Script Critics » Datafeed Tools

GoldenCan Store Builder Review

Jeff — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:06:39 +0000

If you’re just getting started setting up online stores, or if you only want to test a product on your site, you may want to consider GoldenCan Store Builder for quick set up of stores ranging from one category to multiple merchants.

GoldenCan Store Builder Features

I would have to say the speed with which you can create stores is probably GoldeCan’s chief selling point. The stores are not particularly attractive and can actually look sploggy if you’re not careful.

While it is possible to make some stylistic changes to your store’s appearance which register immediately in the preview the options are somewhat limited. Newbies may find the customization interface overwhelming as well.

GoldenCan does offer Javascript, PHP and ASP.NET code variants but Javascript is probably the easiest for a newbie to implement.

Pros and Cons of GoldenCan Store Builder

Pros of GoldenCan Store Builder

If you are signed up with all of the networks they support, you only have to get approved for the merchant you want to promote.
A wide selection of merchants from Commission Junction, LinkShare, Google Affiliate Network(formerly Performics), ShareASale, and LinkConnector.
Free to sign up with no subscription charges.
Many merchants’ feeds are free to use.
You can get a store up and running in 15 minutes.
There are multiple types of stores you can set up.

Cons of GoldenCan Store Builder

Some of the store types look cheesy as is.
Many more merchants’ feeds cost you every 4th click to use.
Support is slow and requires monitoring and constant follow-up.
It requires another level for all of your merchants which can be cumbersome. You should check the network your merchant is on to see if they provide dynamic datafeeds before using GoldenCan.

About the GoldenCan Store Builder Developers

GoldenCAN Data Feed Integration™, Store Integration™, Coupon Integration™, Search Integration™, Keyword Stores™ and Keyword Category Stores™ allows you to display millions of data feed products, thousands of coupons and recent price drop products on your website from one or multiple merchants, across networks with only one line of code.

Cost and Licensing of GoldenCan Store Builder

Free to sign up!
Some datafeeds are free to use.
Other datafeeds will cost you every 4th click to your site.

PopShops Free Basic Plan Review

Jeff — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:48:28 +0000

Sometimes all you want to do is test out some products without committing a lot of time and money for a full-blown website. This is the perfect time to try out the PopShops Free Basic plan.

Features of PopShops Free Basic Plan

After a simple sign-up process, you’re ready to add products to your website. All you need to do is sign up with the affiliate networks that promote the products you wish to sell, include those items in your PopShops script setup, copy the code to your website and you’re ready to start earning money.

Pros and Cons of PopShops Free Basic Plan

Pros of PopShops Free Basic Plan

Easy to join
Easy to set up
Easy to customize
Can test products in ten different stores for free
If products sell, you can always upgrade your plan to accomodate a full website

Cons of PopShops Free Basic Plan

Free Basic Plan generates a script which is not Search Engine friendly
You still have to check individual affiliate sites for commission reports

About the Developers

Frustrated by how difficult it could be to set up an affiliate site, the developers at PopShops made it their mission to produce a product that would let anybody at any skill level get a shop up and running as quickly as possible. The result is the current PopShops system which accomplishes all of the goals they set for themselves.

Cost of PopShops Free Basic Plan

Free for up to 10 shops
Upgrades available to Pro($5/month) and Enterprise($30/month available
Commissions are paid by individual affiliate networks. PopShops does not take a cut ever

Datafeedr WordPress Affillate Data Store

Kim — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:14:36 +0000

Datafeedr is supposed to be a one stop tool for affiliate marketers who are lacking a bit in technical knowledge, and allow them to build an affiliate store. I say supposed because it is not as easy to build as it is portrayed. While it has some powerful features, in my opinion, you DO need quite a bit of technical knowledge to get it working correctly. Having said that, it is a powerful tool that allows you to set up and manage an affiliate store without having to weed through hours of data feeds and learn a lot of programming language.

Features

You keep 100% of your commissions
In order to retrieve your commissions from all affiliates, you must be enrolled in their programs. Some of these affiliate can be difficult to join, some are immediate.
Very inexpensive to try out
To me, this is a huge advantage to the affiliate novice. A $27 – per month fee is charge per store. If you want to try out the software on one site and see if you can do it, $27 is very cheap!
Seamless integration with WordPress
Yes, it is somewhat seamless, but does take some technical knowledge
Create unlimited affiliate datafeed stores
As long as you are approved by the affiliates, which in the case of PepperJam can be a long, daunting process
Up to 100,000 products can be displayed per store
You can choose to have 100,000 products from one store, or 10 from this one, 50 from that one
No datafeed access fees
You pay the one monthly fee and pay no additional fees for the feeds themselves

Pros and Cons of DataFeedr

Pros of DataFeedr

Inexpensive to start up and try
Full support, members forum and training videos
Zero additional investment for each data feed
Pick your own products and merchants and create pages by merchant, products or categories
Works with just about any WordPress theme
Hierarchy of product categories 9 levels deep
Looks professional

Cons of DataFeedr

Requires more technical knowledge than is alleged
User interface is very confusing and takes lots of “hit or misses” to get it right
Image files can be somewhat skewed based on how the merchant has loaded their feed. This can be fixed within WordPress, but again, takes quite a bit of technical knowledge.

About the DataFeedr Developers

Datafeedr Developers are Eric Busch and Stefan Everaet

Cost and Licensing of DataFeedr

If you have more than one store, the monthly price can get quite expensive.
1 Site Plan – $27.00 per month
5 Site Plan – $47.00 per month
10 Site Plan – $67.00 per month
Unlimited Site Plan – $97.00 per month
Free Forum for Registered buyers
Free Upgrades as long as you pay your monthly fee

Requirements to use Datafeedr

While you don’t have to be an affiliate with all of these companies, in order to get the best return on your store, you really should become a member with at the least the ones I’ve highlighted.

ShareASale
LinkShare
Commission Junction
ClickBank
NetShops (via Pepperjam)
Bridaluxe