CityMax Review: E-Commerce (4 stars)

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Good E-Commerce for Small to Mid-Size Web Stores

CityMax has an e-commerce tools and options set that is easy to set up and suitable for most Web stores. ProStores is still number one for having the most tools and options that cover the needs of the most advanced stores on the Web. But most Web stores aren't huge networks like Amazon.com, they're run by smaller businesses that for the most part operate out of a single location. For the most part, those smaller businesses will find themselves well provided for with CityMax.

Easy Set-Up Makes Store Creation a Snap

CityMax has their own fully integrated shopping cart that comes with lots of options that are easier to set up than they are in most other builders. When you set it up, there’s a lot of information to go through, as is usual when setting up a Web store, but CityMax has a step-by-step system to walk you through it.

You have the option to set up merchant account processing (through PSIGate or Authorize.net) so you can accept credit cards.  If you prefer you can set up PayPal or offer both (some builders make you choose one or the other). There are no C.O.D. or money order options but you can have customers email you with special requests.

Easily Set Up Your Merchant Account

You can set your shipping methods by country or state/province (per order, item or unit weight). There’s even a handy UPS shipping rate calculator to help customers figure out what they’ll be paying. You can also set up tax rate by country, state/province or whether or not it applies to shipping charges.

Set Up Shipping for Anywhere

In the shopping cart set-up you can enter your product/service guarantee and your return policy. Not all builders give you this option. CityMax gets you started with a written example to follow. 

There’s even a nifty Express Checkout option. This keeps your return-customers’ information on file so they don’t have to keep re-entering it. A great feature to encourage repeat business.

Catalog Page Isn't Fancy but Does the Job

The Catalog page isn't fancy but it covers the base of product options that are used by most Web stores. The Catalog page has three different page layouts on which you can feature your products. There’s a limit of 500 products but for $1/month you can add more.

Catalog Layout Somewhat Limiting

You can enter an original price and sale price, a full description, summary, shipping weight, and whether the item is in stock. You can also list color and size options. There’s an inventory management tool in which you can have an out of stock message or hide a product if it’s not available.

Catalog Set Up Options

Upload Your Product and Enter Details All in One Place

The product upload process in CityMax is quick and easy because it's all done from the same page. In many other builders, you have to set up different aspects of the product in different areas to the confusion of the store owner. When you create a new catalog item, you simply click to upload the image, enter all the details in the fields of the form, then you're done.

One downside, however, is that you can't upload a number of products at once. This is a time-saver that larger Web stores might want to have to make life easier.

eBay Selling Made Easy with Full Integration

With CityMax's eBay integration, you can easily push the items in your catalog onto your eBay account. You can update your bids, shipping, payment methods and more all from your website. The benefit is that you don’t have to do this set up twice, you just do it once from your builder. Not all builders are eBay integrated, but they really should be since eBay is such an important selling tool online.

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