General Questions
Q. I'm not a "techie". Can I still use MarketGrabber?
A. Absolutely! There is no programming needed and we can also provide any other
services you might need to create a complete, fully-functioning, e-commerce enabled web site! We are the only vendor of this type of software that provides a a full line of comprehensive services to help you run your business!
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Q. What can I sell with a MarketGrabber site?
A. Ads (or listings), featured ads, subscriptions, display ad space on your web site, and advertising in email messages you send to your customers. You can also charge extra for items such as photos and a web site link.
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Q. What's the difference between MarketGrabber and other classified software?
A. MarketGrabber gives you more opportunities to sell services to your customers, makes it easier to service your customers, makes it easy to run your web site, and comes with a complete set of services needed to run a "real" ecommerce enabled web site. See
Why MarketGrabber for more details.
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Q. Do you have a bad word filter on the MarketGrabber products?
A. We have decided not to include a bad word filter into the MarketGrabber products because they do not work very well at all and we don't want to compromise the integrity of the software.
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Q. Does your software have any means of generating a mailing list for the registered users?
A. Yes, the admin system allows you to mass email customers and affiliates. In addition, you can export customer data to tab delimited files for import and manipulation with other programs such as MS Word.
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Look and Feel
Q. Can I change the colors, fonts and graphics in a MarketGrabber site?
A. Yes. All colors, fonts and graphics can be changed to match your business. We can also do this for you. See our
Branding Service for more information.
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Q. How hard is it to change the look and feel of the site?
A. Graphics, colors and fonts are all controlled via a style sheet and common "include" files that are used by all pages in the site. Simple changes to these files are automatically reflected on all pages of your site.
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Q. Can you change the look and feel of my site for me?
A. Absolutely. In fact, most of our customers purchase our
Branding Service. We send you a short questionnaire asking about your color preferences, font preferences, graphic preferences, likes and dislikes and we "brand" your site according to your wishes. See
Branding Service for more information.
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Q. Can I change the site navigation headings (for example, change "FAQ" to "Helpful Hints"?
A. Yes. All site navigation comes from common include files. A simple edit to these files will make this change throughout the entire site.
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Q. Can I create new pages in the site?
A. Yes. We provide you with a page template that makes it easy to create new pages using any HTML editor you are comfortable with.
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Q. Can I delete pages I don't want to use?
A. Yes. You can easily remove common links by deleting the links from common include files.
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Q. Can I use FrontPage, Dreamweaver or similar programs to edit the site pages?
A. Yes. Please note if you use FrontPage, to use version 2000 or newer. Older versions of FrontPage make changes to files that cause them to malfunction.
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Language & Currency
Q. Can I use European date formats such as dd/mm/yyyy?
A. Yes, when we install MarketGrabber we set the date format to your preferred location.
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Q. Can I use a currency symbol other than the dollar sign, such as euros?
A. Yes, when we install MarketGrabber we set the currency symbol to your preferred location.
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Categories and Regions
Q. Can I set-up my own categories?
A. Yes. You can setup any number of categories and up to 4 levels of sub-categories. For example: Category=Real Estate, Sub-Category (level 1) Homes, Sub-Category (level 2) Single-Family, Sub-Category (level 3) Ranch Style , Sub-Category (level 4) New. This would then look like Real Estate-> Homes-> Single-Family-> Ranch Style-> New.
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Q. How hard is it to change categories?
A. It's very easy! You use simple data entry screens through your web browser to add, change and delete your categories.
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Q. Can I set-up my own regions?
A. Yes. The software comes pre-populated with all 50 states and 200+ U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more. You can use these as is, or set up your own regions. Note: regions work differently in Real Estate than in other editions. Categories are used to define regions in the Real Estate edition.
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E-Commerce
Q. Can I use Paypal for Credit Card Processing?
A. Yes, Paypal is one of the payment processing options we can set-up when we install MarketGrabber for you. The $199.00 ecommerce set-up fee covers this.
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Q. Can I take credit cards using MarketGrabber?
A. Yes. You can take MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cards, provided you have
Merchant Accounts and a gateway to process the transactions. If you need
Merchant Accounts and/or a gateway we can provide these for you.
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Q. Are credit cards processed securely?
A. Yes. Your site can use SSL to encrypt all transactions. In addition, credit card numbers are not stored in your site, to prevent any risk of theft.
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Q. Are credit card transactions processed in real-time?
A. Yes. All credit card transactions are processed immediately. There is no need for any manual handling of card information.
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Q. What credit card gateways do you support?
A. Credit card transactions may be processed through Authorize.net, PSI Gate (for Canada and U.S.) and Verisign using our standard software. We also support other third party systems as needed such as Paypal, 2CO and WorldPay (for international, multi-currency transactions).
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Q. How long does it take to get a merchant account?
A. This is normally a 1-5 business day process from application to approval depending on the nature of your business and your business credit history.
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Q. How long does it take to get an SSL certificate?
A. This is normally a 1-5 business day process from application to installation and is dependent upon whether your domain name and business name are accurately registered and can be verified by the SSL certificate issuing authority.
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Support and Installation
Q. How fast can you install a site for me?
A. MarketGrabber can be installed in 1 business day or less. Branding usually requires 1-3 business days. Custom programming depends upon the complexity of the requirements.
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Q. Do you provide support?
A. Absolutely. For customers that host with us, we provide support as long as your hosting account stays active. If you are providing your own hosting, support is free for 90 days, provided we are not asked to solve problems related to your hosting facility.
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Q. Do you provide any documentation?
A. Yes. MarketGrabber comes with an administration guide that describes all of the administrative functions of the system. We also have supplemental guides for: using exported data, using ODBC, and using the Windows Scheduler.
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Q. How much does installation cost?
A. Installation is free if you use our hosting. If you provide your own hosting, Installation costs $249, provided your hosting facility meets the technical requirements of the software.
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Hosting, Merchant Accounts, SSL Certificates, Domain Names
Q. Do you provide hosting?
A. Yes. Most of our customers use our
hosting services. You can get more information on our
Hosting Plans by clicking here. You can get an exact price quote for hosting using our
Pricing Wizard.
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Q. Do you provide merchant accounts?
A. We can assist you in getting merchant accounts so that you can take MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cards on your site. For more information see
Merchant Accounts.
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Q. Do you provide SSL certificates?
A. If you are using our hosting, we can provide you with an SSL certificate. If you are using another hosting provider, you will need to get your SSL certificate through them. For more information see
SSL Certificates.
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Q. I don't have a domain name yet. Can you register one for me?
A. Yes. For more information see
Domain Name Registration.
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Q. Can I use my own hosting account or do I have to use your hosting?
A. You can use your own hosting account provided it meets the technical requirements to be able to run MarketGrabber. If you want to use your own hosting computer it must be: Windows 2000 (or greater) operating system, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or greater and have the following components installed: ASPImage, SAFileUp. In addition, you must be able to set read/write permissions on one directory in your hosting account where photo files are written. We recommend that our customers using our
Hosting Service, as installation and support are free when hosting with us.
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Technical Requirements
Q. If I use my own hosting account, what are the technical requirements to run MarketGrabber?
A. Windows 2000 (or greater) operating system, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or greater and have the following components installed: ASPImage, SAFileUp. In addition, you must be able to set read/write permissions on one directory in your hosting account where photo files are written. We recommend that our customers using our
Hosting Service, as installation and support are free when hosting with us.
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Q. Will MarketGrabber work with a Microsoft Access Database?
A. This is not recommend for performance and reliability reasons as Access is slower and significantly less reliable than SQL Server. However, that said, if you really want to use Microsoft Access rather than SQL server, you can with minor modifications to the MarketGrabber code. This is NOT recommended for non-programmers and we do not provide support for problems related to Microsoft Access.
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Q. Will MarketGrabber run on Unix or Linux?
A. No
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Q. Can MarketGrabber be translated into other languages?
A. Absolutely. All pages can be translated into any other languages. All text stored in the database is stored as Unicode characters, which means you can use any language in the world.
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Pricing
Q. Do you offer any discounts for MarketGrabber?
A. Yes, we offer a 25% discount when more than one edition is purchased. To see this discount, see our Pricing Wizard and it will automatically be included in your quote.
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Q. How much does MarketGrabber cost?
A. Licenses are $1,499 - $1,899 (prices subject to change) depending on the features you choose. To see which edition best suits your needs
Compare Editions. To get an exact price quote including hosting and any other services you may require, use our
Pricing Wizard. By using our
Pricing Wizard, you know exactly what the cost of your license and ALL additional services will be to the penny.
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Q. What forms of payment do you accept?
A. MasterCard, Visa or check. MasterCard and Visa are the preferred methods of payment. Recurring charges for hosting are required to be paid via MasterCard or Visa.
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Q. If I buy a license, domain name, hosting, merchant accounts, etc. how do I know what my total costs will be?
A. It's easy! Just use our
Pricing Wizard, and it will produce a detailed quote showing all costs for all services you may require. No other vendor puts it all together for you with one set of pricing!
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Licensing
Q. Does the license allow me to add my own pages to the site?
A. Yes. You can add any number of additional pages to the site that you want.
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Q. Can I remove all references to MarketGrabber from the site pages?
A. You can remove visible references to MarketGrabber from the site pages. You are not allowed to remove copyright notices in the software source code (the VBScript in the ASP files and other files that are not visible to your site visitors).
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Q. Can I buy one license and use the software on more than one site?
A. No. Each web site that uses MarketGrabber must have a license.
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Q. Can I have more than one domain name on my site?
A. Yes, you can have any number of domain names that point to your web site.
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Q. Can I give copies of MarketGrabber away if I do not charge for them?
A. No. This is strictly prohibited by our license agreement.
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Q. I am a web developer. Can I use MarketGrabber for one of my client projects?
A. Yes. However, either you or your client must sign our license agreement (whoever owns the rights to the site being developed) and abide by its terms and conditions. As a courtesy to your client (if you are the licensee) you should inform them that you are using licensed software in their site.
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Q. Can I use some (a part of) the MarketGrabber software on another site? For example, you have some great common code I'd like to use elsewhere.
A. You may not use any of the MarketGrabber software on a site unless a license has been purchased for that site. There are no exceptions.
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Q. Will you host "adult oriented" sites?
A. We cannot provide hosting for this type of site.
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Customization
Q. I have some unique functions I want to have programmed and added to MarketGrabber. Can you do this for me?
A. Absolutely. Many of our customers have us add specialized customizations to their sites.
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Q. How much do customizations cost?
A. This depends on your requirements. We will work with you to create a detailed list of your custom requirements and then provide an estimate for your approval.
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Q. Can you customize the look of my site for me such as change the logo, colors and fonts?
A. Absolutely. This is such a common request, that we provide an add-on service for this at a fixed price, our
Branding Service. See the
Branding Service section of our site for more details.
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Q. Can MarketGrabber be translated into other languages?
A. Absolutely. All pages can be translated into any other languages. All text stored in the database is stored as Unicode characters, which means you can use any language in the world.
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Q. Do you provide translation services?
A. We do not provide translation services.
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Email Messages
Q. Can I change the text in email messages that MarketGrabber sends?
A. Yes. You can change any email text using the administrative functions provided with the system
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Q. Can I send an email to all of my customers using MarketGrabber?
A. Yes. The software gives you the ability to email some or all of your customers in the admin system.
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