I may be asking this in the wrong place (maybe paypal is better) but I'll admit this is the first time I've set up an online store, and it seems like the situation I'm dealing with doesn't exactly fit the standard model.

I am trying to set up an online store for my cousin's wife, who makes... clothes for big dogs. (IKR! ) The thing is, her business is not all that far along yet, and I don't think she's buying fabric in bulk and such yet -- and so often, she asks customers to provide their preferences on things like colour, prints, etc. and she looks to see what fabrics she can get and gets back to them with what she can do. I am thinking that, in this case, it would probably be better if people weren't charged until they made a commitment to go ahead with the sale. Is there any way to do that on here?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've already tried discussing some other options with her (like buying some fabric by the bolt and offering stuff in it), but that doesn't seem to suit her business model. So I'm looking to see if there's another way around this that won't result in her looking to Paypal like she's a problem business.

That is not a dumb question at all and a perfectly valid one. Basically you want to add a check box on checkout that says something like "I agree to the terms and services" or something similar and until they check that box, they cannot checkout. Well it isn't an option in the software, but I am not even sure if adding anything like that would really provide you any additional protection with PayPal.

I would suggest just adding an additional page in the software called "Terms and Conditions" or "Refund Policy" and put all your text in there. This would then appear in your footer and you could style this text on the View Cart page as well.

What if the store didn't complete any transaction, but simply sent the preference info to her? She could then use a Paypal billing thing or something once everything is agreed upon.

Is that possible?

I know this is very out-of-the-ordinary. But she's family and I want to try to do what's best for her and still give her what she wants.

There is an option in SCC Pro to build a catalog site, so all "add to cart" and "buy now" buttons are removed. That could do what you are looking for.

I used to do that a few years ago with a shopping cart from a company called Zilron (now disappeared off the map). It would take credit card info from the buyer, encypt it, and email it to me. Then I could make adjustments for discounts etc, and process the payment only when the order was ready to ship. They provided special decrypting software.

It was nice, but I do not know of any way to do this now. I think the catalog site like Scott mentioned and then negotiate and take the orders by phone, and send a paypal invoice for payment.