples and some Pears. The consumer is happy, because she has bought her fruit in one store, without having to visit different stores and she knows that this fruit is good because it comes from her favourite brands B & C and the Apples don't come from G who has a bad reputation for poor fruit. (OK maybe the stories getting complicated now). Meanwhile Store B, likes to also sell direct to consumers, who maybe like to buy a lot of Apples regularly and have found his store by search. Store B is happy because these customers are paying him full retail price, but he doesn't have that many of them because most consumers like to buy other fruit at the same time.
Conclusion:
The advantage to the main store is that there is less admin, as each of the products is updated by the individual store owners. If B puts up the retail price of apples, this changes in store A
The advantage to the sub store is that they have their own store, but they are also able to get their products to a wider audience.
The advantage to the consumer is that they only visit one store to buy a range of brands and only have one shipping fee if they visit store A.
I hope this is clear.
Main Store, shopping cart, products from all stores available.
Sub stores, own shopping cart, products from their own store available.
21521 pointsCommunity rank #0Supreme DeityWPMU DEV StaffLifetime member
Support Kangaroo
(joined March 2011)
Likes (0)
Greetings Ian,
Our big issue here at this point in my opinion is that the super store so to speak has it's own cart separate from the sub stores so to speak.
I have indeed run out if ideas or possibilities on a way to make this work without a ton of custom coding.
Therefore I will revert this ticket to a higher authority, I will see if I can get the lead developer in here with his invaluable insight into this plugin for his advice/advise for us.
Though this may take a bit longer then a normal ticket, I will try to get him in here asap.
8421 pointsCommunity rank #4Supreme DeityWPMU DEV StaffLifetime member
Lead Developer
(joined May 2009)
Likes (0)
Currently it works like this:
Users can view all global products on main site, but to add them to their cart they will be directed to the related store.
When global checkout is on, they will always be directed to the main site checkout, where they can checkout one time with items from up to 10 different stores. Paypal distributes that one payment to all the stores.
The other option is turning off global cart, in which they will checkout at each store seperately.
So that's how MarketPress currently works, don't have any plans to change that.
Responses (12)
Member (joined March 2012) Likes (0)
Hi octavian
Here is a thread i found on a google search. It will go into different Payment gateways and other options as well. Enjoy!
http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/topic/how-to-setup-the-global-shopping-cart
Support Kangaroo (joined March 2011) Likes (0)
Greetings Ian,
Once again MTB1701 is spot on by pointing out the limitations of global shopping cart with directing you to that post and I will add it is turned on while logged into the network admin dashboard go to --> Setting --> Market Press --> Enable Global shopping cart --> Yes
MTB1701 Some rep points sent your way
Thank you both for being WPMU Dev Members!
Cheers, Joe
Member (joined October 2010) Likes (0)
Hi Both
Maybe I didn't explain this very well.
I have found that when I try to use global products and shopping cart in my main store the following happens:
User clicks on a global product in the main store and they are directed to the sub site for the product. The button by default is "buy now", not "add to cart".
As the sub site is supposed to be seen as independent of the main store, the user now is in a totally different environment with no way to navigate back.
the solution I'm looking for is:
1. Main store has all products from network stores and these can be added to cart in the main store.
2. All network stores are independent and have their own checkouts.
In other words someone could have their own web store within the network and be totally independent, but would have the advantage of having their products listed in a larger store.
Thanks
Ian
Member (joined March 2012) Likes (0)
Hi octavian
****As the sub site is supposed to be seen as independent of the main store, the user now is in a totally different environment with no way to navigate back****
I do not have the other answers that you are wanting, but i can tell you how to let your visitor get back to your main website.
If you go to menu in the dashboard just below the navigation menu choices; there is a option for custom menu. Just type i the URL you want them to return to and give it the name you want. Then place it in the order you want it in the nav menu >> click save. This works well for me when linking multisites and other resources from different websites as well. Hope you find a use for it.
Member (joined October 2010) Likes (0)
Thank you MTB1701
I know exactly what you mean and have used this on other networks in the past.
The point of this site, though, is that I want each of the sub sites to be independent of the main store. In other words, they exist entirely on their own, but can have the advantage of their products being available in the main store along with other products.
The user need not be aware of the existence of any of the sub sites from the main store and vice versa. This may, of course, not be possible with MarketPress.
From a business model point of view, it means that you can host ecommerce sites which are completely independent, but also have the advantage of displaying their products in a bigger market place. This is a great advantage to many online traders, who suffer from limited products.
Hope this explains better and thanks again for your answer.
Member (joined March 2012) Likes (0)
Hi! octavian
I have a thread with a similar question.
I am trying to have multiple stores in different languages and currencies and have these stores to use the same inventory. I am looking for a fellow member who has been hacking away at MarketPress for about a month now. I am going to offer him some Rep. Points for a solution to my problem and inform him of yours. He is very busy but want’s the free membership. So he should work for Rep. Points. I will share his solution with you. Mean time I will follow this thread to see if it gets here answered first. Have a good Day/night!
Support Kangaroo (joined March 2011) Likes (0)
Greetings octavian,
Thank you for the additional clarification, it is greatly appreciated.
This it does without a doubt.
Anything is possible - you just need to have the skills and time to make it happen and I admit that I personally do not.
This is the Achilles heal in this model and also protecting you at the same time.
Realize I am indeed on your side and want to help, but there are some very real and important things to consider in any business model.
Example 1:
I purchase from the main store without being aware who it really comes from or is responsible for delivery. My product does not come. I sue you, game over.
Try to explain that this is not your store and you are not responsible to a judge when most cannot even how a simple web site works in the first place.
Example 2:
I am not happy with my purchase and I start whining all over the Internet about how horrible your store is, not the individual vendor that is truly responsible, but your store where I believe I purchased the item from.
So there is definitely an advantage to the end user realizing that it is a vendor and not you directly as I hope that you can see.
This can already be done just not where it does not leave the main store.
So it is my opinion that the only real issue here is that they leave the main store to the sub store to make the purchase or add the item to the cart?
Please advise.
Cheers, Joe
Member (joined October 2010) Likes (0)
Hello Joe
You're absolutely right in what you say... the big issue is users leaving the store to buy products. Essentially we want a main store that aggregates products with one shopping cart and individual stores with their own baskets.
In our model, each of the products is a brand and the producer of that brand is being represented. This is no different to a large department store stocking products from brands that are also available from independent stores. I appreciate what you say, but we look after a number of ecommerce stores and the in all of them some of the issues reside with the store owner while others are with the manufacturer or producer.
The particular solution we are looking for is connected to the representation of a number of producers who would like to have local delivery to consumers which becomes possible when their is more choice.
the advantage that multi-site would offer is that when each individual store alters price, description etc, this is reflected in the main store and so makes administration much simpler.
each brand is represented in the main store, but also able to have their independence as a stand alone website.
i hope you can help.
Thanks
Ian
Support Hamster (joined March 2012) Likes (0)
After reading this post and all it's comments, I have come to this conclusion:
What you actually need is NOT a global store, but a store in which all products from all other stores are cloned.
The default MarketPress "global store" is just a list of all the products from other stores, linked to their individual store locations. What you seem to need here is a store that clones each product and adds them to a new "superstore".
Suppose we could do this... hack MarketPress to clone everything in a new "superstore".
When a user buys something from the "superstore", the payment will go to the superstore's owner, but the individual store owner would be responsible for shipping etc.
How would that work?
I'm just trying to figure out exactly what you want to achieve and your business model here in order to find a good solution to your issue.
Member (joined October 2010) Likes (0)
Hello Aristath
Thanks for your comment:
This really not that complicated, neither is it a unique business model, imagine this situation. The shipping by the individual stores is not important.
1. A store exists to sell products to consumers and has a marketplace in which in it can reach those consumers and deliver to them. (this is the main site).(store A)
2. A number of other businesses also want to have stores to sell their own products direct to consumers. (these are the sub sites) (stores B, C & D).
Scenario 1: - Store A lists products from all the stores (B,C & D) and buys at wholesale price from them. Because of the nature of the product, consumers will add products to their basket in store A from each of the stores. In this scenario they are dealing with store A and make their payment. The products are delivered by store A.
Scenario 2: - Store B lists it's own products at full retail price, a consumer visits store B and adds a product to their basket. This transaction is dealt with by store B and delivered by store B. This consumer is a customer of store B and has no relationship with store A.
Imagine that the product is fruit:
Store A is a fruit seller and lists, Brand B Apples, Brand C Pears and Brand D Bananas in it's products. The consumer finds store A and orders some Apples and some Pears. The consumer is happy, because she has bought her fruit in one store, without having to visit different stores and she knows that this fruit is good because it comes from her favourite brands B & C and the Apples don't come from G who has a bad reputation for poor fruit. (OK maybe the stories getting complicated now). Meanwhile Store B, likes to also sell direct to consumers, who maybe like to buy a lot of Apples regularly and have found his store by search. Store B is happy because these customers are paying him full retail price, but he doesn't have that many of them because most consumers like to buy other fruit at the same time.
Conclusion:
The advantage to the main store is that there is less admin, as each of the products is updated by the individual store owners. If B puts up the retail price of apples, this changes in store A
The advantage to the sub store is that they have their own store, but they are also able to get their products to a wider audience.
The advantage to the consumer is that they only visit one store to buy a range of brands and only have one shipping fee if they visit store A.
I hope this is clear.
Main Store, shopping cart, products from all stores available.
Sub stores, own shopping cart, products from their own store available.
Thanks
Ian
Support Kangaroo (joined March 2011) Likes (0)
Greetings Ian,
Our big issue here at this point in my opinion is that the super store so to speak has it's own cart separate from the sub stores so to speak.
I have indeed run out if ideas or possibilities on a way to make this work without a ton of custom coding.
Therefore I will revert this ticket to a higher authority, I will see if I can get the lead developer in here with his invaluable insight into this plugin for his advice/advise for us.
Though this may take a bit longer then a normal ticket, I will try to get him in here asap.
Cheers, Joe
Lead Developer (joined May 2009) Likes (0)
Currently it works like this:
Users can view all global products on main site, but to add them to their cart they will be directed to the related store.
When global checkout is on, they will always be directed to the main site checkout, where they can checkout one time with items from up to 10 different stores. Paypal distributes that one payment to all the stores.
The other option is turning off global cart, in which they will checkout at each store seperately.
So that's how MarketPress currently works, don't have any plans to change that.
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