credit card payments

[gene]

Howdy,

My boots were dry this evening when I took them off.

We had a thread about credit cards recently and I cannot find it.

I have been looking at Paypal Invoicing as a way to accept credit card payments. I may be asked once a year if I take credit cards, so it is not a problem. But, I'm thinking that taking credit cards may be helpful for some folks.

For those of you who use Paypal, how long does it take for you to be able to get your money once it is accepted by Paypal by credit card payment?

Do you automatically transfer the money to your checking account or do you take it out of an ATM machine with a Paypal card?
Is there a transfer fee, or is the only fee the % fee and the transaction fee?

Has anyone tried google and how does it compare to Paypal?

My thought at this time is that the fees are going to be negligible with the very small use, so I am focusing on how easy it will be for me to use and how easy it will be for my customers to use.

Here's a link I came across that may be of interest to some.

http://ppcalc.com/

Thank you,

gene

[regalman190]

Gene....I use Square Up. It's free and charges a fee only when you use it. Unfortunately it can only be used on a smart phone, iPhone etc or the iPad. They even send the card reader free.

[MinUph]

Hi Gene,
 Paypal is good for online use. If you accept it from your office (shop) it is time consuming. At least that's what I have found. As for getting the $$ to your checking account. You do a withdrawal on PP site and the money gets transferred to your checking. No fee for that. If you ask for a check it cost a buck or 2 if I remember correctly. There are other fees depending on the level of service you sign up for.
 I have been looking onto square up it is a device you plug into a smart phone or Ipad to swipe cards. Only cost is the %transaction fee. I think its like 2.38%. Something around there. No monthly fees, no per transaction fees, no statement fees. Nothing but the % of the charge. The gizmo is also free and shipped to you free. It really sounds like the best merchant account I have ever seen. Intuit (Quick Books) also has about the same thing. They don't support my Droid Razor yet so I',m trying squareup.
 Good luck.

[Mojo]

I use Paypal for all my transactions. Since the vast majority of my customers are not in my local area I rely on Paypal to do my credit card transactions. I get the occasional request to send me a  check but they are few and far between. I have never had a problem with Paypal and find their service good. I like not having to pay a monthly fee and like the ease of doing invoicing and record keeping through them.

The main reason I went with Paypal is because I had to accept CC payments but I did not want the liability of taking someones credit card number over the phone or in person to process for an order. My luck the customers credit card would get hacked by someone else but I would end up getting wrapped into an investigation of how their CC number got compromised.

With Paypal I never get their number and the headache would be on Paypal and not me. I process my 40 % deposit before ordering materials and then make a request for payment on the balance before shipping. Works awesome. besides, alot of people like using Paypal. Hell even Walmart now does online purchases with Paypal because so many customers demanded they offer that service.

I should add that my customers love the flexibility of Paypal because they can use whatever CC they want or use their checking account which is tied to their Paypal account.

Chris
Chris

[sofadoc]

I think that Paypal works best for people like Chris, who do most of their sales out of state.
For someone like me, who does all of their sales locally from a commercial storefront, I prefer the typical credit card processing machine.
I've recently been informed that since I've been accepting credit cards for 10 years with no chargebacks, I now qualify for a rate of 1.5%. And in the near future, credit cards will have a chip instead of a magnetic stripe. When that happens, they will send me a new processing machine for free.
And still later on, pinpads will be replaced by a thumbprint reader. That will be free also.
That "Square Up" gadget sounds good for those who are mobile. But it may only be a good deal for you if you can already justify the cost of a smartphone.

[fragged8]

I've recently been looking into card payments and for you guys in the US
paypal do a device that is free to use and no merchant account needed.

  It plugs into the top of an android or Iphone for swiping cards on the move
only down side is they charge 2.7% but you don't have the swipe machine
rental etc to worry about.

try looking up 'Paypal Here'  https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader

we cant get it in the UK yet. :-(

[gene]

Thank you for the replies.

I read about Square Up. I don't have an ipad or iphone so that would not work for me. But it is an awesome thing. I read that people who have a garage sale can now take credit cards. LOL The one issue is that people may not like the idea of you swiping their credit card on your phone. If they have an iphone or ipad, they can download the free app and swipe it on their own ipad or iphone and pay you. Wow.

Because I may have only one or two credit card payments per year, I'm going to begin offering Paypal invoicing through emails to anyone who wants to use a credit card. I hadn't thought about paying their down payment with a credit until I read Chris's comments. Pay your down payment and I'll pick up or you deliver. Then pay the final payment and I deliver or you can pick up.

I can see where 1.5% would be a big difference if I were running a lot of money through credit cards.

I can see the sign for when thumbprint readers begin to be used on a regular basis: "All thumbs must be attached to the hand. NO EXCEPTIONS!"

gene

[gene]

I just checked my business email before I head down to my studio. I got this email. See, another reason for me to accept credit cards!

My name is Mark Peters,I want to place an order in your store,I will like to know if you ship to Philippines. Do you have credit card processing machine?Get back to me with your website.I will await your prompt response .
Best Regards,
Mark


gene

[Mojo]

Dang Gene. Looks like your going International. :)

If all my business was done like Dennis ( locally ) I would probably bite the bullet and offer my own CC services like he does.

I am still amazed at the number of people who use Paypal. I have customers in their 70's who use it.
I really like the idea of having everything done online. My initial contacts almost always come through e-mails. My correspondance is through e-mails. My orders come through e-mails. And my deposits and payments come through Paypal. My business is done nearly 100 % online. :)

Chris

[bobbin]

The lovely woman who cuts my hair every 5 wks. uses Squareup.  She is about as tech. phobic as you can get, but she says it's really, really easy to use and she loves it.  She had given up taking credit cards a couple of years ago because of the fee structure that went hand in hand with having the swipe machine and was reluctant to reenter the CC pool, but the Square has changed her view of CC business.  She's the one that has gotten me thinking about it (original thread on the Business side, Gene). 

I don't have a "device" that is compatible but when it's time to make a move to a "smarter" phone I will purchase with CC capability in mind.  You can bet on that!

(Gene, I'd be all over that business opportunity "like a cheap suit"! act quickly you don't want to lose out...)

[gene]

I saw an interview with Mark Cuban, billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavs. He said he almost never uses the phone. All his contacts with people are via email. He said he can't imagine doing all the business stuff he is involved in if he had to spend time saying hello and other small talk.

gene

[Mojo]

I saw an interview with Mark Cuban, billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavs. He said he almost never uses the phone. All his contacts with people are via email. He said he can't imagine doing all the business stuff he is involved in if he had to spend time saying hello and other small talk.

gene

This is why I love corresponding through e-mails. I can sit down at night and answer the inquires or customer questions while maintaining a file of my correspondance with all of them. I constantly refer back to the e-mails.

Another reason why I like e-mails is because it frees me up during the day to sew without interruptions. I do not even take my phone into the shop with me but leave it inn the house and return phone calls at lunch time or later in the day. This has also resulted in an increase in my production.

Chris

[fragged8]

I'm like you Mojo, the emails get done at night.

I am thinking though that I could have a PC in the new shop for emails
and then customers could pay with their paypal account at the till.

Rich

[DBR1957]

I just checked my business email before I head down to my studio. I got this email. See, another reason for me to accept credit cards!

My name is Mark Peters,I want to place an order in your store,I will like to know if you ship to Philippines. Do you have credit card processing machine?Get back to me with your website.I will await your prompt response .
Best Regards,
Mark


gene

Watch out for these! May be legit but there is a big scam going on where an out
of state "customer" will want to charge more than your fees then have you send them the difference. You're then on the hook for the original charge plus the over
amount you sent.

[DBR1957]

Paypal fee is 4% and you have to do a certain amount of transactions before you
have instant access to the funds. Otherwise it's nice that you don't have to deal
associated headaches.