I've been using e-junkie.com as shopping cart software for my site FunnyEmployeeAwards.com for six months. After doing extensive research on shopping cart software, I chose and have stayed with e-junkie primarily for the following reasons:
ease of implementation into my current site,
ease of delivering downloadable products (ebooks, software, etc),
As far as I can tell, e-junkie was developed for selling downloads. It really excels in this area, making it as easy as possible to integrate a simple shopping cart onto your site. You simply create an account, upload your digital files, add in the product info, and then e-junkie gives you the code to install the shopping cart buttons onto your site.As for payment, it seamlessly integrates with Google Checkout, PayPal, or Authorize.Net.
When someone buys my eBook, e-junkie delivers the file and payment gets routed to my bank account. I don't have to do anything.
Recently I've decided to sell a tangible good on the site, Funny Trophies. This has been a breeze, as well. E-junkie integrates with the USPS shipping calculator to make calculating tax and shipping via USPS Priority Mail extremely simple.
E-Junkie Cons
However, there are some notable drawbacks for potential e-junkie users. Most notably, e-junkie generates a thank you email for every item sold. I currently sell my trophies in a pack of 10. If I offered them individually, a buyer would receive a thank you email for each individual trophy. So if they bought 6 trophies, they'd get 6 emails. Cleary, that is not ideal. The user forums seem to indicate a change is coming, but no timetable is offered.
And unlike some other more robust offerings, e-junkie does not automatically generate packing slips, invoices, or receipts. PayPal offers some good resources, provided that your customers check out using PayPal. I offer both PayPal and Google Checkout as options, and I'd say 80% or more of my customers use Google Checkout, which as far inferior to PayPal as far as post-sale resources.
E-Junkie Verdict
So what's the final verdict on e-junkie.com? If you have multiple tangible products for sale, you may want to look elsewhere. But as the owner of a site that sells only 3 products, I have been extremely satisfied. E-junkie is absolutely perfect if you have software, an eBook, or other digital download for sale. Try e-junkie today!
Summary: I purchased a top-of-the-line Dell XPS M1330 with Windows Vista Ultimate and all of the best options available including 3-year support. Within the first 30 days the system’s performance has degenerated to nearly unusable, and Dell’s promised “Premium Support” has been a bad joke.
Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor illustrates my laptop’s quick descent into Hell:
I will try to refrain from commentary, and just present the facts. I have only used the laptop for checking POP3 (Earthlink) email and composing MS Office documents (Excel and Word). I’ve installed two programs since purchase, both listed below:
9/26 Ordered Dell XPS M1330 with Windows Vista Ultimate as a birthday present for myself.
9/29 Laptop ships from Dell.
10/2 Laptop arrives and I boot it up for the first time.
10/12 I install iTunes (with Quicktime). No problems.
10/15 I install LoJack for laptops. No problems.
10/17 Outlook crashes for the first time.
10/20 Windows has a fatal error and crashes for the first time.
10/31 Windows starts displaying winrnr.dll popup error at startup and intermittently during use. They are caused by the pre-installed Dell Support software running constantly in the background.
11/1 Internet research reveals many others with windrnr.dll error. No solution found. I try reverting back to an earlier, error-free System Restore point. After that failed to stop the errors, I send an email to Dell Support.
11/2 30 Days after booting up my laptop, Outlook is crashing daily and I get constant popup winrnr.dll errors The system is nearly unusable.
Dell Support sent curt email telling me to run a "System Repair".
I call Dell Support and they tell me that this issue is not covered, then try to sell me a per-incident software help plan.
I calm down and call Dell Support again. This time the representative tells me the issue is covered and spends an hour looking around my desktop remotely. Finally they give up and tell me to call Microsoft.
I call Microsoft and they tell me that Dell should cover this issue since Windows Vista came pre-installed.
I emailed my Case manager from phone call #2 about my conversation with Microsoft, and someone else replies back that this issue is not covered, and they try to sell me a per-incident software help plan.
11/7 Reluctantly, I elect to try and run Windows System Repair. I get an error message that does not allow me to continue. I email Dell Support with one last impassioned plea for help. Dell responds saying to revert my system back to the Factory Settings. I will lose all of my data and restore my system to its original shipped state.
What to do now? I’m extremely hesitant to revert my machine back to its original “pristine” condition. Not only will I lose all of my settings, but there is no guarantee I won’t just relive this situation all over again. I mean, I was getting errors right out of the box.
The culprits for most of the errors seem to be Google Desktop (pre-installed software), Google Toolbar (pre-installed software), and Dell Support (pre-installed software). Even though all of this software came pre-installed and I purchased every Dell Support planned purchased, Dell is unable or unwilling to help. Dell says Microsoft is to blame. Microsoft says Dell is to blame. The consumer gets screwed. It’s win-win for everyone!
Got a similar story to tell? Post it in the comments section.
Before I even got a chance to post about how much I love my new Dell XPS M1330 laptop with Windows Vista Ultimate, I get my first Windows error:
C:\Windows\System32\winrnr.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.
I have found similar error stories from others on the Net, and the stories were all the same: "Everything was working fine... Then I started getting this error message for no reason." Same here. Before the error, I hadn't installed any new programs in nine days. In fact, the only programs I have installed since getting the laptop a few weeks ago are iTunes, Quicktime, Lojack for Laptops, and an update to Windows Media Direct. I checked the registry and nothing had been changed. I just started up Windows and got the error message.
I tried doing a System Restore to an earlier, more error-free time, but no luck. I got the error message immediately upon reboot. And it isn't always in reference to "sprtcmd.exe" - sometimes it's referencing "Google Desktop.exe".
I can get it to go away if I hit "OK" for a while, but it always comes back.
So who among you will save us? Will I be forced to call Dell tech support? Or will someone out there - yes you, perhaps - deliver us from this evil error message?
Lots of people ask where I have my postcards printed. I get ALL of my full color printing services done online through PrintingForLess.com. Previously, I used a local printer and it was a royal pain. Now I upload my files online, approve the proofs via PDF, and PrintingForLess ships the finished product in a few days. It's so much easier and - best of all - a lot cheaper!
Here a just a few of the great postcards they have printed for me:
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Throughout the mid-1990's, I toured across America with sketch and improvisational comedy group Selected Hilarity. We became friends largely through Student Television (STV) at the University of North Carolina before forming the group and hitting the road. Between our collective years at STV, our 500+ shows in 35 states, and various behind-the-scenes projects, we amassed a large collections of videotape - specifically VHS tapes. I've started the process of converting the tapes to DVD then on to YouTube. It goes something like this:
Convert VHS to DVD (real time)
Import DVD into Adobe Premiere (real time)
Convert Premiere clip into MPEG (slow)
Convert MPEG to FLV (surprisingly fast using Riva Flash encoder)
Wanted: Director/Videographer for Concert/Documentary DVD Shoot Event: The Kickin Grass Band Concert Date: Saturday, April 7, 2007 Location: Carrboro ArtsCenter plus in and around Chapel Hill/Raleigh, NC
Summary: Rising Raleigh bluegrass band, The Kickin Grass Band, seeks a creative team to shoot, edit, and produce a DVD to resell at concerts. Requirements include a 2-3 camera live shoot at the Carrboro ArtsCenter (great lighting and audio already in place) as well as a one-camera “behind the scenes” documentary-style shoot backstage. For the documentary, we may also like the camera to follow the band around the day of the concert as they prepare for the show.
Deliverable: One broadcast-quality master DVD with menus ready to be duplicated plus all raw footage. DVD will feature concert footage of 60-90 minutes plus documentary of 20-30 minutes. Would also consider option of documentary interspersed with concert footage.
Request for Proposal: Please email with your interest, capability, experience, and cost. Please note any prior concert or documentary experience.
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