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HOME · Saturday, July 5, 2008
Mistakes That Kill
My Renewed Affinity for Miva Merchant
MIVA, Inc. nearly ran the Miva Merchant shopping cart right into the ground. The new owners are like a breath of fresh air.
Those who’ve studied the stock of MIVA, Inc. have a decent idea of the company’s lack of understanding when it comes to providing services people want and need. Their lack of support of the Miva Merchant shopping cart probably didn’t play much of a role when it came to stock prices, but it certainly hit users’ and partners’ wallets just the same. Until last August, we were convinced this once-great shopping cart had no real future. Then, like knights in shining armor, came two people who saw the ‘endless possibilities’ many of us already new. They set out to make it one of the best carts on the market, and they’re off to a good start.
This past weekend I sat amongst nearly 300 Miva Merchant users, developers and partners, listening to the new owners of the ecommerce software talk about the immediate changes being made since acquiring the shopping cart software this past August, and the plans to take the product to a competitive level. Those involved in third-party development, along with users of the software had reached the point of (presumptively) no return, as Miva Inc (formerly FindWhat) dragged the shopping cart software into an abyss—from which many of us feared it would never emerge.
Those who read my weekly blog at this site have learned my story about the financial and functional duress my company endured as a result of not paying close enough attention to the people I selected to get the job done. What I haven’t shared is the financial struggle many Miva Partners endured over the past few years, during which time the software’s former owners treated the cart like a disposable diaper. Many developers actually moved onto (or at least branched out into) other platforms, including competing shopping carts. Some of us vowed to stick by the Miva Merchant cart—even if that meant we’d essentially rely on the needs for customization and development by even a small number of users.
Back to the bigger picture, and for the reason I feel the need to toot a horn that most professionals thought was so out of tune that attempting to fix it wasn’t worth the time. I am completely awed by what this new company has achieved in such a short period of time.
I’ll admit, I was still a bit skeptical in the weeks leading up to the Miva Merchant Conference in San Diego. I had faith in the new owners, and even our brief conversations instilled belief that their intentions were true—they want Miva Merchant to be the best shopping cart on the market, while also supporting the third-party development community. I have, however, heard such guarantees before, both in past private conversations with the powers-that-be, and at previous Miva Conferences. I can’t tell you how many empty promises were made over the years. The annual conference had, for lack of a better description, become a ritual I performed simply to keep my name on the list of supporters. It was strictly a business move as, each year, I’d spend the better part of $2,000 to attend while progressively meeting with less and less people. (I believe the last conference under Miva Inc’s direction garnered only about 80 attendees, half of which were developers and partners). I, like other developers, come to conferences like this to learn, but also to network and build new business relationships. My annual attendance had turned into little more than a tax write-off.
Until now. For the first time in years I feel like management sees not only the big picture, but also why the Miva Merchant shopping cart is even still around. CEO Russ Carroll thanked third-party developers and partners for not only keeping the software alive, but also noted that had he not witnessed the devotion of the development community, he would have walked away from the prospect of purchasing the software. His bold statement (I say bold because most companies don’t much care for giving credit to those who operate outside their own walls) garnered great applause.
While introducing the new management, Russ called the current Miva Merchant employees to the front of the room. I watched the attendees around me, mouths agape, as a horde of people made their way up. And I realized right then that the statements the new owners were making were not empty promises—in fact, they avoided using the word “promise” entirely. They freely pointed out previous and current problems, and openly conveyed their plans to address such, including bringing support back in-house (done within a week of the ownership change). All I’ve ever wanted from management of the Miva Merchant cart is a commitment to the users and partners. The new Miva Merchant company has committed to more, having obviously invested a great amount in its creation of new jobs for qualified people.
I’d been excited in anticipation of the conference since August, yet held back going public in fear I’d be dodging the bullets of non-believers (their lack of faith was totally understandable); or that I might be forced to eat my own words.
Rick Wilson, Executive Vice President, is the former VP of Sales and Business Development of the former Miva, and he personally watched FindWhat (and MIVA, Inc) consistently shove users, developers and hosts aside, launching ridiculous programs and channels that left those of us in the know up in arms. So-called money makers like Miva Merchant Fast Track and Express never had a chance because the implementation was shoddy at best, and MIVA’s web design outsourcing program was an utter failure. Couple these with the outsourcing of support to India, and by the beginning of 2007, many partners saw only darkness at the end of the tunnel.
Ill-fated attempts to corner the marketplace (all the while further ruining relationships with partners and users) were among the first things new ownership tossed out the window. It was a smart move. Russ and Rick see the value in Miva Merchant and their plans actually rely on third-party development. That’s good news for the small guys who toughed it out and actually kept the cart afloat, as well as for end-users, who can expect to see necessary features rolled out in version 5.5. In addition, with Miva Merchant Payment they’ll be able to provide competitively priced payment services and finally, turn the Miva Merchant product back into a profitable business.
Never have I returned from a Miva Merchant conference so enthusiastic and excited about the future. It will take long hours and hard work on all fronts, but those committed to its success (and that includes the third-party development channels) will finally begin to reap the benefits promised to us in years past.
The ones who stand to profit most, however, are the store owners. With partners now having direct communication with Miva Merchant department heads and developers, along with upcoming features, users can expect to obtain better support and more add-ons, and will have less concerns about buggy upgrades. In years past, it was a constant struggle to keep up with ever-changing software updates and self-reliant workarounds to bypass bugs that went long-ignored. In the not-too-distant future, Miva Merchant users will be able to take those long-planned days off and vacations, without needing to hover over their stores, wondering what’s going to go wrong next. Now, when issues are discovered, they can expect fixes to roll out quickly. Fixes, I’m certain, that will work.
As the ‘08 conference came to a close, I thanked Russ, Rick and the rest of the crew one more time, and took leave for the airport. I thanked them for a great conference (the educational sessions surpassed those of years prior) and for both being open about their plans, and understanding about our concerns. They realize what partners and users have known all along—that the success of Miva Merchant is dependent upon everyone involved. What I really should have said was, “Thank you for buying this company.” And it would have been from the heart, because had they not stepped in, those of us who stayed the course all this time would have had to deal with the harsh reality of the world of Miva Merchant coming to a bitter end.
Comments:
Susan Petracco Says:
March 8th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Pam, you’ve hit the nail on the head. As developers we came away with the same warm fuzzies as you describe here. And our clients who attended the conference have the same high hopes for the company and the product going forward. All of a sudden everyone has an increased comfort level with the future of Miva Merchant, and I think it’s well deserved. Russ, Rick, David, et al, are to be commended for their open and honest approach to the community.
Matt Cotten Says:
March 8th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Very good insight Pamela. Too bad I missed the conference but it good to hear that it went well. I like what the new owners have done with Miva Merchant. Just fixing all the known irritating bugs makes a designers work so much easier. I can’t wait to see the built in SEO, CSS layout, one page checkout and Dreamweaver plugins for 5.5. Keep up the good work and maybe I’ll see you in San Diego next year or they need to come to the Midwest!
Silas Says:
March 10th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I respectfully disagree with your doom and gloom outlook. While it may not be debatable that the new owners provide a laser-focus on MM, the product was nowhere near “the bitter end” before they came along. MM4 is still the most widely used version and MM5, along with its new infusion of revenue for developers, provide steady cash-flow and rock-solid functionality for all involved.
Pamela Hazelton Says:
March 10th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Silas:
Not knowing if you are a Miva Merchant Partner or not, I respect your disagreement. Unfortunately the Miva Merchant shopping cart lost many users over the past few years (PEC reports that there are currently about 40,000 users) - that number is lower than the number of registered installs just four years ago (note that the information was gathered from a variety of sources; though I cannot reveal from whom). The sale of version 4 modules had dropped, because most of the live stores had already installed many modules they needed, and there were less users coming on board.
Scott Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 8:28 am
While upgrading from Quickbooks from one version to another, we had alot of issues with the Miva Shopping cart system. We called Miva’s outsourced, over sea’s tech support and were ready to pull the plug. About 2 months later, we received a call from a Tech Support guy here in the USA named Steve, who literally rebuilt our databases, and called in weekly to check on how it was running. This guy went out of his way, and was ever so pleased to get our 2,000+ products back online.
We are pleased with his assistance.
Thank you for the reassuring article!
Scott
William Dorich Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 9:38 am
“Warm and fuzzies” aside, I declined a free personal invitation to attend this conference in fear that my anger and hostility toward MIVA would erupt into an ugly scene.
I began my Internet business with MIVA eight years ago and remained loyal. I cannot say I received an even exchange. Being screwed at every turn, I remained steadfast and demanded what I paid for. I was probably one of the first users to bitch about the move to India as the worst business decision I had ever seen, especially in light of the fact that Apple had spent $10 million on such a move and decided at the 13th hour to abandon the move. The incompetence in India was apparent from the outset, that is if you were fortunate enough to finally be able to communicate, but stupid managers and faceless voices on the telephone simply ignored complaints. Shame on MIVA!
What really pissed me off was the way in which MIVA ignored ALL OF MY correspondence, every single one of them. I hope the new owners are more sensitive to those of us who make our living on line and who feel betrayed by a company totally out of touch with its customer base.
How about MIVA putting its money where its mouth is by refunding customers like me with six months of fees for being screwed and never kissed?
I do not think I am out of line for demanding more than MIVA promises instead of the sloppy bill of fare Miva has served for a decade? Craftsmanship is described as “Man’s flirtation with perfection.” Companies never succeed 100% but many do succeed by going the extra mile and are eager to help. MIVA does not fit this picture. I have not remained in business as a small publisher for 21 years because I can publish better books; I am in business because of my attitude toward my authors and customers and by providing them with the best possible customer service. The products sell themselves.
You article makes this conference sound like a 60’s love-in. But I am too old and too smart to fall for such show biz. Show me the money! I am sick to death of all of the hype on the Internet of “get-rich-quick” schemes, promises of the best SEO on the market, and the most profitable keyword search programs when the untold truth is, Google will change the rules when any of us get too close to how they secretly function and will move the goal post.
I don’t need empty promises or wishful thinking; I need a company that is there at 10:00 p.m. when something on the site goes bump in the night. I need a company that resolves my problems quickly to get around your stupid programming errors… NOT ONE that then has the Chutzpah to charge me for the technical support for your mistakes!
Wm. Dorich, Publisher
GMBooks.com
Silas Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Mr. Dorich,
Wow - I’m glad you didn’t come to the conference too! In looking at your site, I don’t see enough customization and functionality to justify so much interaction with Miva. I built my store with dozens and dozens of modules and custom scripts with zero interaction with Miva or their tech support. I have 20 times more categories than you do products and the software has *always* done what I wanted it to do with a little time and effort. You’ve been “screwed at every turn” for 8 years and yet still use the product? Have you considered moving on, or do you prefer abusive relationships?
TomC Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I guess one fo the primary reasons I never made the leap to MIVA - though my web host offers it as part of my ecommerce package - is because it seemed as though the development community had stalled out in terms of modules/extensions compatible with MM5. Add to that the somewhat lackluster (or cost-prohibitive) offerings of tutorials, templates and training for MIVA. In short, the whole process was a bit too intimidating and cumbersome.
I actually switched to a Joomla/VirtueMart based CMS system and found that the development/support community was much more robust and, frankly, accessable than many within the MIVA community. This is not to say that there I am still not interested in MIVA - I actually am … and Pamela’s narrative is actually somewhat encouraging. I guess it will have to be a “let’s wait and see” situation with me.
Here’s hoping that MIVA’s new outlook and plans for the future prove accessible for ALL LEVELS of ecommerce entrepeneurs. (Let’s face it, not all of us are code wizards).
William Dorich Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Dear Soilis:
The reason I am unable to leap from one web system to another is that our products are marketed through 25 photography websites around the world and every product we release is coded to those particular sites for affiliate commissions. Every time we introduce a product the data needs to be entered over 80 times.
No one would relish having to set up another website that is this complicated. And, by the way costly. Why not defend my right to get what I paid for, not attack the messenger! Or maybe asking MIVA to do what they promote themselves capable of doing without screwing up my sales and my business is asking too much?
William Dorich Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Silas:
Maybe too, I come from a generation where professionalism, integrity and honor carried weight. You strike me as a 30-something person that does not share in my brand of expectations. I have tried for 4 weeks to add a “terms of sale, policy” etc to my site without success. I am told that V5.5 will allow greater alternatives but where is it? I also tried to add an audio to a product,again without success. Are we talking about the same company?
Silas Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Mr. Dorich, please don’t take this wrong, but there’s really only one way to put it: Your frustration from not having Miva Support hold your hand while you attempt to perform basic tasks is not the same as being “screwed at every turn” is it? If, after 4 weeks, you have been unable to add a terms page, you should seriously consider hiring a capable individual to get the work done for you. Miva provides very capable software but they don’t hold hands and never will. If you took my first post as an attack, you might also want to see a therapist.
William Dorich Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Dear Silas:
People who twist business problem into personal attacks are the sick minds needing therapy. Don’t you think that I have taken my problems to MIVA whose staff said what I wanted to add could not be done in the version of Miva that I have on my site and that I would need to wait until V5.5 is available. DAH! Does that not say something about MIVA’s short comings? Or are they lying to me? I have two people on my staff who are well qualified web designers and who have won numerous awards, I did not just fall off of the damn turnip truck. Since MIVA moved to India I spent in excess of $15,000.00 with three alleged expert web design companies, the last one was iprogrammers who could not make my links and codes with affiliates work… one of my core requirements.
What has become more than apparent in the past two years is that you and so-called “designers” of your ilk are not just a dime a dozen and you are not a godsend in creating web pages, what I have discovered is that most of you are full of hot air at other people’s expense. A pox on all of your houses.
admin Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Alright, alright…
We’re all about the free exchange of ideas here, but I will close comments on this post if everyone cannot get along.
Agree to disagree, please.
Brian Getting
Online Director
William Dorich Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
My apologies for being abrupt. Personal attacks have no place in such forums and sharing my awful experience was an attempt to find solutions, not open myself up to ridicule. I notice too that only 3 people were willing to give their names. Maybe that is why so many Internet forums descend into the cesspool.
Pamela Hazelton Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
William:
I appreciate what you have to say - believe me, I’ve listened to users gripe far worse, and in all honesty, they had every right to. One should be able to obtain the support promised to them, free or pay-for.
However, I would like to add that the Miva Merchant company is not so much a “carry over” from the old as it is a completely new company that purchased the actual software model.
In most such buyouts it’s typical for a company to simply start from scratch and just point the fingers to the past. That’s not what Miva Merchant is doing. They will help get users back on track - they KNOW users have felt shafted, and their staff is very active on the user forums. I don’t believe, though, that they should have to refund money that they never initially recieved (being a new company at all) and certainly didn’t receive in assets in the purchase. I think if you give them a shout (heck, send them a link to this blog if you’d like) you’ll find that they’re more than willing to lend support to their users. They do have pay levels, but the forums are free, and are chock full of key answers from key developers and the Miva Merchant staff itself.
Jean Edwards Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 4:12 am
An excellent synopsis, Pamela.
For small ecommerce businesses like ours, which is based in New zealand - an ecommerce cart, a well-functioning ecommerce cart, is the only way to go. So depits some glitches and complications along the way with Mivs (such as mods that don’t interact well), we’ve happily hung in PURELY because of people like Pamela Hazelton (with her advice, and superb and user-friendly books),developers of miva mods (like Bill Weiland, Kent Multer, and Adam at DesignExtend), and hosting services like Hostasaurus who never cease to amaze me with their swift and helpful personalised responses. And our Miva store is now humming along pretty smoothly to boot. I did have a good look at Joomla- but quickly came back to Miva!
So if the “NEW” miva means these people committed to its success all will finally begin to reap the benefits promised in years past– to make Miva 5.5 superbly #1 - then that’s GREAT NEWS!
- then I am ansolutely delighted
Jean Edwards Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Excuse the typos above (or correct them for me please..I can SEE ‘em but can’t change ‘em!)- it’s gone midnight and fingers are not moving as accurately as they should…BRAIN still working overtime though!!
Back to the Future - Miva Merchant Conference 2008 - The Q Says:
March 15th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
[…] UPDATE: Pamela Hazelton of Design Extend has written an article along the same theme as this one, only better. Check it out. […]
Leave a Comment:
Pamela Hazelton in as ecommerce consultant, trainer and speaker. She is the author of The Official Guide to MIVA Merchant books and additional ebooks on the topics of shopability and security, and speaks at ecommerce conferences regularly. Pamela Hazelton is the owner of DesignExtend.com, a services site with additional focus on the MIVA Merchant shopping cart.
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Luke Visinoni Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Well said Pamela. I believe everybody who attended (including myself) had the same positive experience at the conference. I was trying not to get my hopes up too much before the conference because as you said, all I’ve heard from Miva since it was acquired by FindWhat were empty promises, but these new owners have really delivered.