We have had many heated discussions regarding Google Product Search lately.

Basically, we were on two sides: Those wanting GPS to be available to everybody, and those wanting it to be available to subscribers only. Nobody suggested charging subscribers extra for it.

Whilst we do do all we can to make things as flexible and free as possible, we are running a company, and we do have to make money - our server farm is expensive, as are programmers like myself! The argument was: Will the Google Product Search facility create so much publicity - on a free store - that it will pay for itself?

Ultimately, we decided that this is a subscriber only service. What swung this for me personally was more a moral factor than a business factor. We know people list often... less than salubrious "items" on our stores, and we move quickly to remove these items and stores (we're talking more personal 'services' than anything else... for those interested!).

Now imagine how our credibility would be trashed, if suddenly an exotic, exciting, in-depth back-rub, offered on one of our stores, found its way onto Google Product Search, using a utility we provided carte blanche access to. We have suddenly made one of our problems a problem of somebody else. We cannot allow this to happen.

We know that our packages cater for every side of business out there. We know that small businesses have to think carefully before spending every pound, it's not too long ago we were in a similar situation. But we offer small businesses the firepower to sell like big businesses, and in providing the ability to put your products in front of hundreds of millions of potential buyers, we are confident we offer the best value on the web.

- update: I have found one other company offering an upload to Google Product Search, and they charge £7 per month. This is just for the upload facility, assuming the client already has a site.

Also, we will soon (tm) be offering the ability to have your store name beside your products. At present this would require you providing us with your Google Base passwords (you could set up another if you use GMail, etc, we don't need your life's password!) but we are working closely with the Google API to see ways around this.