IT Ministry launches e-mall - TrolleyMania
A new online shopping mall set up on the initiative of the IT Ministry opened today, featuring 37 shops with over 4,000 products.
TrolleyMania.com, as the venture is called, is aimed at all local businesses which want to venture into the world of e-commerce and start selling their products online, the ministry said,
The project is a public-private partnership between Government and Alert Communications.
IT Minister Austin Gatt said that such an important project should have been an initiative driven by the private sector and not by government. Over the years and through multiple initiatives, the government has encouraged citizens to get connected to the internet and statistics shows that 69% of Maltese used the internet on a regular basis with 99% of them using it from home.
Although 73% of the local online population recently made an online purchase, only 7% of purchases were made through local online retailers.
"We want to change this scenario by supporting local businesses of all types and sizes in their online endeavours and this is precisely what we're doing today" Dr Gatt said.
Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business Jason Azzopardi said that the government was committed to creating the ideal environment for SMEs by giving them the appropriate tools to work with. Trolleymania, he said, was one such tool.
TrolleyMania has offered participating retailers a start up fee of €250 (excl. VAT), a €232 (excl. VAT) fee per annum and a transaction charge of 0.25% (excl. VAT) on purchases.
MITA chairman Claudio Grech said that another eight retailers are in the process of joining TrolleyMania.
"Our initial target was to have 50 retailers by October, 2011, but we will surpass this target much sooner," he said.
He said that meetings were held with GRTU representatives at an early stage in order to explain the concept of the eMall. "We also offered to waive the setting-up fee for all GRTU members and provide free seminars for all their members on how they can market and differentiate their business online.
"Unfortunately the GRTU turned down all our offers and instead suggested having the eMall made up solely of very small businesses. Even though we do support micro-enterprises, such eMall portals need to have a critical mass of various sized retailers in order to attract customers" said Mr Grech.
Last month, the GRTU expressed concerns that the e-mall would not serve to help small retailers, as originally envisaged, but would actually widen the gap between them and bigger businesses.
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Neville Bonavia
Oct 22nd 2010, 07:22
Hi All,
When I read articles in the times, I tend to look at comments submitted by the people and more often then not, the comments are all based on destructive criticism, and trolleymania.com is no less. I work in the I.T. industry and I don't have any connection with the site but when I read how people expected the site to be as powerful as Amazon or Ebay I could not help but put the following points: -
1. Are Ebay.com / Amazon.com / Play.com's budgets the same as trolleymania?
2. The web site is slow most probably because a considerable amount of users are accessing it at the same time. Server power is most probably the issue not the bandwidth, however I must comment that when I started using Facebook, there were times where pages could hardly load due to the heavy traffic. Obviously Facebook must have added additional servers to help cope with the load since then.
3. One must realise that the majority of Maltese users are reluctant to pay online so payment upon delivery is a good option, nonetheless I agree that the site should support online payment / Internet banking options.
Thanks
Charles Grima
Oct 22nd 2010, 09:41
You have quite a number of good points. But this is 2010.
If we, as a Maltese people, cannot accept that Paypal is a very good paying option, then we have no business being in this world. Paypal has a security that is beyond belief, as well as customer satisfaction options...
I understand that we do not have the purchasing might of Play/Amazon/Ebay, whose budgets are many times that of our national budget, but steps must be taken to at least ensure conformance.
To me it is patently clear that those not purchasing online are older citizens....and you can see those queuing outside the banks... And look at your local postie... more probably than not, he has a packet from ebay/amazon/play for either of your neighbours.
But heck, my in-laws don't even accept the fact that you can pay all your bills through the banks' online services. No, they don't even have (or want) a credit card...
It is the mentality that must change....
And an online shop is one that has NO physical presence, and hence lower overheads, translating to lower prices...which is clearly NOT the case here.
Chris Grillo
Oct 21st 2010, 19:29
Well, to add a comment to my previous post, I ordered a book this morning, and it was promptly delivered at 5pm this afternoon....
I must say that THAT piece of work was jolly decent and quick! Great to be treated well, and I think I will make more use of this site....
Kate Portelli
Oct 21st 2010, 18:03
I don't understand what this hoohaa is all about! I visited the site and it looks quite nice. What on earth is your problem guys!? Don't you have anything better to do?
V Psaila
Oct 21st 2010, 18:02
Tidher naqra obsessed int b'TrolleyMania u bil-kumpanija li zviluppata :)
Roderick Micallef
Oct 21st 2010, 17:42
I have tried to use this 'site' to see for myself what is this fuss all about and here are my personal views :-
1. Most of the categories only contain a few items which are found on other categories any ways
2. The 'search' queries do not give relevant answers and are useless most of the times
3. There is no incentive to use this site as opposed to other sites that have the same concept but offer MUCH more variety and better prices
4. Most probably the only valid reason to use this site is to buy or sell second hand items and not new one's, the reason I am saying this is simply because most items in Malta are imported any ways so if you are going to buy something brand new online might as well get it from abroad yourself (as this will most of the time result in a better price) or else simply go and purchase the new item from a retail shop after you see the product and possibly try the product before purchase.
5.If customers really have a trolley mania they would go to a retail shop and not use the net
Peter Busuttil
Oct 21st 2010, 17:08
@ Philip Debono
I think we are saying the same thing but from different perspectives and yes, I agree 100% with what you said in your latest blog. Moneywise, I don't like to do my shopping from Valletta because items are a little cheaper in other towns, e.g. Paola and Hamrun.
Peter Busuttil
Oct 21st 2010, 16:15
@ Philip Debono
L-ewwel nett, iva, dhalt fuq is-site ta' TrollyMania. It-tieni, hija ovja li miniex ser nixtri xi haga minn barra li jiswa xi Euro4 - sakemm insib minn hawn Malta. Imma jekk qrajt sew xi ktibt, issib li fil-kaz tal-laptop, iffrankajt Euro 160 filwaqt li frankajt Euro 337.76 fil-kaz tal-PDA u fiz-zewg kazi, kelli international guarantee.
Philip Debono
Oct 21st 2010, 16:39
Mela qieghed taqbel mieghi!!! Jekk issib xi haga li jaqbillek tixtri minn Malta tixtrieha minn Malta....jekk jaqbillek tixtrieha minn barra ixtrieha minn barra!!
Jiena nonfoq hafna flus biex nixtri affarjiet li jaqbilli minn fuq l-amazon u l-ebay, u bhali hemm eluf. Imma hemm affarjiet li Malta huma l-istess prezz u ma jaqbillix li nixtrihom minn barra. Sfortunatament irrid noqghod ninqala u mmur il-belt jew tas-Sliema, Jekk nista nixtri online minn Malta nahseb nixtri! (Kieku taf kemm nobghod immur nixtri xi present...jien ghazzien!) Issa kollox jiddependi mil-hwienet fuq din is-site!!
M.Cachia
Oct 21st 2010, 16:04
Visit http://www.maltaexpo.com/
This was a venture by the same company that's behind Trolleymania ... it was launched in 2005 ...and is now close to DEAD!!
Why did this same company launch ANOTHER e-mall once the first one flopped?!!
Vincenzo Psaila
Oct 21st 2010, 16:16
Dan x'argument ridikolu hu!
Have you never heard the saying - if at first you don't succeed, try, try and then try again.
Jaqaw int xi wiehed jew wahda defeatist jew? ;)
Silvana Mallia
Oct 21st 2010, 16:24
Since when can a shop owner not open another shop if the first one flops??
Trolleymania looks a hundred times better than maltaexpo!!! Jigifieri they improved it, no?
Plus I don't remember any marketing of maltaexpo (sa fejn niftakar jiena), so I think that if they invest in marketing they should be success full.
Good luck!!
Marylese Casha
Oct 21st 2010, 16:41
I hope you never failed at anything Mr M Cachia!!!
Thank God everytime I failed at something I tried again and again till I succeeded.
M.Cachia
Oct 21st 2010, 16:55
I have no problem if people keep trying till they succeed ... it's a problem if the government throws money at a project that has already failed. This is the typical "welfare state" mentality where the government needs to rescue every situation
You might also wish to try using this "new" website using FIREFOX.
... Click on a menu item on the left e.g. ART ...you can see the paintings for Sale
... Click on HOME
... Click on FLOWERS
... Voila you'll see the paintings for sale
Now don't come and tell me that this is because the site has just been launched. THIS IS LACK OF TESTING.
M.Cachia
Oct 21st 2010, 16:58
Oh an regarding the pint about marketing for MALTAEXPO
YES this was marketed ... in conjunction with a major bank that was a partner in this venture.
One detail I remember were banners in the online banking portal of this bank publicising MaltaExpo and also posters in its branches.
Correct me if i'm wrong but I also recall seeing ads in the papers. Unfortunately social media was not big in Malta at the time so there were no Facebook ads either.
Nikolai Borg
Oct 21st 2010, 15:06
It's a good idea and could be a success if the right retailers got involved. However if it truly did cost 300,000 euros then they should in no way be charging people €500 to participate. The website could not have cost more than €10,000 to create. As is the usual, this government throws money at something or someone without doing the correct research beforehand.
Austin Borg
Oct 21st 2010, 15:24
Vera sal-ponta ta mniehrek tara Nikolai.
Nahseb li int qatt ma studjajt ekonomija (jew ma qadtx attent fil-klassi!!) Ghax li kieku studjajt kont titghallem li jekk il-gvern izid il-bejgh go Malta u jnaqqas dak li jintefaq barra il-flus li investa jgibhom lura f'hakka t'ghajn!!!
Nikolai Borg
Oct 21st 2010, 15:35
Dear Austin, you seem to have missed my point. I agree with the endeavour completely. It's the fact that the government overpaid by around €290,000 in the first place and participants are having to pay €500 that is irritating.
Carmel Briffa
Oct 21st 2010, 16:08
tell us Nikolai - who told you that the government paid anything at all for the development of this site? because the only people who are spouting figures or making such claims are the ones commenting below - there is no mention of any payments in the article above.
M Xuereb
Oct 21st 2010, 16:11
Nikolai, I think you do not know the facts. I was considering tendering for the tender (but unfortunately didn't because I did not have the resources).
There was probably more than one year of programming involved....so no way would anyone bid Euro 10,000!!! Unless they want to make a loss.
The majority of money the government is paying is for advertising and not for the website. If he was paying Euro 300,000 for the website there would have been hundreds of bidders and not just 3!!!
Andrew Mifsud
Oct 21st 2010, 14:50
Why spend 300,000 of taxpayers money? This is not a new idea. The first one I remember dates back 9 years (hanut.com). What is left now is a flower store and a book store...
Mary Micallef
Oct 21st 2010, 15:20
The taxpayers pay their taxes for several reasons....health, education, roads etc etc.
Helping the economy get stronger is another reason the government spends our money. If the money spent by the government helps our retailers earn more money and reduce even by 1 or 2% the money we spend shopping from foreign websites the governent will recoup whatever he spent in a year!!!
Karen Buttigieg
Oct 21st 2010, 12:28
How come that in Malta everyone wishes for projects to fail???
A shop spending 230Euros to have a presence online only needs a couple of orders a month to make it worth it. Everyone wants a personalised service when shopping online, so local traders have an advantage over ebay and amazon. If they give a good service trolleyMania will succeed.
GOODLUCK!!!!!!!!
Peter Busuttil
Oct 21st 2010, 12:13
@Jonathan Mallia
Millions of Euros go abroad for the simple reason that prices overseas are a lot cheaper than here in Malta. I'll can give you a couple of examples:
Four years ago, I bought a brand new PDA with a 1 year international guarantee and it cost me LM210 (including shipping) while here in Malta, the same PDA with the same specifications would have cost me LM355...that's a saving of LM145!
Last year, I bought a laptop, again brand new and with a 1 year guarantee. It cost me Euro 620 (shipping included)whilst from the agent here, it would have put me back Euro 780!
Both items were purchased from ebay and I will continue to buy from abroad until Maltese agents get their act together.
Mario Bonello
Oct 21st 2010, 13:46
Ofcourse there are cheaper products abroad. We are an island with a restricted market!!!
Ofcourse you should shop from abroad if you get a cheaper product with a good service!!!
HOWEVER, by being online maltese merchants would be able to sell to a bigger market (because they can sell abroad).....plus sometimes some stuff can be the same price or a bit more expensive from Malta but with the shipping costs it would work out cheaper to buy from Trolleymania......plus you can easily communicate or pop-in to visit the merchant if a problem arises.
Philip Debono
Oct 21st 2010, 13:49
Dear Peter,
Ma nafx rajtiex il-website. Imma jekk irrid nixtri xi zewg pasturi li jiswew xe 4 Euros kollox tahseb li se nifranka il-flus jekk nixtrihom minn barra?? Lanqas haqq il-posta!!!!
Hemm fejn jaqbillek u fejn ma jaqbillekx...umbghad ara inti. Kieku dejjem jaqbillek kieku kolla jaghlqu il-hwienet ta Malta....imma miftuhin ghadhom...u dejjem jifthu aktar!
John Tonna
Oct 21st 2010, 11:54
Alas my Trolley crashed !!!
Trolleymania Webmaster please note that when I searched for a DELL Laptop I got an error message (.NET) related to file page.aspx.vb line 449 - Index out of range exception
Jonathan Mallia
Oct 21st 2010, 11:47
Good idea this website!!! Pity about Millions of Euros going abroad....shop locally if possible.
Kudos to whoever came up with the idea
Joe Debono
Oct 21st 2010, 11:45
Prices are competitive for some items...other items might be a bit more expensive than amazon or ebay but when you consider sphipping costs they work out cheaper. Plus you can get them in one day, and you have a merchant here in Malta to deal with.
Will probably buy some stuff for Christmas from trolleymania. Fingers crossed.
Rita Psaila
Oct 21st 2010, 11:17
Don't know what you are all complaining about. I have spent a lot of time browsing through TrolleyMania and I found it user-friendly and very attractive. There are books that are cheaper than Play and also electronic items that work out cheaper than the likes of Amazon once shipping is taken into consideration. I bought a pair of shoes just an hour ago and I already got a phone call from the shop arranging to deliver it this evening. Fabulous!
K. Crockford
Oct 21st 2010, 10:27
I must say this is a very very poor attempt on any level, alot of people are saying that this shouldn’t be compared to Ebay and to play.com (both companies have been around for the past 15 years) so in my opinion if you’re going to launch something which is in direct competition to these companies , it has to be much much better or else why would i bother changing ?
also the description on some of the products is a joke, one item costing Euro 40 had written 'A basket with a galore of fruits', ok thanks what are the fruits, not going to pay for something which i don’t know what it includes, another thing why is the government involved ?? i don’t want the taxes i pay to squandered on something which any individual can setup at a much cheaper price and with much better quality!
Oh and get your prices down or else next couple of weeks the only people visiting will be the minister smiling at another failed project!
joe scerri
Oct 21st 2010, 09:12
"IT Minister Austin Gatt said that such an important project should have been an initiative driven by the private sector and not by government"
This is a case of spoon feeding.
J Brincat
Oct 21st 2010, 08:50
Good idea but would the prices be as competitive as those, of say, UK?
Chris Grillo
Oct 21st 2010, 08:49
There is no online payment option? I just tried my hand, buying a book, and after the preliminaries, I was informed that the order will be dispatched.
Okay, you might say nice and easy... but the item will be delivered home at which point I will have to pay for it then! What if my wife pops out shopping? What if (as usually happens!!!) we don't have cash on us, which is hardly surprising in 2010....
PAYPAL PAYPAL PAYPAL PAYPAL... get it? I tried looking for the darned card payment option, but no go....
ALREADY OBSOLETE!!!!
G.Seguna
Oct 21st 2010, 11:57
...pls inform yourself better, not every merchant offers the availability to pay online! it is an option either to offer paying online or pay on delivery.
Charles Grima
Oct 21st 2010, 13:36
I am afraid Mr.Grillo has a point.
I buy loads of stuff online too so I am hardly a newbie. All dealers should have been made to offer online payment. What use is an online purchasing site without an online payment?
And the prices are sky-high!
Silly really....
Charles Grima
Oct 21st 2010, 08:35
Expensive prices...Will keep me informed of how much I am going to save when I buy from ebay.
Until... UNTIL the Maltese shops give us the same possibilities (without hassles) that ebay sellers give us, such as refunding us for an item, then the larger part of us will buy from ebay.
Most ebay sellers these days, for decent sized packages, do not charge you freight. Play is free, and the vast majority of orders arrive within ten days...
I desperately want this to succeed. Good, clear layout, with everything easily searchable...albeit a bit slow....(why?)
The crux is always the prices, and for that thing alone, I give the sellers a good 1/10. Online selling is ALWAYS cheaper.
Ludwig Flask
Oct 21st 2010, 07:06
Just browsed through 'TrolleyMania'. Too way expensive if you compare same products from Amazon, Ebay or other foreign on-line e-commerce site. Most of the latter sites even offer a replacement product with free shipment within a few days without even requesting you sending the damages or defective product back. Some will even you give you credit on return of the product if you upgrade the purchase, whom local supplier does this?
TrolleyMania - not for me!
Max Bartolo
Oct 21st 2010, 00:42
If James Tabone is correct, they could have at least included a favicon for 300,000 euro! (A favicon is the small logo near the title in your browser like the white T in the grey box for TimesOfMalta.com.) What exactly is the point of the government funding this venture at an exceptionally inflated price when other local companies are trying to set up their own ventures with their own limited budgets?
And what sense does it make to have a fee of 569 euro for the first year and 274 euro for subsequent years (according to the TrolleyMania website) for an online TrolleyMania e-shop competing with large companies when many web developers, such as myself, could develop a complete, custom built solution for the particular retailer with the price of approx. 3-4yrs of membership (approx. 1,000 - 1,200 depending on the features required)?
A good idea, but poorly executed and something which should have been left to the private sector alone in my opinion.
Charmaine Marmara'
Oct 20th 2010, 20:43
xejn mogbitni jien , nibqa nuza l ebay u laffarijiet hafna hafna u hafna irhas u bgaranzija iktar serja bhala site
Gerald Mercieca
Oct 20th 2010, 16:02
I agree with James Tabone ... he could not have explained it any better.
In addition ... it's 16:00 now ... and trolleymania is DOWN FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE! Who in their right mind would 'schedule' maintenance of a site less than 24 hours of a launch with bells and whistles???
So, every Maltese citizen paid nearly 1 Euro a head for this dump??
Samantha Sullivan
Oct 20th 2010, 16:02
I recently shopped on www.ooii.com.mt and I have to say that the service is great - they called to ensure that I was going to be home and delivered within 24hours - for FREE!! What more could you ask for?!
James Tabone
Oct 20th 2010, 14:01
Claudio Grech forgot to say that Austin Gatt's ministry is giving 300,000 euroes of tax payers money to Alert - to do the same project that was already funded with EU funds - namely MaltaExpo. He also forgot to point out that the merchants already using this website are carried over from MaltaExpo.
Maybe someone can also explain how the government is giving money to a company to complete against the many other operators in Malta already offer the same or better product? Why is tax payers money being used to damage private businesses and promote the interest of one company?
The tender was also awarded to Alert even though it was 5 times higher then similar tenders. Also - none of the 300,000 euroes will go to the retailers - they will go to Alert and who ever else they represent on this project.
Can Claudio Grech and his buddy Austin Gatt justify this monkey business?
James Martin
Oct 20th 2010, 12:48
ok let me ake a look at this... 12 30 AM
and i get SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE IN PROGRESS BLA BLA BLA!!! LOL very typical..... what a joke for this to be down at this time!
apart from this im not to eager on private/public initiatives as these turn out to be over estimated projects eating up taxpayers money as well as damage the already highly competitive private sector.
ok let me try again... 12 35 AM no luck still down
Regards.
James.
J. Zammit
Oct 20th 2010, 12:29
I totally agree with R.Abela on this! As Austin Gatt had hoped, a solution of the sort from the private sector already exist (recently launched) and even provides better service with respect to delivery and shipping costs. (www.Ooii.com.mt) It's better for both the consumer and the individual shops/brands.
I'd personally much rather support a private local company than make purchases through a government initiative.
If other such local sites existed even before Ooii then I'm afraid I am not aware of them and feel it's a pity that Ooii and other locally based online retailers are not getting the media coverage they deserve.
JAFarrugia
Oct 20th 2010, 12:15
Slow isn't the word, snail pace more like. However as much as i try to buy local, there's no hope in hell you could beat some foreign sites. Supply and demand i guess, but some local businesses need to get this Millionaire in a year mentality out of their heads.
R.Abela
Oct 20th 2010, 10:43
Personally i was much more excited about the launch of the other Maltese shopping Site this Month www.Ooii.com.mt They actually offer free delivery on all their products and in most cases if I'm not mistaken it's next day delivery.
R.Borg
Oct 20th 2010, 10:33
Thank you and Prosit, TROLLEYMANIA!
And by the way, once again Long Live the maltese-gozitan profets of gloom and doom!
j.saliba
Oct 20th 2010, 10:14
The argument is not the quality of the site. The question is why should the gov (with the taxpayers' money) take such initiative?... The GRTU's cold shoulder explains why more maltese are preferring to buy online from foreign sites.
Even moaners have got responsibilities like: fair pricing, honest income declaration and paying taxes including vat. Blaming Lawrence or Joe want make the business flourish. There's no business without initiative and risk.
Claire Zarb
Oct 20th 2010, 09:59
I love TrolleyMania! It looks great :)
R.Sammut
Oct 20th 2010, 09:48
I personally like the idea, but there are some logistical challenges with regards to the product delivery. We'll see how it goes.
F.Stafrace
Oct 20th 2010, 09:35
reading some comments seems like some ppl on here were born walking and talking instantly! don't compare a newly launched products with an existing one (like ebay or amazon) these type of projects GROWS and IMPROVES daily! give it some time to develop! ...and for the haters...get a life, well project indeed! keep it up and looking forward to see it getting bigger.
J. Magro
Oct 20th 2010, 08:59
I visited the site, it is great, considering that this has just been launched! For those comparing it to Amazon and Ebay, I suggest they see what Amazon and Ebay launched with. You can't compare a 'just launched site' to those that have been there ever since we got Internet in Malta. The site promises well, well done to all those who worked on it and let's hope that more local shops start offerring online shopping. It would make our busy lives so much easier.
A Gusman
Oct 20th 2010, 08:46
Mela tajjeb, l-ewwel noffru fondi ghal eCommerce investment imbghad naghmlu inizzjattiva biex titfi kollox. Ahjar website personalizzata milli monti.
a. sciberras
Oct 20th 2010, 08:20
slow site with an amateurish attempt at online shopping, though a very good idea on the whole! i tried to actually buy an item from the gifts section but after more than 3 minutes all i had got is Web Design & Web Development by ******** Ltd Copyright © ******* Ltd, with the rest being an empty white screen.
Is the web company doing it free of charge because their name is plastered all over, and in all fairness it is not really doing them a favor! and don't blame it on lack of budget.
Joseph Attard
Oct 20th 2010, 09:04
Come on! I am in no way involved in Alert or the ministry but do not expect any service to be 100% from day one. If you remember how yahoo, ebay, and google started, you will agree that they all were a far cry from what they are today.
After all you should be after a service and not how the site looks! Who cares if some colours or images are not displayed 100%. They will get fixed sooner or later. The important thing is that there is an online shopping mall, giving business and potential customers a new sales channel.
Carl Bugeja
Oct 20th 2010, 08:15
I tend to agree with James Attard. I have visited the site and teething problems aside this is clearly an excellent opportunity for small companies to set up shop online at minimal cost. It is up to them to differentiate themselves and offer value for money.
Rita Vella
Oct 20th 2010, 08:13
Imisshom jisthu l-GRTU! Kellhom offerta biex il-membri jiehdu online store b'xejn u rrifjutawha?
Bis-serjeta?
Kieku jien membru tal-GRTU ncemplilhom biex naghmel complaint!
Jason Fenech
Oct 20th 2010, 08:08
It would be somewhat useful if local businesses (perhaps not all but experience dictates otherwise) would someday match the prices, stock levels, quality of service, rapid delivery and a no nonsense refund policy as offered by most online shopping ventures abroad.
Just last week I purchased a replacement mirror for my car which I received after 4 days. It would have cost me twice as much from a local dealer and 3-4 weeks of waiting.
That said, good luck with the initiative.
R. Caruana
Oct 20th 2010, 07:11
Just doesn't work right. Using the back button, or even the 'HOME' button on the left leaves you where you are!!!
Who designed this amateurish site?? Anyone can do better with an off-the-shelf application.
Alexei Vella
Oct 20th 2010, 08:11
Your comment is incorrect. You are confusing the individual shops with the eMall. Each shop has its own standalone site, so the home button in that site takes you to the home of the shop in question and not the home of the mall. If you want to return to the mall you click on the mall logo - its very simple.
seems to me that you really want to find fault in this site and are inventing problems where problems do not exist.
Is this a case of "i hate everything that is made in malta" blinkers?
Carmel Micallef
Oct 20th 2010, 07:02
Site sabiha. Prosit
George Mallia
Oct 20th 2010, 07:01
I think this is a great initiative. There are several good online stores in Malta but we need more - from what I saw on this new portal this should help make e-commerce mainstream for Maltese businesses of all sizes and not just the big companies.
Good luck TrolleyMania :)
Steph Lapira
Oct 20th 2010, 06:58
I just visited www.trolleymania.com and I really liked it :) The most impressive thing was the large selection of products. I will definitely give it a try
Charles Grima
Oct 21st 2010, 08:28
Tell me you're kidding right?
What selection? So little to choose from!
Ramon Casha
Oct 20th 2010, 05:57
Was this website tested using Firefox? After selecting a category from the main screen, I couldn't select any other category - each time I got sent to the first category I chose. Speed is ok at 6am, but if it's slow when lots of people try accessing it, it won't attract lots of people.
James Attard
Oct 20th 2010, 04:27
Prosit, a good initiative by the government for sure. Shows investment and trust in IT local industries.
One can expect a bit of technical glitches at the beginning. Maybe load testing was not done properly, but we shall expect a good user experience. Let's hope that local entrepreneurs like me become really creative in giving an edge over platforms like ebay and amazon for Maltese people. This will play an important part for a prospective buyer to choose between local vs foreign - the SERVICE rather than the PRODUCT.
PS: I am in no way affiliated with the IT Ministry or Alert communications.
James Attard
(Costansin Solutions)
Joseph Attard
Oct 20th 2010, 09:00
James, I don't think it is an issue with load testing at all. When an important news item is published on timesofmalta.com, it acts as a friendly 'DOS' attack on whatever link is included. Remember that the timesofmalta site has a huge following, both local and abroad. Under normal operations TrolleyMania will never get so much hits at that rate.
Patrick Cortis
Oct 19th 2010, 23:28
Well done to all the team! Another awesome project together. Well Done Guys :)
Albert Galea
Oct 19th 2010, 23:21
Is this paid for by public money? Seriously? Did they have a look around to see how things should actually work online? Takes 2 mins to load a page with 2 products! Poor web site with poor stock ... Gov should invest more 'smartly' ... Grtu were right from the beginning
Luciano Mule Stagno
Oct 19th 2010, 22:53
i always try to use local sites when prices and service are similar - this site seems like a good start - but has a ways to go in terms of choices and there are still a few bugs to iron out.
Sandra Muscat
Oct 19th 2010, 22:26
Nice initiative! The more online stores the better - more choice for consumers :)
Alex Barthet
Oct 19th 2010, 22:21
Jien ghadni kif dhalt u rregistrajt. Ma kienitx slow.
Patricia Curmi
Oct 19th 2010, 22:18
I just logged on to the site and frankly i am surprised by some of the comments below. the site came up very fast and as i clicked around i saw lots of interesting products at very good prices.
i will definitely be buying some christmas presents from this site :)
Neville Calleja
Oct 19th 2010, 22:16
Hey come on guys - get a life! You want to kill this baby just because it's not up to the established athletes? To be honest it's quite a novel concept to have an online 'shopping mall' in line with we are accustomed to find on Amazon. In terms of speed, to be honest I was expecting it to be slow due to the traffic that the launch must have generated but I was pleasantly surprised - the page came up immediately. I think those who found it to be slow should take it up with their ISP.
One can only hope that local retailer take up such an initiative - bravo to the developers and please ... just ignore the gemgim below - you've done a good job.
A Cassar
Oct 19th 2010, 22:00
Why is the impression being given that before today there were no online shops from Malta?
The private sector has taken the initiatives and there are many sucessfull online shopping sites from malta. Some popular sites include smartonline.com, ilovebooks.com.mt, crosscraft.com.mt, winedrop.com. All these sites have been selling online without a public private partnership.
will the government sustain those who for years have taken the initiative and swtup their own online shop?
Karl Rudgen
Oct 19th 2010, 21:55
Very handy web site to calculate your savings when buying abroad over eBay.
Highly recommend reference site !!!
R. Attard
Oct 19th 2010, 21:37
I will consider it once the prices are similar to e-bay.
Patricia Curmi
Oct 19th 2010, 22:20
Actually i think that you are forgetting shipping. i am sure that delivery from malta to malta will be much cheaper than it will be from eBay.
John Micallef
Oct 19th 2010, 22:38
Wise idea. As i guess they are trying to make more money by charging like a normal outlet with out having the expenses of an outlet!
Joe Camilleri
Oct 19th 2010, 21:24
I went to the DIY & TOOLS section.
Only a 3 step metal ladder. That is choice.
Andrew Cilia
Oct 19th 2010, 21:13
Just logged on - loaded fine for me :) nice site, i must say
T Mifsud
Oct 19th 2010, 21:11
It's a good initiative but way short of industry standards and rather amateurish protocols that need to be improved. Namely :
A) It is VERY SLOW! It must be fast, fast, fast. There is no website that will be successful if it is slow! Get it?
B) It doesn't allow you to open tabs (middle mouse button)! It needs to be able to open tabs to see multiple products/catagories etc. It's the worldwide internet NORM but not in Malta apparently.
C) Going back from a product back to the list via the back button just resends you to the product....dead end!
D) There is very little product description
E) There is no zoom in on product picture
F) The Home button is Home to the website not to the shop home! Clicking on TrolleyMania icon should be akin to clicking Home. Wrong standards!
G) The product page has an advert DOUBLE the size of the product itself, and I almost thought I clicked on a different website by mistake!
H) The menu on the left side is way too big. It needs to be smaller. Windows takes care of accessibility.
Tons of other departures from internet standards!
D.Scerri
Oct 20th 2010, 01:48
Same exact opinion!
C.BORG
Oct 20th 2010, 13:07
i agree with you.
Mario Cortis
Oct 19th 2010, 21:07
Dejjem humbug f'dal pajjiz! Kwazi qisu certu nies jawguraw il-hsara lil-Maltin huthom!
Jien ghandi hanut zghir u nixtieq hafna nbiegh online imma s'issa qtajt qalbi minhabba l-ispejjez. EUR250 prezz tajjeb hafna - nahseb li b'dal prezzijiet hafna hwienet ser iqawwu qalbhom u jipprovaw.
Alexia Frendo
Oct 19th 2010, 21:01
@ M.Brincat
it seems to me that some people in Malta are only too keen to shoot down Maltese initiatives. I very much doubt that any maltese retailer expects to beat the likes of Amazon or Play, however why on earth should we not have good maltese stores online?
i took a look at this portal and it looks nice.
b.busuttil
Oct 19th 2010, 20:46
a very fassssssssssssssssttttt website!
smart island hux :)
Adrian Vella
Oct 19th 2010, 20:42
At the time the pages load, the only items being sold will be vintage.....
Michael Borg
Oct 19th 2010, 20:36
The Idea is great but site is very slooowwwwww !!
when you open a bar for the public first few days you assign more staff to meet demand !! here they should have increased bandwidth for the intial surge !!!
sorry but a bad start !! DO IT RIGHT FIRST TIME ( EX-SGS )
M.Brincat
Oct 19th 2010, 19:52
This will be very successful.
Sarcasm.
There's no match to ebay, amazon and play.com
Michael Vella
Oct 19th 2010, 21:55
Typical comment from someone that thinks 'foreign is best'. We actually have some very good local websites. Two that i frequently use spring to mind, one is a new one that sells books, the other sells perfumes. It takes mr up to 3 weeks to receive good from Play and i pay too much P&P to be bothered to get anything from Amazon. So i am pretty happy using these two Maltese websites!!
Karl Rudgen
Oct 19th 2010, 22:14
@ Micheal Vella
Foreign is not better ( as the products come from abroad anyhow ) but CHEAPER !!!
Michael Vella
Oct 20th 2010, 09:19
@ Karl Rudgen
Is it actually cheaper Mr. Rudgen? I suggest you go compare prices on the Agenda website and those on Play before commenting with your infinate wisdom. I was pleasantly surprised with their service and will keep using this. True, some prices are cheaper some are not, but then again i would much rather deal with a local company any day when the difference is so minimal.
I hate it when people rubbish local initiatives before they actually take the time to look at projects like these. I hope Trolley Mania is a success and we see many more such initiatives in the future.
edwin abela
Oct 19th 2010, 19:49
Successun iehor! I've spent half a lifetime waiting for the pages to load. Can't these people get ANYTHING right??
A. Brincat
Oct 19th 2010, 20:40
It's true. I just tried it and it jammed my internet page. Had to close IE as the programme was not responding, waiting for information to be downloaded.
Insomma..anything under this government takes ages to complete.
G Grech
Oct 19th 2010, 20:56
Does not work
Won't even let u register
Hugh Morris
Oct 19th 2010, 21:40
Dunno what you are talking about - loaded quickly on my broadband connected PC. Could it be that you are still on dial-up?
Well done Trolleymania - looks clean, professional and well thought out!
Mark Bishop
Oct 19th 2010, 21:49
Really? I find it ok! Well done on this great venture.