Let me first start by saying that I have dealt with many cart softwares over the years (CommerceSQL, osCommerce, osCMax, zencart, x-cart, magento, volusion, and now 3dcart).
I quickly found out that free carts are nice but you get what you pay for and eventually the business required a better cart. The hosted solutions fixed so many issues for me and I was happy with both Volusion and 3dCart but recently have been liking 3dCart because it seemed that they were listening to the feature requests from users more seriously than V was. Users requested a feature "Make an Offer" which allows the site visitors to offer something on certain products and was great for used items or items where MAP (minimum advertised price) was a problem. V had MANY requests for this starting in 2007 and it never happened. 3dCart had this request and included it in an update after only 8 months!
I still do some freelance web work and use both products Volusion and 3dCart. I like both and they both have their advantages but recently friends and family that call asking for advice in this area I have been sending them to 3dCart and so I had to come here and at least give my opinion to all of my Jabber brothers and sisters as well!
If this changes or tilts I'll come back and re-comment later but if you are wanting to start an online business as someone with no affiliation to this company that has sites with them and others and is making good sales (100k-400k annually) I can tell you to rest easy and go with these guys.
Best of luck with your new E-com adventure!