Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I just saw an article that mentioned how Google Checkout was giving away $10 for each new transaction during the holidays to "test" the service?  Anyone tried it?  Is it good?  Is it any different than Paypal?  Seems as though that is who they are going after with this service.  I think they are sort of late to jump on board. 

I am not using it yet but I am getting ready to start. They are giving out all kinds of free transactions and incentives right now. Plus, I am so tired of Paypal that I will gladly support someone who could be a real competitor. The online payment market is in dire need of some good competition which I believe does not currently exist. 

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SecurityDistro Arm Your Toolbox

I personally haven`t used Paypal enough to know if I like it or don`t.  I`m sure in a small business that relies on that type of service, it would be critical to have something that works right!  My husband is exploring some of Paypal`s advanced transaction options for his business, but he is still undecided on using them.

I have to hand it to Paypal. They have a good system which is widely used and works well. But if something goes wrong with a payment and you have to deal with support, etc... then it will become a nightmare. If he wants to test their support tell him to send them a support email and see if he ever gets a human response back. If he does then he will have done better than I.


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SecurityDistro Arm Your Toolbox

I`ve never had an issue with Paypal... works well and I always get my money.  I have not had to use their "support" as of yet and I`ve been using paypal for as long as I can remember.  I have no experience with Google and am reluctant to change something that works.

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Pokerman It`s not about what you can do... it`s about what you will do! Amateur Poker League Software - Drive Traffic - Add 100,000 Songs to your website - Music Catalog

Paypals behavior when "thing go wrong" is nearly criminal.
If I were you, I would never use cash for my transaction, only credit, if you are using paypal.
And never keep money in your account, lest paypal decides to snatch it from you.

I am very excited about Google`s new product. I hope they destroy PayPal.

We started using it last month.  In our case it worked fine but there is room for major improvement.  How good it will work for you really depends upon your business requirements.  There is no question the Buy Now button is easy to put on any web site.  Their sales interface works very smoothly when the Buy Now buttons are used.  The only problems we have run into with the Buy Now buttons, or any other way you do it, is the information you receive from Google concerning an order does not include the phone number.  They also do not give you the billing address, just the shipping address.  Their interface for collecting the order does not make sure that all the information like contact name or company name is collected for the shipping address either.  These oversights may be costly when your packages do not get to the shipping address and are returned to you.  This is made worse since they do not include the phone number, a required field for many parcel carriers, and the carrier cannot even call the customer in an attempt to get package to the right address.  I have emailed Google support about these issues and they say they will take my concerns under consideration for future changes, but as of this date it is still an issue.

If you sell more than one item at a time or have a lot of volume, the Buy Now buttons are more than likely not a good choice.  Instead you will need one of the supported shopping cart systems or you will need to use their development instructions to do it yourself.  We are switching to this method at this time but if you do not have an extensive web programming background and a lot of time on your hands, you should look for a supported shopping cart system.  The good thing about using this method is that you can automate nearly all the manual functions including order processing and interfacing with your shipping system.  One other thing you need to be aware of is that the issues we have with the Buy Now button shipping information and phone number are the same issues if you use this method.  That is, unless your shopping cart or in-house created system collects the information for you.

We plan to add Paypal next so I cannot really tell you how they compare at this time, but I soon will know.  I hope this helps and good luck…

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

Yes, we use Google Checkout. They do not have any fees until Dec 30, 2007. Although they may not have all the applications of PayPal, they could benefit your bottom line during this promotional period. However, they do have partners with different cart systems you could use for your e-commerce sites. Personally, I like Google Checkout because it is simple.

You know, it sounds like it has it`s pros and cons.  Free is always nice, though! even if it is through Dec 2007.  If Google can ultimately make a better system than Paypal, and provide better customer support, then they may just have another goldmine on their hands.  Does Google ever stop?  I am a user of gmail for my personal e-mail, and I love it.  However, I have never been able to set it up with my Microsoft Outlook.  I think there are glitches with that when I have looked into it and read some of the forum posts right at Google about that issue.  Anyway, I am excited to try Google Checkout at some point. 

There is no question that the new Google Checkout has value and the deal they are offering right now are hard to pass up.  That is, as long as it fits ones business model.  My experience with their support has been very good to date even though it is totally through email.  To be a new product, its flaws are very minor compared to many first time releases.  The most impressive thing I have seen from their support people is the fact that they agreed with my shipping address issue, thank me for my input, and stated that it was new product and they were going to make it better.  Very impressive!  Many support organizations these days will tell you a problem like this is unique to you and for you to go away.  In short, I think they will have the cons worked out in very short order and this will become a very heavily used product in the future...

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...