1ShoppingCart Review 2012
We wrote this 1ShoppingCart review after actually testing their email marketing software program. We did not test the other components of 1ShoppingCart like E-commerce etc. If you don’t agree with this 1ShoppingCart review or in case you have used it and would like to express your opinions, please provide your comments by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
1shoppingcart Rating
Features: 2 out of 5
1ShoppingCart offers the very basic features including creating sign up forms, autoresponders, segmentation and tracking. If you are looking for anything more advanced, like Google Analytics Integration, Social Media Sharing, Video Messages, then you need to look for other options. There is one interesting feature which they offer and that is pop-up sign up form generator which is the only unique feature that we discovered. Keep it plain, simple and old fashioned – seems to be 1ShoppingCart’s philosophy. The regular sign up forms have a classic look: just simple HTML fields.
Price: 3 out of 5
You can send unlimited messages with a limit of 10K subscribers for their Email Marketing Only plan which is for $29 a month. Pay an annual fee and save more. We don’t know their pricing for over 10K subscribers, because you’ll have to contact them in that situation. Not a bad price, however for the basic features that they offer and their not-so-friendly interface, we think that they shouldn’t charge anything more. However, in case you need telephone support, be prepared to spend another $35. See our comments under “Support” below.
Deliverability: 3 out of 5
Based on our assessment of some of the IP addresses, the deliverability score is medium to high. So you don’t have to worry much about getting your messages delivered to the inboxes and when we say “too much”, we mean that you’ll lose a few to the spam filters. So 1ShoppingCart will need to work more on it. If you go with an email marketing software provider like Infusionsoft or Benchmark Email, you’re looking at higher deliverability scores for your messages. More messages into the inbox means more chances of becoming profitable and not wasting efforts.
Deliverability Scores of 1ShoppingCart's IP Addresses
Newsletter Creation: 1 out of 5
This is probably the lowest score that we have given to an email marketing software. There is no drag and drop editor. The HTML editor is restricted to a small window. Although they do offer HTML templates, it is no easy task to edit them in a small window with basic functions. You would be better off creating your own HTML based newsletter or just taking their template code and modifying it in another friendlier editor. The interface has the older looks similar to a mailing list software interface and is not that intuitive. In case you need to create a custom message each time with a different template and images, you will find yourself spending a lot of time working in 1ShoppingCart.
You can check the spam score of your message prior to sending out your newsletter with their SpamAssassin tool and it works surprisingly fast. You can also send yourself a test message. We were not able to locate an option for the recipient to click on a link so that the message opens in the browser in case it does not display properly in their email program. There is no option to attach social media sharing buttons with your messages.
The HTML Editor of 1Shopping Cart
Ease of Use: 2 out of 5
It will take a learning curve and most likely going through most of their video tutorials for most users in case you want to become fully comfortable using 1ShoppingCart email marketing program. The interface is old fashioned and not Web 2.0ish. So you’ll have some difficulty cruising around and trying to understand things unless you have used similar systems in the past. The tracking reports are text based with no fancy pie charts or graphs.
If you have used other email marketing programs like GetResponse, it feels as if you have gone back a decade when you try using the interface of 1ShoppingCart. So be prepared for the surprise when you start using it.
Support: 2 out of 5
The video tutorials are embedded from YouTube so that they play fast, however they are not too detailed. There are user guides are available which are also not too detailed. Support is available by phone or you use their ticket system to report problems. The phone support costs an additional $34 a month or pay $10 to resolve on issue to its conclusion. Once again, if you don’t feel comfortable using their system, don’t risk wasting time. They guarantee resolution by email within two days – which means if you run into a second problem, you’ll may have to wait up to four days to get going.
Overall Score: 2 out of 5
Conclusion:
Although 1ShoppingCart will suffice the needs of somebody who has the time to learn their email marketing software and can live with their email editors without the need for many features. In case you have your custom templates and ready HTML or want to use only plain text messages, then you can consider using 1ShoppingCart. If you are looking for anything more, you’ll need to look for other options. 1ShoppingCart is basically an E-Commerce solution and many people like that part of it, however when it comes to email marketing, a lot of their customers use an additional email marketing software for their needs, like Aweber, GetResponse etc. The problem of using a second system is that you may need to share the customer’s data with both the systems and transfer your customer’s data back and forth, which can be a pain.
However, if you don’t mind spending more and are looking for an all-in-one solution including versatile email marketing, E-commerce and CRM, you may want to consider Infusionsoft.
Go back to Home Page (Comparison Chart)
Do you like this 1ShoppingCart review? If you don’t agree with this review or would like to express your opinions to help others, please leave your comments below: