VirtueMart vs. mamboShop vs osCommerce

[Numa]

Hello, everybody.

I am new in Mambo, Joomla.
Sorry if my question will look simple or not smart.
Currently we operate online store with osCommerce
http://clockdiscounter.com
www.knifehouse.com
www.theframemall.com

After review several article it clear to me that Mambo, Joomla has more options and add-ons then osCommerce.
But what is the main differences that force ( influence) someone to move from osCommerce to Mambo-Joomla.
What to choose?
VirtueMart vs. mamboShop vs osCommerce

Thank you very much for you helps
Numa Grishpyn.

[Eiteall]

I think that it is quite a reasonable question, one that I asked myself a few months back when I moved over.  Here's my thoughts ...

I had an idea of what I wanted the appearance of my site to look like.  My website was based on graphic content, as such I wished a customised appearance and I did not want the cheezy Os-Commerce icons.  I spent an excessive amount of time customising buttons etc. of which there were many.  I also customised and streamlined large amounts of code. This then became a problem as the more tweaks I added and the more I downloaded the more risk of instability.  It also makes it harder to share findings with others.  I found that the instalation of the Paypal hack a particular risk on updating. It got to a point of once the site was stable I did not want to experiment or add updates for fear of the site not working. 

Being graphically minded I wished to change the appearance after a year, it was then that I began to covet mambo and its wonderful templating system. And then I found Mambo-PhpShop - It was love at first sight  No sooner had I decided to make the change, Joomla branched off from Mambo ... and so Virtuemart was formed.

Home is where the heart is as they say!

Virtuemart's modular system makes it very easy to add features. Even hacks tend to be less invasive so it is easier to share bits. The appearance is totally customisable, and there are few default icons.  Virtuemart has attributes and child products for more product options, which adds to the appeal for many, and also Vendor support.

You might also find a difference between the communities. Os-Commerce is a large community with many skill levels, there is sometimes an expectation of php knowledge and responses are occasionally short/rude, but this can be expected with large communities. This group of folks I find have good intentions (waves), there are more people asking questions than giving answers but the community grows every day.  If you find a post not answered it is usually either in the wrong place or needs more description, just bump it to the top and someone will answer eventually 

Comparing the default instalations there is not as many addons for Virtuemart  but in its default state it has a surprising amount of features.  I had a quick look at your sites, you don't appear to have customised to much but you will find that here is no shop by price module for Virtuemart instead it had a order by price function.  I have to admit that personally I miss the Os-Commerce Currency Converter, GV Coupons, and who's online addons. But I am hopefull that at some stage, someone more clever than me will program these for Virtuemart, till then I try and do my bit around here paying my dues.

I have wrote a script for converting my Os-commerce shop to Virtuemart suited to my own needs, which I am meaning to clean up and add here at some point.

[ViperFish]

dmglampers,

You said...

I have wrote a script for converting my Os-commerce shop to Virtuemart suited to my own needs, which I am meaning to clean up and add here at some point.

Any progress on this? Does it work? I am very interested.

[Virtue Monkey]

Ditto here!

[jbomb]

nope... still doesn't work for me.  I have one default shopper group.  One vendor.  and I just added a space in the short description field and it erased the price...

But as I mentioned and want to know is this: is the price field supposed to be blank each time you go into the product page??  This may be the issue.  After all, if it's blank, and you save, then it erases it.  So shouldn't the price stay in there???  anyone??