Thoughts on Merchant Accounts?

Question

I'll keep this short (for once ). I'm having a growing discontent with Paypal, for a number of reasons. In addition, I'm going to start doing shows again this fall, and I'd like to be able to handle credit card & debit card sales. I'd very much appreciate anyone's insight, experience and advice on getting a merchant account, the expenses involved, etc.

My local bank is very nice to small businesses. They even say they have no set-up or application fees, if you already have a business checking account, which I do. I'm just wondering what other costs and efforts will be involved.

Color me clueless but ready and willing to learn, KarenK Desert Dreamer Designs

formatting link

Store:

formatting link

Kandice Seeber · Accepted Answer

Karen - I have a friend who owns a business which processes credit cards. I just signed on with him and he's really great. To have a merchant account, they set you up with a credit card reader that you can take to shows (or anywhere that has a phone line). You can also punch the credit card info in if the order is over the phone. Expect to pay around $40 a month to lease the equipment, or you can just buy it right out. Then there are a couple of additional charges - the statement fee is something like $10. Then each type of credit card you take has a percentage (this is a lot like PayPal) - from 2-4% depending on the type of card.

I will be completely set up with this by next week and able to take credit cards outside of PayPal. I will likely still accept PayPal for awhile, but this will be a nice change. There is a built in seller's protection for merchant accounts as well. I am especially excited to be able to take credit cards at shows and even just at home from whoever wants my beads. PayPal is still good for online, but I am doing more and more offline sales these days, and people would love to use their credit and would buy more if they could.

If you would like the company info for my friend, I would be happy to give it to you. He's really great to work with. I get no kick back or anything - just really a satisfied customer so far. Plus, he's a friend, so I trust him not to screw me over.

Karin Cernik · Answer

Kandice, A different Karin here, but would you mind sending me the info too? I won't be ready until next year, but I like to find out ahead of time... :-)

Thanks! Kar>

Kandice Seeber · Answer

Sure - emailed you!

VManes · Answer

Depending on the volume of business you expect to do, take a look at

formatting link

$35 annual fee, reasonable per transaction charges (a bit higher than PayPal, IIRC), you can take charges offline, then post them at your convenience. May not be suitable for all, but it's worked for us as an adjunct to PayPal - for those times it fails to work for customers, at live shows, handling some of our other businesses....)

Val

Barbara Otterson · Answer

Your bank can tell you exactly what their costs, fees, etc. are. When I got my first CC account, I ended up changing banks just to take advantage of the better discount rate at another bank. Now I'm with NPC as my bank didn't know how to handle transactions with the kind of cellular capture system that I have. I'm happy with them as there is no statement charge, no minimum monthly fee, etc. If you get a copy of Crafts Report or Sunshine Artist you will find a dozen ads for a dozen companies. Check them all out. Then you can get them to fight for your business. Barbara Dream Master

formatting link

"We've got two lives, one we're given, the other one we make." Mary Chapin Carpenter

Thoughts on Merchant Accounts?

Join the Discussion

Didn't find your answer?