So… this is awkward…
It seems that the folks at Volusion have once again introduced a tool for their platform that we’d already developed. Now don’t get us wrong. What’s good for Volusion is good for us, so we’re always thrilled at their continuing efforts to improve what is already the best shopping platform in the marketplace.
But…
We do feel compelled to point out one thing: we totally did it first. Sure, we already mentioned that, but our ego compels us to say it again. We introduced iVoloo (our iPhone-friendly Volusion store) two years ago and we updated it pretty dramatically just last month. All of this was completed independent of Volusion and as a direct result of needs expressed by our customers. Now, in the big scheme of things, does being first really matter?
Well… yes.
While we don’t yet know all the details about Volusion’s mCommerce, one thing is sure: we did it first. First is important because it means that we are capable of creating solutions before anyone else even has the opportunity to publicly recognize the need. First is important because it means that we’re nimble and responsive. First is important because every Volusion merchant who’s been using iVoloo, didn’t have to wait, nor will any new iVoloo customers have to wait for Volusion’s mCommerce beta to be complete.
This may sound like sour grapes (and that may be at least a little bit true), but, believe it or not, we have a great relationship with Volusion. We like Volusion. What’s important for us is that the Volusion community understand that we specialize in the development of custom solutions for all of their eCommerce (or mCommerce) needs. We look beyond Volusion’s limitations to see its possibilities… then we turn those possibilities into reality.
We’ll continue to develop tools and applications to expand on Volusion’s (already expansive) capabilities. Heck… we just introduced a more robust version of RapidCart, even though Volusion already has a soft-add-to-cart feature, just because we wanted to make a better one. We fully expect that someday Volusion will somehow match RapidCart, but by then, we’ll have moved on to another need, a new goal, because that’s what we do. We make the world a better place using every tool at our disposal, like Stephen Hawking or the A-Team.
Tell them bitches….2nd is always the 1st loser….
We have never had a more fiercely loyal friend. Remind us to call you if we ever get in a bar fight.
Hi,
It is good to see Volusion is moving forward in the right direction. As one of the first to test the iVoolo with Brandlabs, the main issue was that there was no way for me to add categories, or product myself. I had to contact Brandlabs to make the change. Which is ok if your products never change. I am very interested in Volusion’s process as to how you add product & categories to the mCommerce.
I haven’t followed up with Brandlabs to see what improvements, if any there is for iVoolo.
Actually, Marcus, we’ve updated iVoloo so that merchandising is now a breeze. You can alter your categories and products at will (adding new products is a snap)… AND you can now include your entire store. No limitations on the number of SKUs! We don’t know what the backend looks like on Volusion’s version yet, but we haven’t heard anything yet that indicates that it’s better than ours… but it will be free, apparently, so there’s that. Only time will tell how this all shakes out…
Interesting volusion announces a ‘beta’ after their competitor CoreCommerce launches their full mobile version a couple days earlier. Volusion always behind.
It’s likely that every mid to large eCommerce platform will be introducing this feature (or something like it) in the near future. We’re not speculating about timing or motivation… we just wanted to say we did it first because we’re wicked awesome.
[...] Volusion, mCommerce and Brand LabsIt seems that our friends at Volusion have once again introduced a tool for their platform that we’d already developed. Now don’t get us wrong. What’s good for Volusion is good for us, so we always applaud their continuing efforts to … Read more [...]