I have seriously considered getting rid of my in-house credit card processing since my work is changing and I am also venturing into the virtual marketplace...
so...My questions are:
1.Is Pay Pal really worth it? (It seems as though it would remove monthly fees and allow more options.)
2. The payment schedule seems reasonable for the volume numbers...Is there hidden BS that I must anticipate?
3. I have used it to pay for items before...and have had no problems...Has anyone here had any problems...and if so...what kind?
4. AND last but not least...Is there a comparable service out there to investigate?
That's all I can think of to ask right now.
Thanks a Bunch in Advance!
Posted by Graham Parsons (Member # 1129) on :
Hi Robert,
I've used PayPal for both buying & selling and never had a problem but you do hear some horror stories. You might want to check out www.paypalsucks.com
On the whole, my own experience has been good - I've not found any comparable services (no monthly fee, etc) although there are a few pretenders out there.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Aside from the eBay community, I haven't found anyone that really makes use of it.
For what it costs, nothing if you never use it, you may as well make that a payment option available to people that are familiar with it. I would NOT cancel your existing CC processing/merchant account. Internet shoppers still prefer to use their credit/debit cards because of the protection their bank gives them. Even though PayPal DOES favor the customer over the merchant in all disputes, there's still a good number of people that don't trust PayPal.
If you have the old credit card imprinting machine or a swipe machine with keypad, you might just replace those with terminal software for your computer or use a service like AuthorizeNet where you log into a Virtual Terminal on their website, enter card info and get instant Approval Status. The nice thing about the Virtual Terminal, which is the service I use, is you can log in from anywhere. You can be on the road, take a phone call or check email, run the numbers at any computer then you know the order is confirmed and ready for production when you get back home.
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
this is from a post I made on another website concerning some research we did with paypal purchases on Ebay. And there seems to be a similiar trend on sites selling via paypal only..
QUOTE... I've been watching ebay for a while. I buy and sell there. I was considering using paypal only as a means of collecting money. During the past few weeks after watching a number of items and payment systems.. As a seller I come to this conclusion. Do not demand paypal only as a payment.
Demanding paypal payment only usuallly brings a lower bid, in some cases a much lower bid than those sellers accepting accepting paypal and money orders. There are a number of items demanding paypal for payment getting no bids at all.
For example Phaser 850 printer products which are common items. Many paypal only items are getting no bids at all with many hits on the counters Items that accept both paypal and money orders there are many hits, and most have early bids days and hours before the ending times.
conclusion: The trend seems to be:
Rare items demanding paypal only will get some bids. Rare items demanding paypal or money order payment get more bids with a higher outcomes.
Common items demanding paypal only get lower bids and fewer bids with a signifcant number getting no bids.
Common items accepting money orders or paypal get more bids ending with higher amounts.
If you are a buyer you could use this paypal aversion as an advantage. If you are a seller you are losing money demanding only paypal and maybe risk getting no bids. --C
Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Guys
Thanks for the input!!! SO...based on what I see you saying....
Graham-definately interesting info and website.
Mike...I assume that AuthorizeNet would replace my existing cc process...yes?...or would it not. and...quite a few resellers...anyone you suggest?
I have had Merchant services for many years and they stink! This is just helping me make a descision...as my service was through a computer software processing terminal in which I have never used a swipe feature.
Curtis...so just making sure to include money order would do it?...or am I missing something?...and are there any other features that I should consider adding?
Thanks a lot...a new world for me kinda!
Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Guys
I also was able to follow the link thru the paypalsucks.com link and it lists several alternatives...so...checking them out now.
Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Heads
I thought I should throw this tidbit in as I ponder this issue. This verbiage was posted online and I am looking forward to what they have to say...
They offer a free "book" of info...just for signing on for those interested
And the rates are definately lower than paypal....
so I will keep ya a breast
Posted by Frank Magoo (Member # 3950) on :
My experiences w/Paypal are among the nitemares...they don't seem to correlate what they say you owe them and what they eventually take as owed...another little trick of theirs is to place a limit on how much money you can take out of your paypal account monthly...I found them not worth the hassles and like Curtis alluded to, sales don't amount to jack, using paypal as only source of payment...
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Robert, I just went through my local bank to get going with AuthorizeNet.
Yes, it completely replaces any existing CC processing methods.
What I like about it is, I can enter customer info manually as collected from my secure server, I can interface the terminal with an online shopping cart so processing is handled immediately and "real time" when the customer orders (for pre-made products with set price or if you create a part number for a custom item), and I can run processing on local orders too, entering the information manually into the virtual terminal.
This hasn't happened yet but another feature is, say if I go to an event and I take orders for product there, if there is wireless internet access available (we have an art show here in the winter on main street, where there are wireless hotpoints all over the place) I can connect to the terminal and run authorizations on the spot to get the sales while the people are hot on the idea, instead of paying the steep fees for a wireless swipe terminal.
I have no problems with my merchant services. The account is at my local bank here, I don't have any problems getting into the terminal website. I log in, enter the info, run the authorization and make sure the addresses match up, 5 days later the money is in the bank. Couldn't be easier or less hassle.
Posted by Hugh Potter (Member # 5748) on :
i use paypal as an option on my auctions, but it is a pain in the ass really, i'm not allowed to charge my buyers to cover the paypal charges,
i once had some irate idiot email me to tell me he was gonna report me for charging buyers to pay me by paypal, i mentioned to him that he can do what he likes, why, on ebay at least, should i pay to list, say £5, then pay a final fee on £100 of say £3, and then when they pay me by paypal i lose 5% again to them, all for the privelage of letting a buyer 'pay now' instead of writing a cheque, and me geting charged for it, i've stopped using paypal as an option of smaller items altogether it aint worth it, not to mention, in the uk it takes 5 days from me telling paypal i wanna download my cash, to it geting into my account, the customer can send me a cheque overnight for £1, i get in the bank next day and it's clear in 3 days, not to mention it costs me nothing but a trip to the bank, all of a 5 min walk !
i've just decided, i'm not gonna use paypal any longer ! stuff em !
Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Hey Frank...Long time bud!...how's the project coming?
Thanks Mike...Hugh...I have spent the entire day on this project and have come to the same conclusions as y'all have...PAYPAL LACKS ALL INTEGRITY and has a bad rep in all aspects
and the best alternative out there is thru AuthorizeNet
I found a reseller (I am getting away from Chase too Mike - my current bank of 20 years) and the best I found was this:
Electronic Processing of Texas (Houston TX) 1-800-960-3473 No set-up fee 10.00 Monthly Gateway Fee 10.00 Monthly Merchant Service Fee 25.00 Minimm Monthly Transaction Fee .30 per transaction & 2.3% per transaction ticket total (no volume limit) no batch fee *Virtual Terminal is included with this service *Check Processing is Included with this service *CVV Code Verification (Credit Card) *AVS Address Verification System (Credit Card) no cancellation fee
and is higher - 3.44% for foreign, government, or corporate credit card transactions.
does that all sound right to you Mike?
So...This fits my bill okay now till I start processing millions...LOL
Thanks for all the info!
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Robert it all looks about the same as mine except on mine they don't break down the Montly fees like that. I get charged a straight $30 ($28 plus change, actually) per month, plus the transaction fees which I believe are dead on with the rates you got.
I also pay another flat $5/month (low volume) to accept American Express.
I can process literally any card out there.
I hardly ever handle physical money from customers anymore. It's a trip when you don't have to make trips to the bank for deposits yet your account keeps growing. Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Cool Mike
well...it has been an education!
what do you use for your basket?...did they supply code for that?
for website interaction.
they suggested ocommerce
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Just a comment from a non-paypal user.
If I want to download/buy something on the internet, I use my credit card to do so.
If the seller doesn't accept credit card payment, I'll pass.
Posted by Robert Beverly (Member # 1907) on :
Howdy Dave
Yes...I agree with you...
just looking for an alternative to paypal as a way of allowing you to pay by credit card.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Robert, I haven't done the integration with a shopping cart yet, rarely do I have someone ordering multiple items so I just create orderforms for each major selling item. I have PERL Shop and MIVA Merchant installed on my server (it came with them as part of the package) but haven't done much with them.
I have another website that I'm working on where I'll probably spend more time developing a shopping cart. Actually I want to use a database system (MySQL) so the site owner can easily update pricing on his items. of course, I gotta teach myself how to do that first. Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
in other words, make it as easy as possible for any buyer to purchase.. Some simply refuse to use pay pal..
Posted by Jeremy Vecoli (Member # 2278) on :
My little ebay side business takes in a lot of money thru paypal (no, it's not cheep vinyl signs). My paypal fees are 2.5% + $0.30 USD per sale, period. No account fees, gateway fees, statement fees, or any of that BS. Customers can use any credit card to pay me, and they do not need to have a paypal account.
I think their bad publicity was deserved when they started up, they run a good service these days.
Has an interesting article to help you decide which is better.
Posted by Fred Weiss (Member # 3662) on :
I'd have to agree with Jeremy. I use the PayPal standard business plan and it interfaces seamlessly with my Zen Cart store. Customers are given the option to use VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or their PayPal account (if they have one). Basically PayPal is just acting as as a merchant account in the way it works.
I've also received about a dozen emails in the last few months from customers wanting to know if they can make purchases through PayPal. So for those at the one extreme of not wanting to use PayPal, there is an offsetting group that prefers to use PayPal. And for everybody else, they can securely pay for purchases by major credit card through the same setup.
Posted by Hugh Potter (Member # 5748) on :
paypal uk must have it's differences,
for eg,
when i download money it asks whether i'm putting it in a europe or a usa bank, it tells me usa is 3 working days to clear, and europe is 5 working says, so effectively, assuming there is a weekend, it takes them 7-8 days from my request to get me my money,
they charge me if i take out less than £50, yeah there's no statement charges etc, but neither does my bank charge me for them, i only get charged if i use my overdraught facility, thats it !
paypal has imporved, but in this day of electronic instant transfers etc, why does it take them 7 days to get money from one place to the other, the second i tell em to download it, it's gone from my account, in the seven days before it appears in my acount, who has gained the interest ?
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