ben_rubinstein___mancheste1664880652 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Paypal let you send an invoice or set up a web page with shopping basket, etc which you can use to accept payment via either paypal or - more importantly - credit card and bank transfer. They don't charge that much, the surcharge is under 5% which can of course be resonably passed on to the customer (not sure about the US, here in the UK it's quite common for small businesses). It seems to me a far easier and cheaper way than setting up credit card access where you would possibly pay a higher surcharge given the tiny amount of transactions, and you pay the company for the use of the machine, the service, etc. To that extent I've now started advertising that I accept credit card payment. If people don't like the idea then I'm always open to more traditional methods, infact you can set up the invoice in such a way that you can take payment over the phone if you wish. I know credit card is liable to problems but then so is cheques. You have the added advantage that assuming you specify payment before the wedding, you will know of any problems with the card in time to hold back the product. Your deposit will have been verified months before. Although Paypal has a long and sordid history of being buyer biased in a dispute to a huge degree, you are invoicing specifically for a service not a product and if they were to file a dispute months after the wedding I doubt it would be that easy and there would be a direct line to the small claims court with your contract in hand... Anyone got any thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conraderb Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I don't like the surcharges that paypal has - and from my understanding, it is a violation of the credit card agreements to charge a different price for a service if the customer is paying by credit card. I also feel dumb telling my clients "an extra 3% for credit cards". If we are talking about a few thousand dollars, that extra 3% will quickly make people put their plastic in their pocket, and write a personal check instead! I just accept personal checks - most of my clients have no problem with that. Never had any bounced checks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kari douma Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Hi Ben, not too many thoughts on the problems associated with them disputing with you... but I do use paypal. I have had good sucess with them. I have a link on my site where people can pay with paypal. I have used their invoice system where I invoice people through paypal. (I alwasy let them know I am sending this so they don't think it is a scam). I have also ran people's credit cards through myself with paypal, when they are sitting here with me and want to pay with a credit card. I have not had any trouble with paypal, and it gives people who want to pay with credit card an option. But, I have had a few people who want to pay with credit card, and when I tell them they can pay with a credit card through paypal, they say, "No thanks, I have had trouble with paypal before." I don't tell people they can pay with paypal, unless they ask if they can pay with a credit card, because I don't want to pay those fees unless I have to. I do plan on getting a "real" credit card machine over the winter... that is on my winter to do list. One thing to be careful with (I am sure you already know this) is to not answer all the email fraud from people that look like paypal. I am constantly getting emails saying I need to update my information, or verify my account, or things like that, and it looks like it comes from paypal. These are fraud if there is a link to click to do this. The one time I did need to do something with my account, paypal sent me an email, and there was no link to follow. So, I myself typed the paypal address in the address bar, and I went to paypal's website and took care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefanie1 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I just started using paypal in two different ways in my business. The first is for payment for packages (deposits as well). To this end I've set up a button on my 'contact' page that says 'secure payments via paypal' and is set up as a donation on paypal. This lets my clients fill in how much they send me (as I have several packages at different prices). I also have online ordering set up with EOS template, which links into paypal for payment. I've had the chance to use the first, and it works great, the latter I haven't tried yet, as it's a new system to me. The only glitch in the system is the fact that I have to deposit the money from paypal into my bank accont. Not more of a hassle than depositing a cheque, but it's still an extra step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefanie1 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Oh, and I don't know about the US or UK, but here in Canada all credit card processing services take a percentage of every sale, usually around the 2-3% range (similar to paypal), so that was pefectly normal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste1664880652 Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 Conrad, I'm perfectly happy to get a cheque, just wanting to offer an alternative should clients request it, leaving more options on the table. Personally cash is always my best friend! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfidaho Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I use PayPal. I like it. The only hassle is that for credit cards, you have to set up a storefront for people to buy things from. You can't just run a card for an arbitrary amount unless you purchase their merchant services. Here's an example of a site that uses PayPal: Later, Paulsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly_flanigan1 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 For printing services at my company; its a wash whether its by paypal or my credit card; both have fees for their services. With a credit card the portion taken varies by card type; whether a corporate card; "lets give the buyer kickback cards"; or just a plain VISA; or debit with PIN number. The cards that award the buyer 1% towards their new Edsel,Pacer or Hudson Hornet have a higher fee the seller bays; you as a seller are paying for this kickback. Most credit card agreements in the US forbid tacking on credit card fees back to a customer; in pricing one might ask what method of payment before stateing ones fees' in case a big 4 to 5% card is used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I offer paypal for deposits on a wedding or for limited portrait payments. ..... I like the convienence but dislike the surcharges as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_sparks2 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Conrad, I'm not so sure about the charging higher prices idea. If that's the case then the gas stations in my city are charging about 10 cents extra a gallon if you pay with a credit card vs. with cash. So...I think you may be wrong on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_c.5 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 With a verified Paypal account, you can e-mail any customer an invoce for payment, and all they have to do is click the button and it launches Paypal to take their payment. You can also send someone a Paypal pay button. It's very easy. But, you do have to pay those surcharges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_f Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 "I'm not so sure about the charging higher prices idea. If that's the case then the gas stations in my city are charging about 10 cents extra a gallon if you pay with a credit card vs. with cash. So...I think you may be wrong on that one." No, he is NOT wrong!!! The gas stations are wrong! My father has been set up with all the major credit card companys for 20+ years. As he has told me on a few occasions before, it is ILLEGAL to pass the fee's (unless you hide them well or build them into your prices) to the customer!!!! If you try this, and get caught with a complaint, THEY WILL SHUT YOU DOWN, PERIOD! When people (like small restraunts and gas stations) give me the "minimal purchase" or "credit additional cost" crap, I get right in there face and threaten to report them to the credit card companys and remind them of this fact. Shuts them up every time. These people prey off the stupid and uninformed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubejammin Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I also follow Steve's process. I send an e-mail invoice (through PayPal) which gives the customer a link to pay. I only offer this service if someone asks...I don't advertise it because of the 3% fee. But, it sure is nice to know I can accept credit cards without a big hassle or huge ongoing fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_marby Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Patric F. is correct in stating that you can't charge extra for credit card sales nor can you set a minimum purchase amount, that has been clearly stated in the contracts I've had with 3 different card services I've used, however some unscrupulous vendors give a "cash" discount which in reality they are charging more for the credit card sales. But to get back to the original question I use Paypal now, instead of a regular service since it's much cheaper overall. The regular services would charge over 2% of each sale, a $5 bill fee (I guess thats just for printing a bill for me), .15 for each transaction plus a $30 monthly fee. All in all if I went without any credit card sales in a month I would still get charged $35 just for having the service. With Paypal it's just 3% of the sale and thats all, if you only use it once a year you you only pay that one fee. It works for me. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian_. Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 You can charge extra for using a credit card in the UK, most travel agents are notorious for adding a '2% credit card charge', amongst other shops and businesses who also follow the practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste1664880652 Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 I knew I had seen it before, I often pay a flat rate just to use a credit card here in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_anon Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 No you cannot charge more for a credit card purchase in the US. Yes you can give a discount for cash, but then it has to be only cash. You can't give the discount for check payers for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I've been using Paypal for a couple of years also and it seems to work well for customers who know about it or have used in the past. The only think the bothers me about Paypal is that I get quite a few scam emails from Paypal fakes. So I try to warn my clients not answer any email that says it's from Paypal unless they know it's specifically coming from me or another hired vendor. I wish I could afford the more traditional credit card services, but right Paypal seems the most affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralph_jensen Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 "The only think the bothers me about Paypal is that I get quite a few scam emails from Paypal fakes." No need to warn your clients about those "spoofs," because everybody gets those e-mails, whether they use Paypal or not. Scammers just know that a good percentage of the general population uses PayPal, so those e-mails are sent out indiscriminately - not just to PayPal users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefferson_todd_pals Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I've been comparing the different companies lately. I noticed that when I would process over $700 per month that it was usually beneficial to use a service other than PayPal. So we're signing up with Authorize.net and I'm have a web guy create a secure payments page that connects with this CC service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul engstrom Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 I set my website up with Paypal recently and like it. My retired, security-conscious brother prefers Paypal for general Internet use because of the safety issue: one doesn't have to give out one's credit card number to a stranger. With Paypal, only Paypal's computers see one's credit card number. Photographers can always market the security of using Paypal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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