Any experience with accepting credit cards with your e-business?

[slick4591[$]]

I'm wanting to open an e-business that will need to accept credit cards for payment. I'm not set up for that yet, so I need to get there. So far this is the only place I've found :

http://www.hostmaster2000.com/

They quote the fees from the bank as:

Merchant Account Bank Fees
As an authorized VISA/MasterCard merchant you have to pay some bank fees:
For VISA or MasterCard 2.29% from each charge (Discount rate) + 25 cents per transaction or $20 per month whichever is greater.
A $10 statement fee applies once a month. These fees are charged by your merchant bank and gateway provider.
You can add American Express to your account without additional costs. Discover/NOVUS charges an initial fee of $75.-- to open an account with them (not included in our E-Package).

You will be able to process ALL credit card transactions through your VISA/Mastercard merchant account and you will have ONE account history for ALL cards using the back office of your real-time software.

and I'm still not sure of what their fee is. I have no idea if this is good or bad.

Can someone help me please?

[mrisch[$]]

I would try yahoo.com stores - I recommended this to one of our clients, and they like it a lot. THey host, take credit cards, etc.

[slick4591[$]]

Thanks, Michael! I'll go and look.

[frazzledspice]

Using PayPal allows your customers to use credit cards. They pay PayPal and PayPal pays you.

That's what my husband does on Ebay. Do you think that would work for you? It would be less expensive, and most e-shoppers have PayPal accounts, I think.

I think even international shoppers can use it, although I think they pay a fee in addition to whatever PayPal charges you. (It's less than the credit card processor you quote.)

[Johnhanry]

Thanks for your information, I don't have any idea regarding credit cards. But I'm eager to know about that which might help me to develop my ebusiness.

[lynnzop[$]]

I use propay.com for my merchant sales. Good rates, easy to use, deposits straight to my bank account.

[sleeper54]

...
I thought there were dozens/many companies that offered credit-card services..??

Also, many 'business people' seem to have PayPal horror stories. Customers too, from anecdotal observations over the years.


Your thought to find out what others have found to work well is a solid business decision. Not that you need me to tell you that. ...:minism:...


...tom...

[slick4591[$]]

I dropped the e-business idea and went with the restaurant, and learned first hand how many of these companies work. Percentages they charge may appear low but they hide some fees that could actually have you paying more in the long run. Debit cards are usually at a higher rate than credit. I've looked into several companies and the way they do business will make your head spin. I do not take credit cards in the catering biz largely because of this.

[lynnzop[$]]

Dennis, if you have requests to use plastic and it impedes your business, you might seriously want to check out Propay. Most of the crafters and artists I know use them. There aren't hidden fees and the rates really are quite low.

For my business, accepting plastic is a necessity. Jewelry is an impulse item for the most part, and 70% of my sales are done via card. Plus, I don't carry cash, so why should I expect my customers to?

[slick4591[$]]

The catering biz is usually set up weeks, if not months in advance, so it's not a spontaneous buy. I've never had anyone tell me they are not using me because I don't accept credit/debit cards. In fact, they usually understand when I tell them I would charge them 5% more if I did. Doing corporate events I sometimes have to wait on a check, but they always get to me.

The business I initially thought of doing was selling smoked meats via the internet, so accepting credit cards would have been a necessity as it was in the restaurant biz.

Slap me silly if I ever go back to accepting cards again, but I'll check out Propay out if I ever do.