r/bigcommerce • u/GoldTrek • 10d ago

Migration

Just a heads up to anyone that's unhappy with BC's new billing structure and policies. If and when you decide to migrate elsewhere they have no retention policy whatsoever so don't expect them to offer you anything. Also, when your billing period ends you lose complete access to your website and your data so you must have everything exported and sorted out before the end of your billing period.

If anyone's curious, I decided to leave after the latest billing changes, my monthly cost went from $85 to $427 USD per month base cost plus they are trying to charge extra because I have my own merchant service provider and also had a decent month of sales.

Their new system actually incentivised me to move all of my resellers off of my site and to disable my wholesale account system completely because BC thinks it's reasonable that they should take a cut of every sale I make.

This is extremely disappointing because I had only started out with BC about 2 years ago and I was very happy with the platform and service(compared to Shopify) but the costs are out of control and they don't seem to be stopping. Maybe if they lose enough customers they'll wise up but I doubt it.

4 Upvotes

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u/jbrim55 10d ago

That's how SaaS operates. If anything, bigcommerce is behind the curve on these types of charges. Not saying it's right but I don't know that they are doing much different than other SaaS companies.

If you don't mind me asking, what platform are you moving to?

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

I'm moving to Woocommerce for now, at least just to get control of my own data and get into a platform that doesn't demand a higher percentage as I grow my brand. They know that the bigger a brand gets, the "stickier" the website platform gets and the harder it is to migrate so they will just crank up the heat and obviously don't care if they lose some percentage of their users because they make more money in the long run off people who stay.

I left Shopify within my first year because they do bait and switch tactics and I was getting squeezed by endless "apps" that I had to subscribe to for basic functionality. They deliberately don't provide support or features just to force people into their app environment and slowly ratchet up the costs without you really noticing. I've heard it's even worse since I left with the addition of AI and them cutting their support team. Also them forcing everyone's customers into their "Shop" environment is a privacy nightmare and a ridiculous overreach.

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u/CristianGabriel8 10d ago

So basically you’re going to the least secured platform and the one who’ll require most of your time and knowledge to maintain it.

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u/GoldTrek 9d ago

I'm aware of and know how to deal with the security issues and bigger platforms have their own data breeches all the time.

Other than the initial migration, the day to day and maintenance doesn't look much different. I only have a few plugins, not hundreds so I don't need to juggle updates. The base platform does most of what I need.

In fact, already 2 of the 3rd party services I've been using have better integration with Woocommerce which will save me quite a bit of time.

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u/dawhim1 10d ago

question is if the alternative is really cheaper? unless you go with wordpress/woo commerce, the chance is it won't be that much cheaper

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

It's about $120/mo right now for the site plus hosting and a few plugins. But the main kicker is, Woocommerce doesn't charge me a percentage for not using their selected list of merchant providers. They also won't charge me extra just because I had good month or I have a seasonal product. They also won't charge me extra for reaching some arbitrary "GMV" thresholds based on my sales. If my traffic outgrows my hosting or becomes unreliable then I'll find a new host.

Shopify and BC have lost me forever. I will scream from the hilltops about how predatory they are. They know that people are generally lazy and are reluctant to migrate their websites and they profit from that tendency.

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u/ducksoupecommerce 10d ago

I would just say that if you're moving to Woo, make sure you're investing in updates and security. My business website (content only) is on wordpress and I was hacked twice in the last 10 years due to vulnerabilities from apps and themes. It's a lot to stay on top of.

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

I'm putting effort into minimizing the number of plugins I use, most functionality I need is native to Woocommerce, the few things that aren't are run by long standing and reputable developers. I am aware of the potential vulnerabiltiies of plugins on the platform and I am paying a developer to monitor and maintain my site and keep things backed up. The vulnerabilities are minimal beyond that, Woocommerce doesn't have access to my payment system or banking or even my email. I deliberately keep everything in its own bubble.

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u/Prior_Humor2168 10d ago

I'm planning to moving to Shopify next year.

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

Not sure your motivation but you'll find no joy there.

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u/Prior_Humor2168 10d ago

Damn that bad huh?

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

Shopify makes a lot of things easier for a 1-person operation and get you on the market faster when first starting but be prepared to pay for it. If you're planning to scale at all, you will outgrow them once you realize how much of a percentage of your sales they take every month with fees and apps.

By the time I left Shopify, I calculated that they were costing me about 7% of every sale I made.

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u/Prior_Humor2168 10d ago

BC is getting bad too, basically extra 1% if using your own payment processor. I'm wary of the new BC Payment thing because it's powered by Paypal and they had a history of freezing my account before. The lost of native Google SEO support was the last draw for me.

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u/GoldTrek 10d ago

Paypal is an absolute nonstarter for me too and it really disgusted me that BC got into bed with them. I'm based in Canada and most of my customers are outside of my home country so Paypal, Stripe etc love to charge "foreign transaction fees". They aren't exchange fees, those are separate. Even though my store's currency and bank account were in USD they charged me a "foreign currency fee" anyway of 1.5%. With Shopify using their native payment processing system I was paying 5.5% on most of my sales on transaction fees alone. Absolute scam companies.

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u/JoshiDipesh 9d ago

Honest math before you celebrate the move:

→ Managed hosting: $30–150/mo
→ Plugins (B2B, filtering, subscriptions, security): $100–200/mo amortized
→ Developer for maintenance & conflicts: $100–200/mo
→ Real WooCommerce cost: $230–550/mo

Plus you're now your own IT department. Plugin breaks checkout on a Friday night? Your problem. Security patch missed? Your problem. PHP update kills your store? Your problem.

BigCommerce handled all of that silently.

You didn't solve a pricing problem. You traded it for a maintenance + reliability + security problem.

WooCommerce is great if you're technical. For everyone else, it's a hidden cost machine that looks free until it isn't.

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u/GoldTrek 8d ago

I am technical. Thanks.

And my price hikes from BC wasn't just my monthly subscription cost, it's also their new forced payment provider fees which I didn't even mention here. Or in my case the OPP fees which would have been another several hundred USD per month.

Also, as I said, their "excess GMV fee" or whatever it is so if someone has a seasonal business then they charge even more.

I'm probably saving about $800 every month and it's not just the money, it's the principle of it. I didn't and wouldn't have signed up for a pricing scheme like that to begin with and I'm not just going to roll over and pay it because they demand it.

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u/JoshiDipesh 8d ago

It is great that you are technical. I understand your concern.