Get Smart - 15 Fun & Quirky Ecommerce Designs

This is a guest post by Leslie Kirk, owner of http://www.lesliekirk.com/. The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Miva Merchant.

I have been part of the Miva Merchant Community since 1998 not only as a developer/integrator, but also an online shopper. When I go shopping online, I always try to look for a Miva Merchant store as a small way to give back to the community. I also like to look around to see how Miva Merchant is being used to offer variety of products and services. While looking around for my own shopping needs I found a few sites that left me thinking “why didn’t I think of that?” when looking at the products being offered.

I’ve found everything from toys that “enrich intelligence in all areas of education” to “pointless, useless, weird and funny gag gifts,” There are stores that offer every type of marble you could ever imagine to everything you need for your cat. You can find carnival supplies, diecast cars, custom dog tags, replica automobile computer mice, party supplies and bird diapers. If you need to feed your puppy or feed your soul, you can find a Miva Merchant store that offers what you are looking for.  The imagination and creativity of the products that Miva Merchant store owners sell continues to amaze me. Here are just a few sites that caught my eye while surfing around the web.

WonderBrains

At WonderBrains you can find baby toys, educational toys, games, and puzzles “that inspire the natural wonder and genius in all of us.” Education begins at birth and continues throughout a lifetime. WonderBrains is committed to educational excellence. Every item includes an “Intelligences”  to show which areas the toy will strengthen in a child’s learning process.

Stupid.com

Who hasn’t wanted to pull a prank on a co-worker or give someone a gag gift? Need something to give your favorite geek? Glowing Lightning Bugs Candy will brighten the day. Need some ideas? Take a look at the Staff Picks.

Sticker Giant

Stickers are fun for young and old alike and Sticker Giant has over 20,000 to chose from. If you can’t find one from their large selection, you can upload your own file and have them make one for you. Sticker Giant created the stickers Seesmic gave away during a recent Twitter giveaway promotion.

LandOfMarbles.com

Whether you like playing with marbles, collecting marbles or maybe you just lost your marbles, you can find everything marbles at Land of Marbles. Take a few minutes to read the wonderful story “1,000 Marbles–A Little Something about Precious Time,” you may just find yourself placing an order.

SmallToys.com

SmallToys.com, the online division of Novelty House, has been on the web since 1999, selling carnival games like ring toss games, sports games and easy games like tic tac toe, duck ponds and lollipop trees. They offer everything from A to Z when it comes to Children’s Party Supplies, Party Favors, Carnival Supplies and Novelty Toys.

Plum Party

Plum Party gets personalized. If you need Cupcake themed gifts or Bridal Shower Favors, Plum Party can do it. Not sure what to get? The Tips & Ideas section will get your own creativity going.

Bella Girl Jewelry

Girls just want to have fun and that’s what Bella Girl Jewelry is striving to provide. With a cute mix of charms, beads, activity kits, and Fashion Angels Bella Girl Jewelry can make the young girl in your life a fashionista.

DieCast Fast

DieCast Fast is a perfect example of taking a personal hobby online to a full time business. Combining selection, service and Miva Merchant, it’s one stop shopping to add the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS and Eleanor–the ‘67 Ford GT500 as made famous by Nicholas Cage in the 2000 movie remake “Gone In 60 Seconds”–to your collection.

“The Original” Road Mice™

For collectible cars that you can “mouse around” with, Roadmice.com lets you “Cruise the web in style.” Not only do you get a mouse with headlights, each one comes with a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) number which enables the owner to register the Roadmice car and receive a unique Title while activating the product warranty.

The Cat Connection

The Cat Connection wants to be your one stop shop for all your kitty’s needs–bowls, furniture, grooming tools and food. Even though they cater to cats, they want to make sure Fido eats well too. The Cat Connection also wants to help keep you well educated about your cat with their Cat Care Tips & Information and they work with rescue and adoption agencies to help place homeless cats and kittens.

The Hungry Puppy

The Hungry Puppy doesn’t feed just your puppy. They stock over 18,000 different products for pets including dog, cat, caged bird, small animal, wild bird, equine, livestock and pond.

Fetching Tags

Losing a dog can be heartbreaking. Having a dog tag on his collar can help get your best friend home safe again. But your dog’s tag doesn’t have to be boring or ordinary. From Just The Facts with the essential Name, Phone Number and cute optional Symbol, all the way to Top Taglines that will let everyone know your dog is a Lucky Mutt, Fetching Tags has brought their unique handmade style to the web at FetchingTags.net where “Every Good Dog Deserves A Great Tag”.

Avian Fashions

Born out of an idea of wanting to find a way to let three pet birds out of their cage without getting bird poop everywhere, 14 years ago Avian Fashions brought a very unique product to the web - bird diapers. As the idea caught on, so did the business. By moving their online business into Miva Merchant, they were able to handle the high volume of traffic that their numerous TV appearances produced.

SkyLight Path Publishing

SkyLight Paths Publishing brings publications from all faiths and walks of life together in one online store. Titles include “A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies” to “The Knitting Way - A Guide to Spiritual Self-Discovery” SkyLight Paths Publishing will help believers deepen their faith and help seekers in their search.

Online Store of the Gift Shop of El Niño

Yes, even Nuns use Miva Merchant. The proceeds from Online Store of the Gift Shop of El Niño support Mother Angelica and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.

The next time you are looking for some place to shop online, try adding “merchant.mvc” to your keyword search. While it may not pull up every Miva Merchant store out there, it will give you many more opportunities to help support the Miva Merchant Community.