+1 for Prestashop. We just finalized our first site built on top of Prestashop and it was pretty sweet to work with.
it depends on how IT savvy your are, if u're good, I recomment virtue cart in Joomla, if not, get those tht are free, has all the GUI thr whereby you dun nid any coding at all.
Notes : - tomatocart shouldn't be used for "production" website, as the devs say so far, the development is still very evolving very fast. - Magent o if you're new to coding and you want a simple website done and running without losing time - if you are a GOOD coder and you're ready to spend a lot of time, then good old oscommerce is an option, it's the largest ecommerce solution with the largest community to support it from behind, with uncountable extensions that you may add for your convenience. However, you will need good coding skills and lots of time to fine tune it to your needs, by default the visitor is shown something ugly and basical. I only recommend oscommerce if you have the skills, the time, and you need a powerhouse. - less coding skills and less time required, creloaded is the most buffed up oscommerce fork there is, with whole lots of extensions already pre-built (if you need complex sub-product-options stocks management, they're by far the best)
Yes, though open cart also requires less or nill coding with much more flexibility. Though it is no where near magento. I simply don't like OScommerce interface.
I recommend you complete with joomla virtuemart. I have built several online stores for parfyumi - http://parfumionline.eu. Work very well.
well, at this point, I am agree with both you. Though it depends what you want to sell and how much it is.
I say, relying on wordpress and an extension for the ecommerce solution is a considerable mistake. WP development is fast. Extensions development has trouble following, and you always face the risk of having the choice between - breaking your ecommerce solution because you updated wordpress - keeping an old version of wordpress with known security holes
Try opencart, not bad on all the features that have and some more, customization is also quite easy to get done.
I have tried OS Commerce, ubercart, and Magento, and while Magento is difficult to learn (and theme) at first, it is I think the most comprehensive out of those three that I tried. I haven't really said to myself "wow I wish they had this feature?" because they've nearly thought of everything.