I certainly would not choose Network Solutions’ for any future e-commerce solution.

There is both good and bad news.

The good news: we did eventually migrate, and there are now work-arounds for the major deficiencies we saw in the newer version of nsCommerceSpace.  Also, the cost of the new version is lower so that it is not so uncompetitive in the market.  Generally, the user interface is better (although very inconsistent across different back-end functions).

The bad news: far and away the worst news is the drop in our Page Rank.  Under the old version, our PR was 4, under the new version our PR is O.  Of course, we cannot be positive the migration is the cause, but we cannot see any other reason for the drop, as the site remains much the same except for specific products being added or deleted.  Also, the timing of the PR drop corresponded exactly to the migration.  There was a concomitant significant drop in orders.

I’m still quite frustrated that Network Solutions refuses to admit that fundamental design issues or usability issues are defects (bugs), which need to be fixed.  Their view is that the product is fine so long as it is working as designed, even if the as-designed functionality or interface is deficient or actively does not meet the needs of their customers.  Without going into great detail, the obvious examples have been mentioned before (and remain unrepaired).  We are a drop-ship seller, and nsCommerceSpace inappropriately forces us to bastardized the manufacturer and warehouse entities in the system to accomplish what used to be available simply within manufacturers.  Similarly, eliminating simple variants (like color: red, blue, or green) and forcing a MUCH more complex form of variants or the use of functionally incomplete personalizations on us has significantly and negatively impacted our productivity.

So, we’ve stuck with Network Solutions’ nsCommerceSpace, primarily because of the prohibitive cost of moving our site to another platform.  While that choice did not shut us down instantly, which we had feared for a while,  the drop in PR and traffic will likely have that effect in the longer term.

If you are looking for a new eCommerce package, I would suggest choosing a different package than Network Solutions’ nsCommerceSpace.

Our move to nsCommerceSpace is scheduled to begin on 9/28/09.  In the end, we made this choice for several reasons.  First, as a Monster Commerce (which was purchased by Network Solutions) customer, Network Solutions provides a migration path to Version 7 that hopefully will be cheaper than moving to a competitor.  Also, Network Solutions substantially overcharges for the older version and has not provided any real support for at least 3 years.

I will say that the Network Solutions team has promised significant help in this migration, for which we are grateful.

We decided the time had come; one way or another, we have to get off the old version of nsCommerceSpace to reduce our cost and have a supported product.  Either we will succeed with the transition to nsCommerceSpace Version 7 or we will determine we cannot do so (in which case we will either be forced to shut down our store or pay $10K+ for migration to a different platform).

I will continue to post updates throughout the migration process to memorialize both the migration itself and our continuing assessment of the nsCommerceSpace Version 7 product.

More updates to come…

Pfizer covers part of your copay ($15 per month, in my case).  Unfortunately, the discount stops when I (or anyone) makes it to Medicare.  I wish my pharmacist had told me about this much earler.

The Medicare site has a moderately useful tool to help you choose a drug plan.  You enter the drugs you are taking, and the tool returns a number of drug plans in your area, including a number sorted by expected cost of premiums and drugs.

While anyone may purchase a Medicare Drug Plan, there is a means (income) test that can effect the cost of the plan.  Largely, these plans divide drugs into three categories, ranging from generics (which have small or no copayment) through “non-preferred” (brand name) drugs, which may have substantial copayments.

I note that there is also a Travour community building on Twitter.

You can apply for Medicare without penalty in a 6 month window (3 months before to 3 months after) around your 65th birthday.  For more information, click here.

Lesson 1: Apply for Medicare as soon as you are able.  Getting your Medicare card will take 30-45 days, and the Medicare card will come with lots of other materials that MAY be beneficial (not sure–I haven’t gotten mine yet).

Online registration for Medicare is not offered at this time; you can register for Medicare by calling 1-800-Medicare or by going to a local social security office.  You can register for supplemental drug coverage on line.  I went to the local Social Security office and was quite disappointed to find that the person with whom I met could register me for Medicare but could not answer ANY of my Medicare questions.

Lesson 2: Always make an appointment before going to the Social Security Office

Lesson 3: Assume the people at the Social Security office won’t know anything about Medicare.

Lesson 4: Register for medicare over the phone directly with Medicare.

Lesson 5: The Medicare.gov web site has lots of good information and a moderately useful tool for determining candidates for Part D (prescription drug benefits) plans you might choose.

Lesson 6: Supplemental medical plans are standardized into plans identified by letters (e.g., A,F, J, etc).  You should choose which plan best meets your needs and then look at insurers serving your area to compare costs and participants’ evaluations of the plans (available at medicare.gov)

Lesson 7: The choice of supplemental medical plans and drug coverage plans is much more difficult than it should be.

Lesson 8: Sign up for Medicare on time.  There is a lifelong cost penalty for not doing so.

This time, I got a response from Ntoh Etta who, it appears, may be taking over the E-Commerce business initiative at Network Solutions.  Ultimately, this resulted in a conference call among Mr. Etta, the Product Manager (J. D. Pohlman), and myself.

Mr. Etta and Mr. Pohlman acknowledged the main problem that prevents us from using the new version of Network Solution (that significant functionality associated with dealing with manufacturers was in the previous version, but not the current version, of Pro E-Commerce), but I still did not get a firm commitment that the problem would be fixed.

I was told that I could continue using the older version of the Pro E-Commerce software as long as I wished.  Since I had previously been told that same fact in a longer sentence that also contained the phrase, “but all support of the product will stop,” I asked about continued support and about the fact that the monthly price of the old software ($700+ for us) appears to be 2 to 3 times more than competitive packages.

I don’t believe any commitment was made to continue support of Version 4 of Pro E-Commerce or to make it price competitive.  In any case, constructive support (for example, fixing even critical and serious bugs) ended a couple of years ago; the only support in recent history has been answering, “how do I…” questions.

I’m encouraged by the fact that Mr. Etta’s responded at all, but I don’t see that any net new commitment to actually solve any of the problems came out of the discussion.

Time will tell…

I use many Google products.  I’m a Google stockholder.  I’m a Google publisher (of AdSense ads)–likely bigger than most.  I’m a purchaser of Google AdWords.  So, in two different ways, I’m a revenue source for Google.

Given all of that, I’m enormously frustrated with Google.  I’m frustrated with the nearly total lack of communication with Google, the unpredictability of revenue streams from Google, and I’m frustrated that my Google stock could be worth so much more if Google behaved maturely rather than as a self-centered, egotistical teenager.

Like many others, I’ve found my Google revenue stream completely unpredictable.  I’ve had revenues decline by 90% for no apparent reason, stay there for a month or so, and then return to their previous levels.  Google provides no help or guidance as to why such an event occurs or how to deal with it.

The Google products (desktop search, etc.) are great ideas that are incredibly unreliable and which have a fatally broken support mechanism.  I’ve given up using most of these products because they simply don’t work.

So Google, please start behaving more like a real business so that my Google stock goes up and my frustration level from working with you goes down!