Sorcerer's Shop - Beta!

Taluntain · Sat, 4th Apr '09, 1:13am

SPS account holders have had access to the shop for a while now during the early beta stages, but I feel that the store is now ready for a more extensive "test drive". You can find it here:

http://www.sorcerers.net/shop (don't forget to bookmark!)

It's been a while since I had anything to do with the Amazon content currently on SP, and this is the reason. The plan, for a few years now, has been to gradually move all of the Amazon lists, links and other content to a proper store front. In the past, I've been listing all of the Amazon content on SP (books, movies, etc.) manually, but with somewhere around 1000 manually entered and maintained items, it's become simply too time consuming to update by hand, not to mention that a manually made selection is always only of interest to a small percentage of those looking to buy something.

The time has finally come to start the migration process to a proper store. Currently, what you see up is already fully functional (yep, you can browse and order anything!). None of the SP-specific content and/or lists have been transferred over yet, and in truth, I haven't quite decided yet how I'm going to do it. That is something that I'll tackle in the following weeks.

For now, however, you have nearly the entire catalogue of Amazon.com's items to choose from. If you can't find something right away, simply use the store's search feature. Currently, Sorcerer's Shop only offers items from Amazon.com, but the Canadian, UK and German Amazon integration will also be added in the future.

Of course, I welcome any questions, comments and suggestions!

Also, to celebrate the public beta of our shop, the first 5 customers to order more than $100 worth of items from the shop will receive a FREE 6-month SPS account subscription or extension. Simply contact us listing WHEN and WHICH items you bought and we'll handle the rest!

Harbourboy · Sat, 4th Apr '09, 5:11am

So no Sorcerer's Place boxer shorts at this shop?

Taluntain · Sat, 4th Apr '09, 3:53pm

Unfortunately not... they weren't big sellers for some utterly incomprehensible reason. We now have plenty of regular boxers for sale, however.

Blades of Vanatar · Mon, 6th Apr '09, 11:11pm

Thanks for getting this up and running Tal! I'm pretty new to the Forums, but i must say this is by far the best gaming site there is. Adding the store is just icing on the cake! Thanks again!

Taluntain · Mon, 6th Apr '09, 11:40pm

You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying the site!

Since there don't seem to be any major issues with the store, I expect that it'll go out of beta in the near future without many changes. I'm still looking for feedback on it, however - the more I get, the better the store will be. So, any questions, suggestions, things you're looking for but can't find, etc. - do let me know!

(Btw, there's a big sale in the DVD/BD section at the moment!)

Taluntain · Fri, 10th Apr '09, 5:23pm

Sorcerer's Shop is now out of the beta testing stage and is fully open for business!

*Rotku* · Mon, 13th Apr '09, 12:08pm

Does SP still receive the same percentage of the sales as when you used the amazon.com link before?

Ragusa · Mon, 13th Apr '09, 8:49pm

Hmm, I found a watch I like* on the shop, but it is

not available on Amazon in Germany (Citizen has different product lines in the US/UK and Germany),
Amazon US/UK won't deliver it to Germany, which
means I won't be able to get it, which
is too bad.

Except for that, the shop is pretty cool.

* which means it's cunning design meets all of my apparently impossible criteria: Analog display, easy to read i.e. frugal black no frills dial, luminous numbers, stainless steel case, sensible size and thickness. The so-called 'eco drive' is just a neat feature I didn't ask for. This one here has a superior dial design except for the markers, but the case and strap suck. Why can't they mate it with the case and markers of the watch above?

Well, because they're utter morons, obviously

Now nobody here call me picky. I am just uncompromising in being principled in searching for a functional watch.

Taluntain · Mon, 13th Apr '09, 10:29pm

Rotku, yes, the percentage is the same... in some cases it's even higher, because using the general Amazon link doesn't give us the full percentage, but in the store SP always gets the normal instead of the reduced percentage.

Ragusa, yea, I've been eyeing that one myself as well... with any sort of electronics shipping is usually limited to every Amazon's home country for some reason, which can be annoying if the same item isn't available across all the Amazons. What works in cases like that is to ask a friend or a trustworthy BoM member in the US willing to do you a favour to send it over.

Blackthorne TA · Wed, 15th Apr '09, 4:31am

I own this watch that doesn't seem available any more.

This is a close but not as nice (IMO) version that has luminous hands (no idea why you'd want those unless they were mildly radioactive).

Swiss movement, sapphire crystal, all stainless steel, push-button clasp.

Taza · Fri, 17th Apr '09, 7:59am

What's up with the United States flags?

Make me go seriously wtf.

Taluntain · Fri, 17th Apr '09, 1:31pm

The store is linked to the US Amazon only at the moment. I'll make sure to add other appropriate flags as we progress further.

Ragusa · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 12:58am

BTA,
nice, but I am very puristic as far as watches go. I like black dials with clear, luminous numbers for good readability. The one above is a good blend of commendable qualities in a watch

*Kitrax* · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 9:30am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragusa

Hmm, I found a watch I like* on the shop, but it is

not available on Amazon in Germany (Citizen has different product lines in the US/UK and Germany),
Amazon US/UK won't deliver it to Germany, which
means I won't be able to get it, which
is too bad.

Except for that, the shop is pretty cool.

I ship to Germany! I'm sure I, as well as other SP members, would be glad to buy it here and then ship it to you. I can find out how much it will cost me to ship it to you. PM me if you're interested.

*Silvery* · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 11:11am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitrax

I ship to Germany! I'm sure I, as well as other SP members, would be glad to buy it here and then ship it to you. I can find out how much it will cost me to ship it to you. PM me if you're interested.

Same here love

Ragusa · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 9:27pm

Thanks a lot, I will keep the offers in mind

It just happens that I have already conscripted a friendly hand in this matter. My watch is on its way.

*Chandos the Red* · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 11:25pm

Well, that's cool. I just made my first purchase and all my Amazon nfo was already there in the SP store. It must link through the browser or something...but it was a snap.

Taluntain · Tue, 21st Apr '09, 11:41pm

The SP store is in essence a local Amazon shopping cart... you make the purchase selection here, but once you've got everything in the cart and proceed to check-out, Amazon takes over (you continue on Amazon's site). If you don't have an Amazon account yet you open one at that point, but if you already have an account, you just proceed with the check-out. So SP never sees or stores any customers' private info - this all remains solely on Amazon's end, so it's completely safe and confidential.

Thanks for buying via our store!

Jazhara7 · Tue, 1st Sep '09, 11:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taluntain

The SP store is in essence a local Amazon shopping cart... you make the purchase selection here, but once you've got everything in the cart and proceed to check-out, Amazon takes over (you continue on Amazon's site). If you don't have an Amazon account yet you open one at that point, but if you already have an account, you just proceed with the check-out. So SP never sees or stores any customers' private info - this all remains solely on Amazon's end, so it's completely safe and confidential.

Thanks for buying via our store!

I *had* been wondering where I landed when Whitney Houston looked back at me after clicking that link. O.o

Taluntain · Tue, 1st Sep '09, 11:30pm

Better now?

Jazhara7 · Wed, 2nd Sep '09, 10:27am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taluntain

Better now?

Much better!

*Triactus* · Thu, 3rd Sep '09, 4:42am

I tried to buy Dragonage : Origins, but it says it can't be sent to my adress. Is it because it hasn't been released yet? I was under the impression that you could reserve a copy by pre-buying the game...

Taluntain · Thu, 3rd Sep '09, 5:55pm

Unfortunately, DA isn't available for shipping outside the US by Amazon.com and Amazon.ca doesn't have it listed yet...

*Triactus* · Fri, 4th Sep '09, 12:59am

Ah, I see... It's a shame though. I just hope that amazon.ca will have a pre-order version soon! I would hate to buy it in a store when I can buy it at SP!

Taluntain · Fri, 4th Sep '09, 1:24am

You're looking for the PC version, right? I check every other week or so to see if the Canadian Amazon has added it yet. They've finally added the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, but still no PC version.

Sat, 4th Apr '09, 1:13am	#1
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Sorcerer's Shop - Beta! SPS account holders have had access to the shop for a while now during the early beta stages, but I feel that the store is now ready for a more extensive "test drive". You can find it here: http://www.sorcerers.net/shop (don't forget to bookmark!) It's been a while since I had anything to do with the Amazon content currently on SP, and this is the reason. The plan, for a few years now, has been to gradually move all of the Amazon lists, links and other content to a proper store front. In the past, I've been listing all of the Amazon content on SP (books, movies, etc.) manually, but with somewhere around 1000 manually entered and maintained items, it's become simply too time consuming to update by hand, not to mention that a manually made selection is always only of interest to a small percentage of those looking to buy something. The time has finally come to start the migration process to a proper store. Currently, what you see up is already fully functional (yep, you can browse and order anything!). None of the SP-specific content and/or lists have been transferred over yet, and in truth, I haven't quite decided yet how I'm going to do it. That is something that I'll tackle in the following weeks. For now, however, you have nearly the entire catalogue of Amazon.com's items to choose from. If you can't find something right away, simply use the store's search feature. Currently, Sorcerer's Shop only offers items from Amazon.com, but the Canadian, UK and German Amazon integration will also be added in the future. Of course, I welcome any questions, comments and suggestions! Also, to celebrate the public beta of our shop, the first 5 customers to order more than $100 worth of items from the shop will receive a FREE 6-month SPS account subscription or extension. Simply contact us listing WHEN and WHICH items you bought and we'll handle the rest!
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Sat, 4th Apr '09, 3:53pm	#3
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Unfortunately not... they weren't big sellers for some utterly incomprehensible reason. We now have plenty of regular boxers for sale, however.
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Mon, 6th Apr '09, 11:11pm	#4
Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Rockford, Illinois Age: 36 Posts: 1,253 Rep Power: 10	Thanks for getting this up and running Tal! I'm pretty new to the Forums, but i must say this is by far the best gaming site there is. Adding the store is just icing on the cake! Thanks again!
	__________________ Bad decisions make good stories.

Mon, 6th Apr '09, 11:40pm	#5
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying the site! Since there don't seem to be any major issues with the store, I expect that it'll go out of beta in the near future without many changes. I'm still looking for feedback on it, however - the more I get, the better the store will be. So, any questions, suggestions, things you're looking for but can't find, etc. - do let me know! (Btw, there's a big sale in the DVD/BD section at the moment!)
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Fri, 10th Apr '09, 5:23pm	#6
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Sorcerer's Shop is now out of the beta testing stage and is fully open for business!
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Sat, 4th Apr '09, 5:11am	#2
Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Join Date: May 2003 Location: North Harbour Posts: 12,251 Rep Power: 20	So no Sorcerer's Place boxer shorts at this shop?

Mon, 13th Apr '09, 12:08pm	#7
Rotku SPS Account Holder I believe I can fly Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 21 Posts: 2,848 Rep Power: 9	Does SP still receive the same percentage of the sales as when you used the amazon.com link before?
	__________________ I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions. ~ Robert Anton Wilson

Mon, 13th Apr '09, 8:49pm	#8
Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: ... this world, where reality beats satire ... Posts: 7,671 Rep Power: 27	Hmm, I found a watch I like* on the shop, but it is not available on Amazon in Germany (Citizen has different product lines in the US/UK and Germany), Amazon US/UK won't deliver it to Germany, which means I won't be able to get it, which is too bad. Except for that, the shop is pretty cool. * which means it's cunning design meets all of my apparently impossible criteria: Analog display, easy to read i.e. frugal black no frills dial, luminous numbers, stainless steel case, sensible size and thickness. The so-called 'eco drive' is just a neat feature I didn't ask for. This one here has a superior dial design except for the markers, but the case and strap suck. Why can't they mate it with the case and markers of the watch above? Well, because they're utter morons, obviously Now nobody here call me picky. I am just uncompromising in being principled in searching for a functional watch.
	Last edited by Ragusa; Mon, 13th Apr '09 at 9:05pm.

Mon, 13th Apr '09, 10:29pm	#9
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Rotku, yes, the percentage is the same... in some cases it's even higher, because using the general Amazon link doesn't give us the full percentage, but in the store SP always gets the normal instead of the reduced percentage. Ragusa, yea, I've been eyeing that one myself as well... with any sort of electronics shipping is usually limited to every Amazon's home country for some reason, which can be annoying if the same item isn't available across all the Amazons. What works in cases like that is to ask a friend or a trustworthy BoM member in the US willing to do you a favour to send it over.
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Wed, 15th Apr '09, 4:31am	#10
Blackthorne TA SPS Account Holder Administrator Master in his Own Mind Attack of the Tweety Zombies Champion! Balloon Bomber Champion! Barrel Jumper Champion! Belter Champion! Birdy Champion! Blast the Enemy Champion! Bubbles Champion! Color Boxes Champion! Counterstrike Champion! DTunnel Champion! Emergency Champion! Fishy Champion! Flying Plane Champion! Galagon 2004 Champion! Grand Slam Shredder Champion! Helicopter Champion! Home Run Champion! Jackhammer Rampage Champion! Micro Machines Champion! Moon Lander Champion! Odd World Champion! Panic Room Champion! Pingu Sports! Champion! Sheep Dash Champion! Snake Champion! Space Rescue Champion! Starry Night Champion! Straw Game Champion! Ten Pin Bowling Champion! The Viking Champion! Tiny Pinball Champion! Reaction Game Champion! Wilie Coytes Rocket Factory Champion! Tournaments Won: 1 Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: San Pedro, CA, USA Age: 41 Posts: 7,641 Rep Power: 23	I own this watch that doesn't seem available any more. This is a close but not as nice (IMO) version that has luminous hands (no idea why you'd want those unless they were mildly radioactive). Swiss movement, sapphire crystal, all stainless steel, push-button clasp.
	__________________ Who put the rapist in therapist?

Fri, 17th Apr '09, 7:59am	#11
Taza Weird Modmaker Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Finland Age: 22 Posts: 1,312 Rep Power: 11	What's up with the United States flags? Make me go seriously wtf.
	__________________ "When violence doesn't solve your problem, you aren't using enough."

Fri, 17th Apr '09, 1:31pm	#12
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	The store is linked to the US Amazon only at the moment. I'll make sure to add other appropriate flags as we progress further.
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Tue, 21st Apr '09, 12:58am	#13
Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: ... this world, where reality beats satire ... Posts: 7,671 Rep Power: 27	BTA, nice, but I am very puristic as far as watches go. I like black dials with clear, luminous numbers for good readability. The one above is a good blend of commendable qualities in a watch

Tue, 21st Apr '09, 9:27pm	#16
Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: ... this world, where reality beats satire ... Posts: 7,671 Rep Power: 27	Thanks a lot, I will keep the offers in mind It just happens that I have already conscripted a friendly hand in this matter. My watch is on its way.

Tue, 21st Apr '09, 11:25pm	#17
Chandos the Red SPS Account Holder This Wheel's on Fire Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 5,540 Rep Power: 27	Well, that's cool. I just made my first purchase and all my Amazon nfo was already there in the SP store. It must link through the browser or something...but it was a snap.

Tue, 21st Apr '09, 11:41pm	#18
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	The SP store is in essence a local Amazon shopping cart... you make the purchase selection here, but once you've got everything in the cart and proceed to check-out, Amazon takes over (you continue on Amazon's site). If you don't have an Amazon account yet you open one at that point, but if you already have an account, you just proceed with the check-out. So SP never sees or stores any customers' private info - this all remains solely on Amazon's end, so it's completely safe and confidential. Thanks for buying via our store!
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Tue, 1st Sep '09, 11:30pm	#20
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Better now?
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Thu, 3rd Sep '09, 4:42am	#22
Triactus SPS Account Holder United we stand, divided we fall Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Québec Age: 26 Posts: 801 Rep Power: 9	I tried to buy Dragonage : Origins, but it says it can't be sent to my adress. Is it because it hasn't been released yet? I was under the impression that you could reserve a copy by pre-buying the game...
	__________________ "The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy." - Unknown

Thu, 3rd Sep '09, 5:55pm	#23
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	Unfortunately, DA isn't available for shipping outside the US by Amazon.com and Amazon.ca doesn't have it listed yet...
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!

Fri, 4th Sep '09, 12:59am	#24
Triactus SPS Account Holder United we stand, divided we fall Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Québec Age: 26 Posts: 801 Rep Power: 9	Ah, I see... It's a shame though. I just hope that amazon.ca will have a pre-order version soon! I would hate to buy it in a store when I can buy it at SP!
	__________________ "The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy." - Unknown

Fri, 4th Sep '09, 1:24am	#25
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ramazith's Tower Age: 27 Posts: 17,976 Blog Entries: 9 Rep Power: 35	You're looking for the PC version, right? I check every other week or so to see if the Canadian Amazon has added it yet. They've finally added the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, but still no PC version.
	__________________ Join the Sorcerer's Place page!