[ShaneC]

RoR is powerful enough to implement this kind of system, yes. However, having said that, it's not the language I would recommend. As I understand you, you want this type of system to be implementable on a wide variety of different servers. Languages like ASP.NET and PHP are pre-loaded on far more hosting machines than RoR, and thus may be the more convenient choice for potential users.

Having said all of this, I should caution you on taking such an undertaking on when you're new to RoR. This is a very complex system, and you won't be able to do it with elementary knowledge. More importantly, you'll end up making security mistakes which, with an ecommerce solution, can be devastating. Even if you completed the project, you may be opening yourself up to potential lawsuits.

Now this isn't to dissuade you from doing it entirely. Simply understand your undertaking and perhaps instead of trying to create the whole beast, tackle one small problem at a time which you can then, at some point in the future, incorporate into the larger system.