If you've been spending time checking up on your competitors' Web sites, you might be seeing features and services that look both professional — and expensive. One thing budget-conscious online merchants don't realize is that many useful e-commerce solutions can be found for little cost, or better yet, completely free.

E-Junkie: Free Shopping Cart
The E-junkie shopping cart, FatFreeCartPro, can be embedded directly in your Web site or even your MySpace page by simply registering and adding the provided code. E-junkie works with PayPal Standard, PayPal Pro, Google Checkout and Authorize.Net. You can use it to sell digital downloads as well as tangible items. For retail merchants who have a basic Web site and are looking to sell some holiday clearance overstock online, E-junkie is a very simple but professional cart application. To view an example of how well the E-junkie cart solution can be integrated into any site, you can check out The Hampton's Honey Site.

Get a Cheap Fix: E-junkie storefront for Hampton's Honey. (Click for larger image.)

Some features of E-junkie include options for tangible products, such as different sizes or colors the item is available in, automated shipping and handling calculations, sales tax calculations based on your region, inventory management, product promotion and more. E-junkie offers users a free one-week trial so you can see how the cart system will look and perform on your own Web site.

After the trial period, you pay to use E-junkie based on the number of different products you upload. For example, if you have 10 products for sale on your Web site, E-junkie will cost you $5 per month. At 60 products the price is $18 per month, and if you should happen to have 500 products, the cost is $60 per month. E-junkie is free to use for non-profit organizations.

Microsoft Office Accounting: Free Accounting
We know, the words "free" and "Microsoft" aren't usually found in the same sentence, but Microsoft is now offering a completely free version of its Microsoft Office Accounting product. Rather than the usual trial offers that expire after a specific number of days, this one is really a no-cost, fully functional product.

Costs Add Up to Zero: Free Microsoft accounting package works with eBay. (Click for larger image.)

Called Microsoft Office Accounting Express, it provides merchants and small businesses with access to the most used accounting functions such as invoicing, bill payment, online banking and a general ledger. The product integrates with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook and also offers integration with add-on services for payroll, credit card processing, eBay and more.

For those selling products on eBay, you can use Microsoft Office Accounting Express to list your items, upload product images, track the listing status and track your sales and eBay fees. You can also use Microsoft Office Accounting Express to download and process your eBay orders. The integration with Office Outlook lets you send invoices in an e-mail message and include a direct link to PayPal. Your buyers can open the message to view the invoice, and then click the link to make a payment.