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RetailSTAR POS Software
 | 8 Reviews (3.3/5) |
RetailSTAR POS by CAM Commerce has been an industry leader for specialty retail shops for more than 25 years.
CAM Commerce serves more than 20,000 retailers across various markets. The company is one of the biggest names in retail software. RetailSTAR is targeted at small to mid-sized retailers with up to $100 million in annual revenue. Clothing stores, sporting goods retailers, gift and hobby shops, and health food stores are some of RetailSTAR's best segment fits.
RetailSTAR offers a full suite of applications. We are big fans of RetailSTAR's simple POS interface. The single-key or touch-screen input methods are easy for cashiers to use, even with limited computer experience. A CRM module can track purchasing history, customer comments, or anniversary notifications to improve your customer service. Other applications include inventory management, retail accounting, e-commerce, merchandise planning, warehouse management and supply chain management.
Recently, RetailSTAR added mobile inventory applications. Their physical inventory app is especially helpful because it allows you to add and track inventory from your iPodTouch or iPhone 4 without an internet connection.
We think RetailSTAR's robust customer support is one of the key differentiators this system has to offer. A North America-based customer service team offers real-time support. On-site or online software training is also available.
RetailSTAR is an on-premise software solution built on C++ and Microsoft .Net, and is compatible with Windows servers. Retailers looking for a complete software and hardware solution can purchase HP POS terminals pre-installed with RetailSTAR directly through CAM Commerce.
8 Reviews of RetailSTAR
Overall rating
The software does not work as their sales people advertise. None of the management keep their promises to return calls, although the support folks seem to know to make some of the problems go away.
If you accept their terms "all sales are final after delivery, without return rights per section 11 limits of liability of the contract". They refused to address the fact that the software does not calculate or report sales tax correctly, or even consistently. Their sales manager made promises to address the problem, nothing happened. Their Support Manager promised to address the problem; still nothing changed. No calls returned, no updates to the software. They promised at installation time an update in the Receiving section right after the first of the year, it's now May, and no evidence of any updates.
I made a mistake doing business with them. I replaced a 10 year old system that worked better, without any updates. I can't even print charge account statements for in-house charge accounts. Their management response to my numerous complaints is simply to ignore me.
If you accept their terms "all sales are final after delivery, without return rights per section 11 limits of liability of the contract". They refused to address the fact that the software does not calculate or report sales tax correctly, or even consistently. Their sales manager made promises to address the problem, nothing happened. Their Support Manager promised to address the problem; still nothing changed. No calls returned, no updates to the software. They promised at installation time an update in the Receiving section right after the first of the year, it's now May, and no evidence of any updates.
I made a mistake doing business with them. I replaced a 10 year old system that worked better, without any updates. I can't even print charge account statements for in-house charge accounts. Their management response to my numerous complaints is simply to ignore me.
Overall rating
Cam has been helpful in addressing our problems. They were interested in getting a list of all of our problems and have now written new programming. They have asked us to test the new version to be sure it works well before releasing it to the general population. Bad new travels quickly and your website can have a big impact. Cam has been working continuously on this.
Overall rating
I am shocked those complaining and providing low marks on their reviews of this software and it's company the way they have. You received free software and now you are complaining that you have to pay at some point to continue and grow.
I've looked, researched and priced them and their competitors. They are not only reasonable, but lower in most areas. I am very proficient at IT work and do much of it for my Retail Store, yet I paid to have my systems professionally installed and have that peace of mind because this is my business. They offer Training and Installation onsite as well as over the phone, you can save some money by doing it via the phone.
They are after all, a business of their own. It boils down to this - this is how I make my money and pay my bills. It's not a hobby, it's my business, cutting corners is usually and most often not a good idea.
This company that has bent over backwards to help me and this past Christmas was no exception. When one of my systems died, they were on the phone with us resolving it as best and as quickly as possible. It's not their fault I have been running that specific system for the past 5 years without ever cleaning it or updating it, it's hardware - it doesn't last forever. In fact 5 years, it paid for itself and ten-fold.
I swim in the smaller pond, CAM has enabled me to swim well. The fact is, it takes money to make money, it costs to run a Retail Store, and in order to be successful at anything you have to invest time, effort and money.
Take care of the store, it’s equipment, and work with their support people to get resolutions to the problems. No software is perfect and without bugs. Invest the time to learn it so you can effectively use it.
I’ve had other POS from other companies and trust me, I’ve never had a better experience than I have running my POS from CAM Commerce. Their people have shown me time and time again that they actually care and do their best to overcome anything and everything.
I've looked, researched and priced them and their competitors. They are not only reasonable, but lower in most areas. I am very proficient at IT work and do much of it for my Retail Store, yet I paid to have my systems professionally installed and have that peace of mind because this is my business. They offer Training and Installation onsite as well as over the phone, you can save some money by doing it via the phone.
They are after all, a business of their own. It boils down to this - this is how I make my money and pay my bills. It's not a hobby, it's my business, cutting corners is usually and most often not a good idea.
This company that has bent over backwards to help me and this past Christmas was no exception. When one of my systems died, they were on the phone with us resolving it as best and as quickly as possible. It's not their fault I have been running that specific system for the past 5 years without ever cleaning it or updating it, it's hardware - it doesn't last forever. In fact 5 years, it paid for itself and ten-fold.
I swim in the smaller pond, CAM has enabled me to swim well. The fact is, it takes money to make money, it costs to run a Retail Store, and in order to be successful at anything you have to invest time, effort and money.
Take care of the store, it’s equipment, and work with their support people to get resolutions to the problems. No software is perfect and without bugs. Invest the time to learn it so you can effectively use it.
I’ve had other POS from other companies and trust me, I’ve never had a better experience than I have running my POS from CAM Commerce. Their people have shown me time and time again that they actually care and do their best to overcome anything and everything.
Overall rating
I made the mistake of purchasing CAM software for the gift shops I oversee. Unfortunately because of the size of the business and the website component we have been forced to continue with this system. CAM has not only been the worst company regarding customer service and fees, but in addition, there software has so many problems that it is a daily task to try and keep this system running. Thanks god I have the help of 2-3 highly trained IT people that work for this organization in other areas who have been able to help. However, every time there is an upgrade to fix all of the current problems more problems are created. Countless error reports, Error messages, Random shut downs, Polling/communications issues leading to additional incorrect reports.
Response by Sherrie from CAM Commerce Solutions | January 2013
I am extremely sorry to see that Chris has had such a negative experience with our company. In addition to restoring our partnership with Chris, our staff is working very hard to provide Ziibiwing with the very best software and support possible. We would not be in business if it weren’t for satisfied retailers finding success with our products and services. We are looking forward to helping Ziibiwing find that success.
Overall rating
I have a sports apparel store and when I opened back in '04, I picked up their Retail ICE sw for free, this worked fine for three years with limited capabilities and since I was new and not really running reports, this did the job for ringing people up and basic inventory. Then came the time to network on two computers so naturally I signed up for their Retail STAR licensed version and forked over $2700.
Again not running reports and just ringing people up continued for another few years. Trouble started when I went off-support at the end of the year after the upgrade, the smallest problem would be completely catastrophic and believe me there were quite a few of those.
I endured this for a couple of years, paying $100 here a $150 there as and when stuff kept going wrong, having really got tired of this and needing to upgrade another of their super-duper shiny new now-everything-fixed versions, I forked over another $1800 for this so I get the upgrade and a yearlong support contract. This version was so badly bug-ridden that I was on the phone at least once a week for weeks on end. A few weeks before the end of my contract, I made sure I got another one of their now everything-fixed upgrades and still having problems related to the purchasing function, networking, data integrity etc. etc.
Again not running reports and just ringing people up continued for another few years. Trouble started when I went off-support at the end of the year after the upgrade, the smallest problem would be completely catastrophic and believe me there were quite a few of those.
I endured this for a couple of years, paying $100 here a $150 there as and when stuff kept going wrong, having really got tired of this and needing to upgrade another of their super-duper shiny new now-everything-fixed versions, I forked over another $1800 for this so I get the upgrade and a yearlong support contract. This version was so badly bug-ridden that I was on the phone at least once a week for weeks on end. A few weeks before the end of my contract, I made sure I got another one of their now everything-fixed upgrades and still having problems related to the purchasing function, networking, data integrity etc. etc.
Overall rating
We have young men's clothing stores located in North and South Carolina. We were looking for a POS system that would save us time and money and keep track of our inventory. We researched five different POS solutions and decided 6 years ago Retail STAR from CAM was the best choice.
Retail STAR offers us all the features we need to run our stores efficiently. Our installation was quick and efficient and the system was easy to use. Making the day to day tasks simple for my staff.
Since implementing Retail STAR, we are able to manage our inventory! We make better buying decisions, are able to act faster on best selling items, and markdown quickly on slow sellers. In today's market this system has saved us a lot of money ~ we are able to see our inventory levels and make better business decisions!
Retail STAR offers us all the features we need to run our stores efficiently. Our installation was quick and efficient and the system was easy to use. Making the day to day tasks simple for my staff.
Since implementing Retail STAR, we are able to manage our inventory! We make better buying decisions, are able to act faster on best selling items, and markdown quickly on slow sellers. In today's market this system has saved us a lot of money ~ we are able to see our inventory levels and make better business decisions!
Overall rating
I began working for I Thought About You in early 2008. I was told that I would have to learn the new POS System the owner had purchased for the store. I panicked, as I was not familiar with anything like that. The CAM Installer/Trainer came on site and after 30 minutes we all were so familiar with the software that we could ring in our own sales without any assistance. It was so easy to learn, and I really liked that you didn’t have to use a mouse to complete a sale.
We also had the Gift Cards and Frequent Buyer features, which we loved. I especially liked the integrated credit card processing because we didn’t have to do anything other than swipe the customer card through our monitor. Everything else just happened on its own. The best thing was that we never had issues where we’d have to call a technical support person. All the other companies we dealt with would put you on hold for so long, but not CAM. The couple of times I needed them, a technical support person picked up on my 1st call. I would highly recommend Retail STAR software to any retail business.
We also had the Gift Cards and Frequent Buyer features, which we loved. I especially liked the integrated credit card processing because we didn’t have to do anything other than swipe the customer card through our monitor. Everything else just happened on its own. The best thing was that we never had issues where we’d have to call a technical support person. All the other companies we dealt with would put you on hold for so long, but not CAM. The couple of times I needed them, a technical support person picked up on my 1st call. I would highly recommend Retail STAR software to any retail business.
Overall rating
HARRIS & FRANK has been a customer of CAM's for 20 years. Great company, Great support. We began with their product Profits and used it for 14 years. We upgraded to Retail Star and their integrated Credit Card Processing 6 years ago. We were all hesitant about going to a new product because we aren’t very good with computers and it’s hard to “teach an old dog new tricks”!!
We LOVE Retail Star. It’s so easy to operate, handles our inventory beautifully, and as a Buyer I really get a lot of use out of Report Star. I can use the existing reports or create my own with ease. As a fashion store the inventory can be cumbersome. I can buy a style in 14 colors and 10 sizes and Retail Star handles it with ease.
I recommend it highly, regardless of the kind of store you are or the merchandise you carry.
We LOVE Retail Star. It’s so easy to operate, handles our inventory beautifully, and as a Buyer I really get a lot of use out of Report Star. I can use the existing reports or create my own with ease. As a fashion store the inventory can be cumbersome. I can buy a style in 14 colors and 10 sizes and Retail Star handles it with ease.
I recommend it highly, regardless of the kind of store you are or the merchandise you carry.
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