Who has their own merchant account?

[DesertDreamer]

I've been following Jodi Lindsey's recent problems with Paypal. This is one more in a list of incidents I've been aware of in the last several months. I'm thinking REAL HARD about setting up my own merchant account so I can accept credit cards on my own, probably through my current bank or a nearby credit union.

I probably wouldn't be so flighty if I were ONLY selling online. However, I'm going to start doing shows again, and would love to be able to process credit cards for sales. I know MY buying habits and I spend much more when I can throw a little onto plastic.

So, any thoughts, experiences or advice?

[wildfirelauri]

The majority of my sales, at shows, are processed through credit cards. It is an absolute necessity for me.

[dichromary]

Hi Karen, I have a merchant account through Cosco for the past 3 years.

The system processes MC/Visa/AM Ex/Disc. The money gets deposited into my business checking account whenever I press the settle button on the credit card machine. You can lease the machine and the printer but I decided its more cost effective to own.

For Ebay transactions, majority of the buyers still use PayPal. But almost all of my website purchases are paid throuth the merchant account.

Mary

[dragonflylane]

I've been interested in a merchanct acct also. Would any of you be willing to share the setup cost/reoccurring expenses that come along with one?

My problem is I don't wanna make a fortune w/my stuff. I want my jewelry to be affordable to normal people like myself. :) And all the merchanct acct. stuff I've seen is quite expensive. Would love to have one, but can't go in the hole for it.

[Leah Nelson]

I have one on my website and I love it!! If my customers call me I can manually input their card numbers myself. I pay only 1.49% for my rate and I can charge up to $10,000 per month.

If you need any more information, just PM me.

Leah

[Leah Nelson]

Hey Christie,
I didn't see your response, but I pay according to the amount of sales I have. I believe there is a $10 minimum charge, but not sure, since I do have some sales every month.

My average cost is $40-$50 per month. American Express costs me a flat $5.00 per month. I definitely make more than that each month, so it's good to have.

[fay]

:D I do. I was hesitant to do so for a long time and now I can not imagine not being able to take credit cards.

FYI: I use Retriever...Tom Nielsen (888-549-6424). He is AWESOME to work with!! They charge 9.95 service charge each month plus a percentage of your sales. Last month no sales so only 9.95!! I do not have the radio service though:crying: !


I called Sams, Costco, the bank, all of the companies in Craft Report, etc. This was the best deal during the time of my research. Things change so you might want to call a few places. Good luck!!
:cool:

[Linnea]

I have a merchant account ,, I got it for the fair and I have to say most of my big sales are by credit card. my provider is NPS, national payment service out of michigan.

[lepoppet]

I've heard good things about ProPay.com. Their rates are really reasonable and they have online processing.

Maria

[ginko]

Having my own merchant account has not been without its own problems, so I wouldn't recommend running away from PayPal in hopes of never having problems again. We have our account because we do shows. If I sold only over the net, then I probably would stay with something like PayPal. With all the bank mergers/sales of the past few years, don't be surprised if you one day discover your merchant account processing service mysteriously changed. You certainly don't want to discover this on the biggest show weekend of the year. Been there, done that. Eventually there was a happy ending.

-debbi

[Leah Nelson]

I've gotten many PMs today about my merchant account, so I thought I'd post who I use, how to get one, etc...

Disclaimer...I'm only a happy customer and have no affiliations with these companies.

I've had my merchant account since January. I use www.authorizenet.com. You have to go through a reseller to get your account set up. And I used www.charge.com. There is a $195 processing fee to get everything set up.

With authorize.net, I'm charged 1.49 percent discount rate. That will vary depending on your credit history. They routinely allow $5,000 per month on charges, but will raise it if asked.

My fees for authorize.net vary, depending on the amount of sales I have every month. My average is about $26 per month. Authorize.net does the actual charging of credit cards. Another company, ipayment, charges me to move my money to my business account. That charge is roughly the same as authorize.net, but again, it varies according to the amount of my sales.

I also am charged a flat $5.00 fee to accept American Express. As long my sales on AmEx don't exceed $5,000 in a calender year, they will continue charging the flat fee. Otherwise, they'll charge a discount rate like Visa/MC.

When you look into getting your own merchant account for your website, you'll have to make sure your shopping cart is compatible. Most merchant account companies, however, will give you the cart software.

I don't use any swiping equipment, since I don't do shows anymore, but from what I understand, you can call authorize.net and get a verbal authorization over the phone. So, potentially, you don't need to buy equipment if you do shows. I'm not 100-percent sure about the verabal authorization (since I don't do shows), but I'm sure you could find out.

When I began my search about a year ago to find a merchant account, I expected to pay about $100 per month. I have never paid that much.

Hope this information helps!