Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone,

I am hoping someone has information regarding online merchants. I am starting my own business and would like to receive credit card payments online. I spent the last day looking for merchants who cater to small businesses and offer great rates.  Can anyone provide me info from there experiences with various merchants? I would also appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks

Ree

I use paypal. It`s been really convenient for me. I did look into
the many options out there, but didn`t want to pay some of the
fees that were included.Paypal works well with my online store
and I have never had a problem.


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Sarah Founder www.sarahsperfectgift.com Gift giving made easy

That was one of the merchants I was looking at. Originally I was under the impression that the client would also need to have a pay pal acct and that is not the case. They actually have various plans/pkg in which to choose.

Thanks Saraheighm

Good luck

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Sarah Founder www.sarahsperfectgift.com Gift giving made easy

Hi Ree,

To accept online CC payments, you need to either have your own Internet Merchant Account or use a 3rd party payment processor (Also referred to as 3rd party merchant account).

(1) Own Merchant Account: Getting your own Internet Merchant Account is more expensive and time consuming and involves high initial set up costs. You can contact your bank and check with them if they can open one for your business. I personally got mine from a company called Cardservice International, Inc. (cardservice.com ) They offered me a complete solution that included merchant account, payment gateway, virtual terminal etc.

(2) 3rd Party Account: In this category, PayPal.com is very popular. ( After acquisition of Verisign,  they offer processing services, too, if you have your own merchant account). Another company, worth mentioning, in this category is 2Checkout, Inc (2checkout.com ). I have personal experience of dealing with both PayPal & 2checkout. I personally found 2checkout.com to be more professional. Also, if you plan to accept orders from countries other than the USA, then PayPal has some limitations as they accept orders from a selected countries. 2checkout can accept orders worldwide. If your product is digital, you may also consider clickbank.com, though I have never used their services personally.

Hope this helps. Wish you good luck

Regards
Nat



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www.TeleBoost.com
Let Us Cut Your Costs & Boost Your Profits!

Hi Ree:  I use both Paypal and Innovative Gateway for my ecommerce site.  In my opinion both are very reliable.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, some view having just Paypal as rather unprofessional which is why I utilize both.

Hello,

I have used http://www.cdgcommerce.com/ for almost 3 years.  I am currently using Authorize.net through them, but frankly would consult them on the specific merchant account gateway to use. 

Your online merchant is something to consider carefully.  Please do not just look at rates.  What you are paying is a factor, but if you are using online payments you want to make sure the company you use will be there EACH time a transaction occurs.

If you need any help, please let me know.  I have worked with several people getting this setup.

 

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Thanks,

Jake Necessary
Check my Profile for Messengers

Hi Ree,

I think Nat did a wonderful job answering your question.  My business actually has thousands of people who use merchant accounts and payment gateways to do what you are looking to do, and thousands more who use paypal, so I have some experience in the area....

In a nutshell I might suggest you start with PayPal until your volume reaches a certain threshhold (say ~$1500/month), then you might want to explore the alternatives because that is when the cost savings kick in.

Also consider transaction volumes.  If you do over 300 transactions/month I`d recommend Verisign PayFlowPro.  Otherwise Authorize.net is very professional (but you need a Merchant Account) or Psigate.com will take care of you from start to finish.

I hope that helps,

- Mike


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