VbShop vs vbPlaza??

[ski-whiz]

I've had vbplaza for a couple of years. I've purchased two licenses with it. I'm VERY pleased with the product, but not with the coder's ability to update it to the latest vb version (aka there's no vb 4.x version). Also contacting him to change anything on the version is impossible.

I'm REALLY impressed with what vbplaza offers for the price. They have a sports icon pack where you can purchase team icon's to display in your postbit. You get say one icon for the NBA, NFL, NBA, NCAA etc... They aren't gifts, but a separate item.

Also, it was pretty easy to work with. It just integrated into my site nicely..

I'm really hesitant about dropping money here (especially since there's no advantage over "Point Market" which is free on vb.org.).

My question is, what are the plans for the vbshop and when can one expect to see a demo etc?? Otherwise I don't see any benefit to vbshop (paid) vs the Point Market (100% free) on vb.org....

I'm all about paying for products, but why pay something that doesn't deliver updates or new features??

I'm not saying to copy vbplaza, but if you check out that shop you'd see it was an awesome product. I'd check out some of his features.

I guess I'm just looking to see what vbshop has to offer for my money..... (besides the already posted "pro" version features; which again Point Market has for free)...

 

[Cosmic]

From our updates section of the T&C/Aims:

Updates
Our aim is to update each product with at least 1 major and 2 medium sized updates per year. This isn't a rule though, and often products get 2 or more major updates a year, and anything up to a dozen medium updates depending on the popularity of the product. On rare occasions certain products may receive less, though this has never happened.

A major update is one that adds one or more large new functionalities (I.e adding an awards component to an activity modification. Adding support for real money to a points modification).

A medium update is one which develops current functionality, or adds some small new features. An example would be adding a lottery and bank to our vBShop modification.

Major updates are often accompanied by a price increase. If you have purchased before the increase, you will not have to pay any extra. We will always strive to give you at least one weeks notice of any impending price increases.

So far we have been exceeding these =)

As a general rule features requested by customers get priority to be added.

As far as other mods go, we don't go out of our way to "compare" ourselves with them or try to copy them etc. We create mods based around the wants and needs of our customers - we find that often other mods will have a lot of features very few people use just because other mods have them - We prefer to add in the features we know people want and will use.

If another mod has more features you will use etc, then by all means going for that mod would probably be best for you if you are confident that the creator will continue to update and improve it.

Let me know if you have any other questions =)

Cosmic

 

[hornstar]

Also here is a demo of the shop: http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com/vbshop.php

 

[Mokonzi]

Remember there is also a Lite version of the product you can try on your own site initially.

 

[Neo_Angelo]

As Cosmic stated we aim to meet the needs of our customers and will always try to help as best we can, vBshops primary function is to act as a gift shop where users can purchase gifts for one another similar to that of vBplaza, vBshop has a wide range of functionalities that allow the Admin to add items into multiple shops and create a number of shops for users to browse specific genres or themes, an Admin can have descriptions of each item with a Large icon (display image) to which the user can see the gift before purchasing it, then once purchased a smaller mini icon (gift) is placed in the postbit. Since vBshop is still relatively new we are looking for ideas that our customers want to see in it, and we've had a lot of feedback regarding features and nit bits to make it better.

You can either test out our full working model here on the site, or download our lite version to try out to see if it is what you are looking for, we encourage you to test our products out because our products aren't for everyone and we like to ensure your money is never wasted on things you don't want.

for a full list of product features please refer to this link: http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com/vbecommerce.php?do=purchase&act=product&id=50

 

[ski-whiz]

I have checked out the version here and have had it installed. I guess the dilemma I'm having is the lack of features compared to what vbplaza has. The only problem with vbplaza is that there is no vb 4x version. That coder is never around. I've paid for two licenses from them too. So I'm rather hesitant on dropping money on something that will end up in a dead end.

The features here are about as basic as you can have. I'm not trying to insult the mod, but I'm just saying if future features and updates aren't timely then this mod isn't anything better than the free version of "points market".

I've been reading all the posts regarding any updates or new features that may be added. I guess I'm on the ropes.

Are there any major updates (ones that add features) to vbshop?

Also, how can I get more "gil" to test out the shop more on here? It's tough to test the user side of "pro" with no gil..

Thanks for listening to me, from a consumer stand point, I'm willing to pay for a product if it's better. I'm just trying to gauge that. Currently (and honestly), this version isn't better than what is available for free. So I'm trying to see what the future holds, to see if that would make this mod worth the money.

 

[Freekoid]

Also, how can I get more "gil" to test out the shop more on here? It's tough to test the user side of "pro" with no gil..

Make some more posts

 

[ski-whiz]

Make some more posts

I knew someone would post that.. However, I have my own forum to post on be at... So I'm only here for product info etc.

I recommend they give new members either cheaper items in the shop, or more gil to start at.. It's tough to play with the "pro" version as it stands..

 

[Mokonzi]

I sent you some... you could charge to seem some post content as well

 

[Cosmic]

I have checked out the version here and have had it installed. I guess the dilemma I'm having is the lack of features compared to what vbplaza has. The only problem with vbplaza is that there is no vb 4x version. That coder is never around. I've paid for two licenses from them too. So I'm rather hesitant on dropping money on something that will end up in a dead end.

The features here are about as basic as you can have. I'm not trying to insult the mod, but I'm just saying if future features and updates aren't timely then this mod isn't anything better than the free version of "points market".

I've been reading all the posts regarding any updates or new features that may be added. I guess I'm on the ropes.

Are there any major updates (ones that add features) to vbshop?

Also, how can I get more "gil" to test out the shop more on here? It's tough to test the user side of "pro" with no gil..

Thanks for listening to me, from a consumer stand point, I'm willing to pay for a product if it's better. I'm just trying to gauge that. Currently (and honestly), this version isn't better than what is available for free. So I'm trying to see what the future holds, to see if that would make this mod worth the money.

As per my first post, there will be a minimum of 3 updates adding features per year, with a minimum of 1 Major new feature (for instance the ability to sell completely customised categories allowing vbshop to be used for things like real world items) and 3 intermediate sized features (for instance the lottery feature). So far our mods are having 4 major and 10 intermediate features added per year, and the 1 major/3 intermediate features are the bare minimum.

vBShop is one of two modifications Fillip H. will be updating next. It will be a major version update and will be accompanied by a price rise (there will be a week or so warning before that happens).

Obviously modifications which have been out for several years (such as vbplaza for 3.x) will have more features - as you have discovered though, the authors actually updating them for new versions (such as 4.0.x) is a lottery with other companies/coders. All of our current modifications have had at least 1 feature-adding update, most have had 2-3 to give you an idea of our updating schedule etc. We have a dozen pro modifications, and altogether approximately 30 updates which have added on average 2-3 new major or intermediate sized features each =).

To the best of my knowledge, our update schedule for adding features hugely outperforms that of any other vbulletin modification company which has more than one professional modification,

Cosmic

 

[ski-whiz]

As per my first post, there will be a minimum of 3 updates adding features per year, with a minimum of 1 Major new feature (for instance the ability to sell completely customised categories allowing vbshop to be used for things like real world items) and 3 intermediate sized features (for instance the lottery feature). So far our mods are having 4 major and 10 intermediate features added per year, and the 1 major/3 intermediate features are the bare minimum.

vBShop is one of two modifications Fillip H. will be updating next. It will be a major version update and will be accompanied by a price rise (there will be a week or so warning before that happens).

Obviously modifications which have been out for several years (such as vbplaza for 3.x) will have more features - as you have discovered though, the authors actually updating them for new versions (such as 4.0.x) is a lottery with other companies/coders. All of our current modifications have had at least 1 feature-adding update, most have had 2-3 to give you an idea of our updating schedule etc. We have a dozen pro modifications, and altogether approximately 30 updates which have added on average 2-3 new major or intermediate sized features each =).

To the best of my knowledge, our update schedule for adding features hugely outperforms that of any other vbulletin modification company which has more than one professional modification,

Cosmic

Thanks, I think that has me more assured this mod/hack is the one I'll go with.

It's just tough, as through the years I've seen MANY paid hacks die.. Most don't survive, and that just wastes money.. Especially when you buy the lifetime license..

Thanks for answering my questions in detail....

 

[Trekkan]

I have no idea if this matters to you at all (depends on your use case), but for me a very important feature of vBShop that Point Market doesn't have, is the ability to allow specific usergroups to even see, let alone purchase specific items. If it's listed and someone has the credits, they can buy it in Point Market, this isn't what I want.

Another part of that is that Point Market only lets you set up two secondary usergroups people can purchase. vBShop is unlimited (in all of it's item settings).

The reason this is important for me is that I run a gaming website. We have multiple games that we're involved in and I have specific people that run these "game divisions". Each of those people have the rights to approve new members, and the change their access levels, but ONLY for their own division and only for what I setup in the shop. They can also remove those access levels, etc. This completely removes the burden of user access management from me and puts it on those who are actually making the decisions. Not to mention they don't need any kind of AdminCP access because of it.

This is the #1 way I use the shop at this time, and all items can be setup this way, user titles, whatever. So the flexibility is something not seen in any other shop mod. That's not to say the mod is perfect, it needs a serious update with the features people have requested as it's lacking in a lot of that area, but isn't lacking in the "power" it holds. It just needs some polish more than anything. But as already mentioned, they are going to update the mod (sooner the better for me) and when they do, they should easily have the more feature rich/powerful shop mod out there.

I bug Fillip H. at least once a week about updating vBShop as I've found it to be one of the most "useful" mods I have.

 

[Neo_Angelo]

Another thing about vBshop is the Packs you can buy for it, if you can't be bothered to make your own we have a small selection of themed packs to use, and this will be ever expanding. so theres always something new. also if you purchased vBshop now you'd recieve all upgrades free for life (if you paid for lifetime) so in the long run might be cheaper for you to do it that way.

We are a strong company and have some really dedicated members and staff to help you, as some mods die i'm sure that our mods will outlive anything you can probably get today, with the support we also give too.