Merchant Accounts

hmlittle59 · 2010-10-06 23:06

Hello All,

I'm looking for more info on the route I will be taking here soon and it's still up in the air. I've called a couple of them(merchant accounts) from the cards I got in the mail when I set up my Business and I've briefly looked into PayPal.

Point Blank:
Who has what?
do you like them?
Long contract?
no contract?
good customer service/no customer service
quick pay/nickle and dime you/no refund/quick refund
etc..............

I'm setting up to use Bookkeeper 2010 Accounting Software and they have their own as a refer. to use(you don't have to). QuickBooks is expensive and I'm burning thru cash fast. I was told to use PayPal to get started and expand from there. When I built my test web page I did not like the bouncing in and out from my Site(with PayPal)....should I be concerned about this?

Does a company like Parallax use custom software that does it all(webpage/database/merchant account).....looking to learn from those who have been through it before

thanks for any help
Howard

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) · 2010-10-06 23:48

I've used PayPal for casual sales. It's quick and easy with no contracts. Just fill out a form for each item you're selling, and their website provides you a link to a button image which, when clicked on your own website, makes the sale happen. You'll then get an email with the buyer's particulars, and the money will go directly to your PayPal account. Buyers can pay from their own PayPal accounts or with a credit card, and you don't have to have a merchant account with a bank or other credit card company.

The downside to all this is PayPal's merchant fee structure, which tends to be on the high side. But, for my casual sales, the simplicity and lack of a contract trumped the cost.

-Phil

hmlittle59 · 2010-10-10 21:16

Hello Phil,

Thanks for the reply, I'm wanting to start/run a business and yes I'm looking at short term along with long term cost also. I'm gonna do some more cost matching between a couple of services.

Thanks again

Howard

bill190 · 2010-10-10 22:51

I know one large web hosting provider (pair.com) has all sorts of ecommerce stuff. They have a link on the following page for a service which allows you to take credit cards. I don't know anything about it, just that pair has a lot of these things already setup...

http://www.pair.com/services/e-commerce/payment_services/

A couple more pages...
http://www.pair.com/services/e-commerce/web_hosting/

http://www.pair.com/services/e-commerce/

Their main page...
http://www.pair.com/

Then you can get a credit card machine from your bank and take credit cards over the phone.

Or get software for your PC and attach a card reader. Use the PC as the credit card machine (in person, mail, or over the phone orders). Companies like the one Pair refers you to provide the software (as well as the online stuff). Or maybe your bank?

Or you could sell stuff through Amazon, then they take a percentage I imagine. I suppose you could have your own web page with links to your Amazon products? Amazon sells almost everything these days. I bought some plastic paper plate holders, a DVD RW drive, and a SATA to IDE disk drive adapter recently.

Martin Hodge · 2010-10-11 13:43

Having had experience with real merchant accounts, the ones that allow you to run credit cards through yourself, my biggest advice is read and underdtand the contract thoroughly! Know when the contract term is up, when it renews and what fees are involved if you cancel. These are some shady companies that have direct access to your bank account and can withdraw funds anytime they want. Be it a charge back or some exorbitant fees. I've been socked with a $350 cancellation fee before for cancelling outside the 30 window. Unless you're planning to do at least a dozen transactions a day, it comes out better for you to use a 3rd party processor like PayPal or 2checkout. Their fees may see higher up front, but there's fewer gotchas and they're far less likely to overdraft your bank account without notice. If you do opt for a real merchant account, I suggest using a second checking account just for it.

This is my opinion from experience, you mileage may vary.

Ragtop · 2010-10-11 14:01

Paypal also has a free debit card which makes the paypal money
way too easy to spend on the street. It can also be used
online to pay stores that don't yet accept paypal.

You also have the option of putting your funds in a money market. This
was nice back when, but currently the rate is 0.18% APY

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) · 2010-10-11 14:45

With PayPal, you have to provide a linked bank account for cash transfers into and out of your PayPal account. For security reasons, I set up a separate bank account just to satisfy this requirement and keep only $5 in that account.

-Phil

Merchant Accounts

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