270net Technologies has developed a fully functional, flexible E-commerce product that can be easily customized and adapted to fit your needs.  

Unlike custom-built solutions, this licensed product can be rented at a low monthly rates and setup in your site within a day.

The 270net Technologies E-Commerce Package v4.0

• Customized to fit within your site*
• Web-based store management available 24/7
• Shopping cart and secure checkout
• Customer accounts (customers can login, have checkout forms pre-filled, and get past sales reports)
• NEW! Supports retail and wholesale accounts
• 1-click purchasing for account holders
• Comprehensive 24/7 product management
• NEW! Customer order status tracking capabilities
• Inventory tracking features
• Make products inactive (nice for items temporarily out of stock)
• Select featured product for entire store or for each category
• Unlimited product categories (even sub-categories) and attributes (color, size, etc.)
• Product search capability
• Product images (up to 7 per product)
• Process credit cards in real time or securely collect orders to be processed later**
• Automatic confirmation emails to customers - email text can be customized
• NEW! Customized tax and shipping settings, including support for international orders
• Supports multiple payment options - including PayPal!
• Secure collection of credit card info***
• Extensive sales and activity reports
• NEW! Create promotional coupon codes for customers to receive special discounts
• Future product upgrades and enhancements are included free

Click here to request more information on E-commerce solutions by 270net Technologies

* Package is for 270net hosting clients only - if you are not a 270net hosting client, we can easily transfer your site.
** To process credit cards in real time, customers are required to purchase a merchant and gateway account from an accredited third party.  270net can help you find the right merchant and gateway providers. 
*** Credit card collection using 270net's shared secure server.  Client can have their own secure credit card collection point with purchase and setup of SSL Certificate ($200, $10/month)

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Online Store Management Packages

You need (or already have) an online store.  But you don't have the time to bother with digital cameras, image processing and uploading, and online store management.  Not to worry!  270net can manage your online store for you.  We handle everything, including product images and data entry.  You can choose from one of the Store Management Packages below, or we can design a custom package for you.

Each package includes:
- on-site collection of all required product data*
- on-site capture digital images of products*
- Entry of product data, categories, and photos into your online store
- Maximum 2-day turnaround from site visit to products on web
- automatic tickler to check for new products at monthly interval

E-commerce Plus Package- (One-time product load)

• up to 5 categories
• up to 5 products per category
• up to two site visits to capture photos and product data
• one hour of training on use of Ecommerce module
• Price: $360

E-commerce Deluxe Package - (One-time product load)

• up to 10 categories
• up to 10 products per category
• up to four site visits to capture photos and product data
• one hour of training on use of Ecommerce module
• Price: $660

E-Commerce Complete

• Complete store maintenance - we do everything!
• Up to 4 weekly on-site visits to capture product data and photos
• Create and manage product categories/subcategories as necessary
• Billed quarterly
• $200/month plus $5/product**
• Example: 25 products = $325
• Example: 50 products = $450
• Example: 100 products = $700

* There is no additional charge for travel in Frederick and Northern Montgomery County.  An additional charge of $50-$100 will be added for travel to other regions covered by 270net.  Please contact us for specific price quotes.
** Number of products edited or added during the month

Click here to request more information on E-commerce solutions by 270net Technologies

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More info: Anatomy of an e-commerce solution

Following are typical elements of an e-commerce solution.  270net Technologies can help you implement any or all of them.

Web Site / Email Account
Business Checking Account
Credit Card Merchant Account
Internet Payment Gateway
Secure Transactions
Shopping Cart
Web Site Setup

Web Site / E-mail Account - In the interest of thoroughness, we start at the most basic element. You will need a web site to offer your products and services, and an email account so you can receive information about orders. If you don't have this yet, you're on the right track because you're already in touch with 270net Technologies.

Business Checking Account - This seems obvious and you probably already have one, but it's necessary if you're going to take credit cards online (or offline) because the credit card companies want to do business with businesses.  We should note here that accepting credit cards is not an absolute requirement for doing e-commerce.  You could just accept checks, C.O.D., or other payment methods.  But it's safe to say that you will likely lose business if you are not accepting credit cards because shoppers expect the convenience of using them and they may not take your on-line business seriously if you don't accept credit cards.

Credit Card Merchant Account (CCMA) - This is the account that allows you to accept credit cards.  It can be at the same bank as your business checking account or at another bank.  The advantage of having your CCMA at your own bank is that funds will typically show up quicker (1-2 days).  If your CCMA is at another bank, funds typically show up in 2-3 days.  The potential disadvantage of using your own bank for a CCMA is cost.  There are a number of institutions that specialize in CCMAs and they can be very cost-effective, so it pays to shop around.  (Rates and acceptance for CCMAs depend on credit rating.)  270net Technologies has conducted research in this area and can help you find a cost-effective, quality CCMA provider.

Internet Payment Gateway - Now you have your checking account and you can take credit cards.  It's time to sell on the web!  You have essentially three options, and you can use one or all of them.

• Process orders manually with a credit card machine - You can have orders emailed to you (or have them stored and periodically retrieve them) and then process them manually.  This method has its place, but in the online world it's not the best solution.  The equipment itself is expensive and manual processing is resource-intensive.  There are better ways.
• Process orders manually with computer software - This is a step up from the machine because it's easier to enter orders and software is often less expensive than equipment. But you still have to manually process every order.
• Use an Internet Payment Gateway - This is the ticket for on-line sales.  Combined with your web site, a CCMA, and your checking account, an Internet Payment Gateway completely automates the entire process for a small fraction of the cost of doing it manually.  For a few cents per transaction and a small monthly fee, you can take orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  In addition, you get detailed reports on all transactions - available from anywhere via the web.  If that's not enough, you also get something called a "Virtual Terminal," which serves the same function as a credit card machine except that it's available on the web.  So you can process a credit card purchase anytime, anywhere simply by logging into your web-based Virtual Terminal and entering the credit card information.

Secure Transactions - Consumers expect your e-commerce site to provide secure transactions, meaning that their credit card information is encrypted so it can't be easily intercepted while being transmitted.  They can tell if it's secure by the presence of a lock or key icon in the browser status bar at the bottom of the web page. To have a secure transaction, your credit card form must be on a secure web page that resides in a secure directory on a secure web server.  A secure web server requires something called a Digital Certificate (or SSL Certificate), which can cost from $125 to $900 annually, depending on the encryption level (40-bit or 128-bit) and features. Although you can purchase your own certificate, it is usually not necessary because most solutions provided by 270net Technologies include the use of a Certificate and a secure server.

Shopping Cart - If you want your shoppers to be able to purchase more than one item at a time without having to re-enter all of their payment information, then you need a shopping cart.  Without a shopping cart, the button next to the product says something like "Buy Now" and, when clicked, the shopper is sent straight to a secure order form.  With a shopping cart, the button says something like "Add to Cart" or "Add to Basket".  When this button is clicked, the product is added to the shopping cart.  When the shopping cart is viewed, the shopper is given the option to continue shopping or checkout.  When checkout is selected, the shopper is directed to the secure order form.  Some advanced systems include on-line accounts, order retrieval, pre-filled checkout forms, and 1-click checkout.  Shopping carts range in complexity, features, and cost, but 270net Technologies can help you find the right solution.

Web Site Setup - This is often one of the most overlooked elements when e-commerce solutions are considered.  Merchant accounts, Internet Payment Gateways, and shopping carts are all critical elements to an e-commerce solution, but none of them work by themselves.  Regardless of the e-commerce solution you select, it will take time and effort to "e-commerce enable" your web site and integrate these components with it.

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