Accepting Credit Cards

Re: [spiers] Accepting credit cards

$49.00 a month, I should think, is a web site hosting fee.

***Yes, then you can sign up for “revenue sharing” if they drive customers to
you..and many other services...***

You'll be
paying a lot more than that in the fee called a "merchant discount fee"
(misnomers are alive and well) that Yahoo will charge you for processing
your credit card payments. :0

I've seen merchant discount fees - both at brick-and-mortar banks and on the
net - from 1.25% to 5.00%. That would be 5% of your revenue paid by credit
card. ... Here's a tip from the "live and learn" department. Don't ever
allow a third
party to hold that kind of power over your cash flow. Depending on the type
and size of your business, it could kill you.

***Yes, I completely forgot that yahoo.com also offers the merchant account
option as well... for exactly the reasons Dave outlines, I would not let them
handle the merchant account, thus I went with Wells Fargo. So see an eCommerce
site as two parts: the cayalog and order form function; and then the payment
processing function. You’ll need both parts.***

Lastly, I wouldn't worry about accepting credit cards until your underway.
You don't need them to get started. I wouldn't be concerned with it until
you are asked several times if you accept credit cards. Then go obtain the
ability.

*** Dave is right again... you can start a Yahoo.com store just accepting
checks, money orders and paypal... and complete avoid the credit cards. Just
wait until the check arrives in the mail, deposit it and ship the goods. I
recall I did that too. It is a good strategy. Now this was back in 98 or 99...
but I recall being surprised that when it came time to get a credit card
merchant account it was surprisingly expensive and tedious. Nobody was in any
hurry to have the exposure of the web I guess. (In 1979 you could just walk in a
bank sign a form and walk out with a complete merchant account system in a box,
no credit checks, no nothin’!).***

John

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