Trade in Services Database

Re: [spiers] Accepting credit cards

***Regarding Being Able to Accept Credit Cards***

on 6/20/03 6:10 PM, wileyccc@aol.com at wileyccc@aol.com wrote:

> Although I argue against and ecommerce site, if you are intent on getting one,
> I'd recommend that you first find out if you can get a merchant account
> (simply apply thru your bank) and then try out www.store.yahoo.com where you
> can get a ecommerce site equal to amazon.com in functionality and power for
> $49.00/month complete. In fact, you can get on free for 30 days to play with
> if you like. check it out.

I agree with John on "simply apply thru your bank." My experience has been
that banks are a better and cheaper source for setting up merchant credit
card services than ecommerce sites.

My bank, and many banks, outsource credit card processing. My bank uses:

Merchant Services
7300 Chapman Hwy
Knoxville, TN 37920

They have a web site at: www.merchantconnect.com

If you end up looking on the web, you may also want to try www.charge.com

> try out www.store.yahoo.com where you can get a ecommerce site equal to
> amazon.com in functionality and power for $49.00/month complete.

The $49.00 a month, I should think, is a web site hosting fee. 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. However, the larger your volume, the cheaper the "merchant discount
fee" you can negotiate. And don't be afraid to negotiate. These people don't
care about you or me. Rather, they're just trying to make money, like you
and me.

And here's a horror story for you. A colleague of mine sells furniture over
the internet. His site is (soon to be "was," I think) hosted by Yahoo, and
they process his company's credit card transactions. A competitor complained
to Yahoo that my colleague's company stole a design from the competitor's
web site. Yahoo FROZE my colleague's merchant card account - with some
$40,000 plus in the pipeline - until the matter was resolved.

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.

My colleague's situation resolved in about 72 hours. I may use Yahoo's web
hosting services one day, but they will never do my credit card processing.

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.

That's it, and it's just my opinion.

Dave

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