Wanted: Free Supplier/Products Database

PasturesNew

Just starting to dabble around with a bit of a hobby/business .... and really need a free, easy, software solution.

I don't want to be using MS Access for this one (my version is 2003), but would prefer a web interface if possible.

The situation is this:

I will make things that could contain any random selection of components. I can source the components from 1,000s of suppliers. As I look up products/prices/who has what, I want to be able to store information:

Who
Category (and sub-cats)
Description
Price
Web url direct to the product
Date
Image field would be nice too

As I am surfing the Internet, looking up ideas, components and pricing them up, I want to be able to add a record so I know who supplies the components I need and at what price.

Then.... at some future point when I want to buy those components I want to be able to easily query it and search to find out who has the items and at what price, so I don't have to keep doing searches fresh, but can start with the list of potential suppliers I might have found a few months ago.

I guess it's a bit like comparison shopping at supermarkets - you can look up bread and egg prices and find that 3 do bread, 2 of those also do eggs and there are 4 other egg suppliers - and you can add the prices for bread and eggs today ... then in a month when you think "I really fancy eggy sandwiches", you can do a query on your saved database for bread to find out who has it/at what price - and a query for eggs to find out who has them and what price. Making it quicker to buy just what you want to make your eggy sandwiches

At the moment I've constructed an html file on my desktop and I just write html into a notepad file and it's a huge list of about 2000 random items/finds and ideas I've thought about. But that won't work long-term.

Anybody got any quick/easy/instant solutions?

sharkie

Sounds like MySupermarket?

think filemaker (not free) had a web output, but is run on a server. Lists can apparently be loaded in flash from a text or db.

otherwise all I can think of is asp or php - one is free, but non are easy.

Apparently filemaker was easy-ish not free, but flatfile

TonyMMM

Sounds an ideal case for an Access database (or similar free alternative) ... why the reluctance to use Access 2003 ?

PasturesNew

I don't want to use Access as it means taking my time up to learn new stuff - and I know how one can spend hours/days banging your head against a brick wall over sometimes the simplest of things.... and I'd rather be dreaming about my new interest to be honest

I just want a Plug and Go solution if it exists.... and I figured the best way to find out if it exists is to ask here.

kabayiri

There are 2 options in addition to the above :-

a) find something in the vmware appliance directory. You can just download an appliance which fits the bill and run it to see if it suits. Perhaps one of the CRMs like SugarCRM could be adapted to your needs.

b) have a scan through freshmeat for something which does what you want. Tech inventory databases might be similar in format.

I use virtual appliances a lot. There are plenty to look through.

todolistsocd

Hi,

I may be on the wrong lines but...check this site out!

Hope this helps!:)