Hello All,
Not sure if there is anyone left here. After much deliberation I've finally decided to move over to Shopify. The transition will take place in early 2020, after the holiday rush.
The fact that virtually no one is left here helped me to realize that V is all but dead. Last week, V announced that they are bringing on a new CEO, thereby suggesting that its founder couldn't move the ball forward. They are down to 30,000 merchants, 25% off their high of 40,000 merchants claimed about a decade ago.
On the other hand, Shopify reports they have signed up over 800,000 merchants, which, in and of itself speaks volumes about their service. I've spoken to QERetail, the folks that did a lot of our customization, and they are able to help with the migration, at a cost, of course. They'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting while I do any refinements afterwards. It also give me time to play around with a Shopify demo store to see how it differs from V. I've been with V for 16 years, so making a move like this comes with some reservations and a learning curve which I have no choice but to take on. Since we want to offer multiple marketplaces under one roof, thereby controlling our inventory levels and pricing, I feel this is the only way to move forward. V's system is rudimentary at best, a band aid to say they have the ability to support a couple of marketplace sites. Shopify, with the help of Sellbrite, on the other hand, offers true multi-channel flexibility/capability, something online merchants need to develop if they are going to thrive and survive against some of the major sites.
Anyway, I'll run both sites for a month or two concurrently before finally cutting the cord with V some time in early 2020. Its been real, but I've always been afraid of getting an email stating the service is ending on such-and-such date or being sold to someone else with no intentions of upgrading the current system. Sometimes you just need to be forced to make a decision, instead of sitting on the fence forever.
Marc
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