More on the shopping cart software. I came across this website, which is effectively the same site I spoke of two posts before. I guess this is their Australian branch. Since, geographically I am definitely closer to the land down under rather than the States, I thought I would consider this site over the former instead.
After all, it still has all I need. A whole suite of services customised for the novice web designer / programmer. The complete e-commerce software would allow Hijab Haven to proudly present it's new store to it's shoppers. Apparently, their award winning shopping cart software will allow premium services to my valued customers - YOU! I am only looking forward to servicing my dear Hijabi Sisters out there. And my other Sisters who are also in the same boat as I am, I am more than happy to provide information such as this on my blog.
So I guess the only issue here would be the pricing - the only difference between the Australian site and the American one. Unfortunately, this is where things go awry. I ran a quick check on the exchange rate today, and I noticed that USD1 is equivalent to AUD1.12. So I was expecting the prices to be rather similar to the exchange rate.
This was not the case, I found that A Shop Commerce is using an exchange rate of USD1=AUD1.45. Perhaps this rate was correct prior to the recent deterioration of the US greenback - I do not know, but the difference is rather substantial, and I am sure that Aussie service providers can undercut this price by far. The only other difference I can think of with regards to this discrepancy in pricing is the the transfer of technology to Australia. I'm not sure - but it is a site worth to look at - it gives a picture of what service providers need to emulate in order to attract businesses big and small.
