In coordination with Metacoin, we are offering deep discounts on all of the merchandise in our store.  Vouchers start at 0.4 BTC for $10 USD – with the current exchange rate around 14.4, that’s nearly half off our regular prices.

Like anything new, though, our Bitcoin payment processing system is a little bit rough around the edges.  That’s not a bad thing for the community though; we use an SaaS cart called Ecwid. We intend to sponsor the addition of Bitcoin payment acceptance to Ecwid, in time.  We’ll need about 105 BTC to pay for the development, but once it is in place, all users of the software will be able to accept Bitcoin, and the Bitcoin community will have a full-featured shopping cart ready for use.

Using your Metacoin voucher

Your voucher, purchased on Metacoin, is set up as a coupon code in our shop.  Simply shop as you normally would, and upon checkout, enter your code in the “Coupon Code” box, prior to choosing a payment method.

If your purchase exceeds the amount of your voucher, you may pay using either of the payment methods normally available – PayPal (including Visa/MasterCard) or Bitcoin.  Instructions for Bitcoin payment are provided upon checkout.

If your order totals less than the value of your voucher, choose “Bitcoin” as your payment method.  Within 24 hours of receiving your order, we will issue you a new code for the remainder of your voucher.

If you have *any* trouble whatsoever, contact me.  I can be reached on Skype under the username “GadsdenGraphics”, on Facebook, by toll-free phone (888.407.6776), or by email.

Late last night, I put the finishing touches on a small, simple script that allows users with Ecwid Silver accounts to upload their products to Google Merchants on an automated basis.  We’re hosting it here on gadsdengraphics.com, at the following address:

http://ecwid-gbase.gadsdengraphics.com/1003.xml

Replacing “1003″ with your Ecwid store ID is all you need to do to get your properly formatted XML, ready to upload to Google.  Feel free to specify the URL as an automated upload, as it will continue to be hosted here for the foreseeable future.  I’d like to see this feature eventually rolled into Ecwid, at which point I will phase out the script after contacting any remaining users.

There are a few limitations:

• All products are listed as “new”.  Ecwid does not have an attribute for condition, and this was the simplest way to implement the script.
• The store description is currently not specified.  Google accepts the data feed fine, and I’m not sure what it is used for.  At any rate, the Ecwid profile does not contain a text description of the store, so again – it was omitted for expediency.

I have created a project on Google Code for the source – if you’re the geeky type like myself, feel free to download it and use it on your own server.  It has currently only been tested on PHP 5.3.x, but it doesn’t use any features that haven’t been around for a long time.

If you run across a problem or have a suggestion for improvement, you can leave a comment here, use our contact form, or contact me through Twitter or Facebook.

Enjoy!