Official Luthiers Forum!

I would like to get set up to use Visa & Mastercard for my website. Can some one help with who to choose and other advice? You can send a PM or e-mail.
Thanks
BobC

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I used Charge.com for a small business I started a few years ago, they used Authorize.net as a payment gateway. That was a good solution, but at times technically challenging. They would definitely be worth a look.

And I think Pay Pal now has merchant services. I think their fees are reasonable and the software looks pretty easy. That is who we are looking at for the luthier's showcase.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Certainly on this side of the Atlantic PayPal is a lot cheaper than any of the credit card companies if you're a small-volume seller.

The only downside of PayPal is the delay (can be as much as a month) if the customer isn't registered already.

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Pete
http://www.petewoodmanguitars.com

For an online business I have (independently released CD's) I ended up using PayPal after getting tired of the various fees and security issues of excepting cards. PayPal worked well for me, but I have heard a few horror stories of merchants getting ripped off after sending out there products and then having the purchaser put a freeze on the funds. PayPal was apparently freezing the merchants ENTIRE account, inluding any another funds that were in the account at the time. Be aware of this on big ticket items like guitars. I think spending a few hours with google and looking at reviews of the various options would be wise.

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

i do use paypal and it has worked out well with no problems so far. the problem with paypal is when the customer is there in person with a credit card. They are not set up to handle this. There is no need for a customer to register any more.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

[QUOTE=Bobc] i do use paypal and it has worked out well with no problems so far. the problem with paypal is when the customer is there in person with a credit card. They are not set up to handle this. There is no need for a customer to register any more.[/QUOTE]

Well, you could just set them down at your computer and direct them to the PayPal site.

Actually walk in only is probably easier and cheaper than accepting CCs online. I think a merchant account and a credit card machine would do it. You can call the card company to verify the card while they are there if you need to and save the cost of a verification service.

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

Yeah, but those verifone machines & printers are expensive and if you rarely use them it is hard to justify that investment.

I think figuring out a way to get an internet connection would be the way to go.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

So far no go on internet connection. But my cell phone should work.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I have a credit card system set up for my restaurant and I think it would be cheaper with Paypal unless you are doing a large volume. My fees on my account last year were about 5% plus a monthly service charge.

I buy a lot through my paypal account and use my credit card for all purchases so I can get my Airmiles..

Gary

Check with your local bank and places like Costco to compare costs. Last time I set up a Merchant account for my office I found the costs vary greatly. I ended up using MBNA's merchant account. It cost about 1% of what was charged plus a nominal monthly fee. I dropped it a couple of years ago because it didn't get much use. But it was definitely worth shopping around for.

Joe Volin

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
Yeah, but those verifone machines & printers are expensive and if you rarely use them it is hard to justify that investment.

I think figuring out a way to get an internet connection would be the way to go.

[/QUOTE]

Yep, no use paying for a verification service unless you are doing large volume or large money transactions.Actually I was talking about an old fashioned carbon copy imprint maker, which is what I use at festivals. You can call the credit card company directly to verify if you have suspisions about a particular customer.

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

The one brock posted is a pretty good one. It ends up costing you like
$40 a month plus a small percentage fee based on your sales. I use one
that goes through the same service (authorize.net) and costs me $25 a
month plus $10 statement fee so $35 instead of $45, but not much
difference. Same percentages.. easy to use and the money gets deposited
direct into your bank account within about 3-4 days after the sale. Just
expect to pay $30-$50 a month to have the service unless you use paypal
(which is nice but not everyone has paypal, and the fees are more)

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Paypal is beginning to offer merchant services which doesn't require end customers to have accounts.... One nice thing about this is that you start off with all cards right off the bat. Amex and Discover are included. Most of the time you have to apply for those separate from V / MC.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
Paypal is beginning to offer merchant services which doesn't require end customers to have accounts.... One nice thing about this is that you start off with all cards right off the bat. Amex and Discover are included. Most of the time you have to apply for those separate from V / MC.

[/QUOTE]

Will this also work for walking in the door purchases rather than online?

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

are there rates still close to 3% for orders less than $3K? Cause that is
nuts.. it adds up quick...

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Thanks to everyone that replied with their thoughts and tips on setting MC/Visa accounts.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498