Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi All,

I am new to this site and new to e-commerce.  I am currently working on getting my online store up and I am trying to decide whether I should use Pay Pal or another payment gateway.  I have heard good/bad things about both, but I thought this would be a good forum to ask people with experience what their thoughts were. 

So, what do you use and are you happy with it?  Do you wish you had done it differently from the beginning? 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

First of all, welcome aboard.

As an e-commerce site owner, and a mentor for several members here at SuN I can assure you that using a Payment Gateway is much more effective than pinching pennies using just PayPal. Shoppers feel much more confortable with an on-line store that offers not only PayPal, but also a Payment Gateway ... like Authorize.net.  It gives you the look of the "big boys" and not just a "Mom and Pop" operation.

Visit BoxerHaus.com, http://BoxerHaus.com , or GoTruckStop.com , http://www.gotruckstop.com/cgi-bin/acart/apple-search.pl?&am p;am p;am p;am p;am p;am p;am p;keywords=all&begin=1&end=5&display=10  ,

and you will see the type of store layout/data base/ shopping cart that works ... and works well.

The shopping cart/data base is so effective that go to Google and type in ...

big rig gifts ... or ... big rig accessories ... trucker gifts

and see what comes up. Or just follow these  links ...

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8 &rls=RNWE,RNWE:2004-32,RNWE:en&q=big+rig+gifts

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8 &rls=RNWE,RNWE:2004-32,RNWE:en&q=big+rig+accessories

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8 &rls=RNWE,RNWE:2004-32,RNWE:en&q=trucker+gifts

And those results took less than 5 months to bring about !!

Also see exactly what Beth wrote about her new web site  BoxerHaus.com ...

http://www.startupnation.com/pages/community/forum_posts.asp ?TID=1069&PN=1 here at SuN.

If you are interested in learning more about this e-commerce solution ...

give me a call.

480-544/4671.

TJ Graff

(And no.... I don`t charge for any mentoring services, help, suggestions, or referalls, I don`t get a kick-back on the web site design ...  nor am I "wanting to get in on the ground level of your operation" (like some here desire to do) I do this as a way to show the true spirit of SuN ... entrepreneurs HELPING each other succeed. Something that some here have forgotten)

Hey Lizzers,

persoanlly, I think it is up to you how you would prefer to do it....
Right now, I prefer to use just Paypal. With a formal merchant account, there are way to many fees, and the bad thing is even if you don`t have any sales at all, there are still montly fees that they chages you. But with paypal you are just charges basically per use, no monthly fees just to me a member.
So, If funds are an issue in the beginning, I would use just Paypal, and as sales grow and are more predicable, then use can think about getting an actual merchant account.

For the most part, I agree with TJG`s assesment of paypal VS. payment gateway. There is a bit of the “are these guys real?” effect with a paypal only system. It makes you look a little small… unable to get involved with a gateway system. But it really comes down to your budget. Sometime, you do get what you pay for.

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Paul, your post proves my point that I have been stating for several months now ...

Open an on-line business only when you have the needed start-up money to start a start-up. (And a good on-line businesses solution only requires $3000 - $5000 to start.) (Remember Beth`s post regarding BoxerHaus.com`s opening.)

If you are nickle & diming for the mere $20/month that is required for an Authorize.net gateway ... maybe one needs to stop and think if they can afford to start a business at this moment.

Paul, not to knock your site ... but ...

Is it possible that the reason you have not had a sale yet is because you DON"T have a payment gateway?

TJ,

It is not just $20 a month though.....
it is $20 a month, + a certain percentage of all sales and if no sales they still hit you with all kinda fees just for having the account.....
If it was just $20 a month themn I would not have a problem doing it.

With no sales I pay 15.00 per month. (authorize.net) If sales, 15 per month plus 1-3% depending on volume of sales.


TJG. In my situation your $20 a month is right on.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Maybe it was just the service I had before. All I know was I got charged for even thinking about it.

And TJ,
The whole purpose of starting a business is to better yourself and you can only work with with what you have. I may not have bottom less pockest so does that mean I have to wait till I have the money to do anything. With me...no, it is called determination. You may not be able to afford all the bells and whistles you may need, but you will eventually get there, and  it may take longer, but in my ecperience, if you wait, it will never get done......so for the time being, you work with what you have and in time you can do the things you would like to do.....
When your buying a house, you want a nice 4 bed room with a huge back yard.....but all you can afford is a 3 bed room with an alley way...hehe
You fix it up, sell it for more than you bought it for (and you may have to do this 2 or 3 times to get to the 4 bed and huge back yard, but if you just wait till you have the money.....you may never get there.....

Paul, $3000 - $5000 is NOT a large amount of money. I never said that you need to have ALL the money you will ever need to design, maintain, and market an on-line business.

But to do it well, and to have a web site that works (functionally, marketablity and merchandising wise) one needs, IMHO, starting out BEHIND the 8 ball ... just does not make sense. 

And if $20/month is going to put you behind the 8 ball for a Payment Gateway ... then ... (need I say more?)

Web site design can go for $50,000 - 60,000 -or $75,000 ... I never said that that is what is required ...

But trying to start out without proper capitalization ... one is just asking for disaster. Or atleast a much more difficult time in succeeding. (Just a small dose of reality.)

Thank you for all your replies....this is really helpful!