Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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Charlotte Terry
RooKaps -- USB Replacement Caps


http://www.RooKaps.com

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Hi Charlotte - have you looked into "Merchant Anywhere": http://www.merchantanywhere.com/?  This may be a good starting option as they do not require a long term contract.  I like it because it allows me to process credit cards on-line without having to swipe the card.  Good luck.

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Tracy Barnhart, Owner
Giverny, Inc. / Mini Me Geology
http://www.GivernyOnline.com
http://www.MiniMeGeology.com

Hello,

I`ll tell you what I like about QuickBooks Merchant Services, one of the many processing acquirers we have represented for many years.

1.)  No start up fees (we waive the standard $59.00)
2.)  No contract or early termination fees--if you don`t like or need  it,  you`re not trapped
3.)  Includes Virtual terminal at no extra cost.  Process anywhere via internet connected laptop
4 )  Includes secure gateway at no addl. cost.  Otherwise, authorize.net is $20 month plus $149  setup.
5.)  Cost effective. !2.95 monthly fee may seem high, but it really isn`t considering they do not charge batch fees, AVS fees, annual membership fees etc as do most other plans. (Note, the QB direct site is $17.95 per month, as indepent affiliates we charge $12.95.
6.) Owned by Intuit, makers of Quicken, QuickBooks, etc. a Fortune 500 Co.  No brand X
which is important.
7.)  QuickBooks Simple Start software included free.  For only $50 more, upgrade to QB Pro 2008, sells for $159 at Costco, even more at Office Depot. 

So with no setup costs, free software, and ability to opt out anytime on 30 days notice, not much to dislike.  We`ve been in the business over 20 years and really like this product.  Please review the fees and benefits, and if  you like, apply online, at this site:

http://www.merchantservices-help.com/quickbooks.html

Incidentally, I notice another poster mentioned they were very happy with Authorize.net.
Lets straighten out a little confusion here.  Authorize.net is a secure gateway provider, NOT a merchant services provider.  Two entirely different elements with separate pricing. Both are needed to process credit cards over the internet (possibly in addition to a shopping cart).  Authorize.net is used in conjunction with a merchant account, it is not a merchant account in and of itself.  Authorize.net SMRP is $149 setup plus $20.00 per month and $.10 per item in addition to merchant account rates and fees.  (The QuickBooks program mentioned above provides this same secured gateway feature at no extra charge as noted above.)

Please call or email with questions.  Thanks, and good luck.

AMSPCS
Barry G
amspcs@juno.com
www.MerchantServices-help.com
1-877-689-1691 toll free USA

Our business offers merchant account set ups.  They are a pain in the neck to set up yourself, get them working on your site and up and running.  We do the application for you and set it up for free.  My contact info is on the site if you have questions, I would be happy to answer.

We chose Authorize.net with Dharma Merchant Services as our provider, and we couldn`t be happier. Our start up fee was $50. They have one price for all qualifications, which was important to us because our purchases are more likely to be mid qualified. They have a simple rate table for everything on their website. They also donate a percentage of their gross proceeds to charity. We were with a major player before them, and they were deceptive about their pricing so we left them and went to Dharma.


If you have questions or confusion about any of the merchants, I suggest calling them directly and asking questions - I found it much easier to absorb it all listening to them explain it than I did reading it myself. It was all Greek to me, but finally the quarter dropped!

(Barry, I didn`t even know that Quickbooks had a merchant service, interesting! It sounds like you have good rates also.)



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http://www.ifancyfood.com

your own merchant account >>>>>>Paypal


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Lee Waltham
The SIP Marketing Group
http://www.sipmarketinggroup.com
info@sipmarketinggroup.com
Skype Id: sip.marketing

Have to contradict the previous poster,  Paypal is NOT a merchant account.  It is an ALTERNATIVE to a merchant account (and a very poor one at that), a very very very different concept.

Obviously, the previous poster has a good experience with Paypal, and we wish him all the continued luck in the world.  The fact is, however, as a satisfied PP customer he/she is in the distinct and growing minority.  We have been so overwhelmed by irate PP customers lately that we have discontinued referring to them and pulled our webpage on Paypal.  Here`s an interesting link you can research to see what other people think of Paypal:

http://www.paypalwarning.com/

Don`t get me wrong. Paypal USED to be great, but very clearly not any more.  Something going on there, nobody seems to be sure quite what, but something.  They`ll hold your funds with reason or explanation, hassle your customers until they flee to  your competition, and a myriad of other outrages.  And forget about customer service....nonexistent.  At best, if you call them you`ll get some unintelligible inappropriate canned gibberish and if you question them or their policies, they`ll just hang up on you.  YES, this is what I am hearing and have experienced myself.  Didn`t used to be this way, but it is now.

You have been given some very sound advise by previous posters in this forum about doing things right and getting yourself a real merchant account:  QuickBooks, Dharma, Merchantanywhere, etc.  Do yourself a huge favor and investigate these options and avoid Paypal like the plague.

AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com

Actually, I was saying that having your own merchant account is better (> = greater than, i guess I`m a forum geek) than having paypal anyday. I am NOT happy with the customer service I received in the past from paypal and I wouldn`t recommend them to anyone. 

GET YOUR OWN MERCHANT ACCOUNT!

Lee


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Lee Waltham
The SIP Marketing Group
http://www.sipmarketinggroup.com
info@sipmarketinggroup.com
Skype Id: sip.marketing