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Trying to figure out the pros and cons of setting up a merchant account is a little daunting. I was thinking of going with a paypal account, but not sure if this is the best way to go. If anyone can share their experiences with using paypal versus other merchant set-ups that would be awesome. Thanks
Trying to figure out the pros and cons of setting up a merchant account is a little daunting. I was thinking of going with a paypal account, but not sure if this is the best way to go. If anyone can share their experiences with using paypal versus other merchant set-ups that would be awesome. Thanks
From a cost standpoint, PayPal is your best choice until your monthly volume gets above $ 2,000. At that point a merchant account could be considered.
The problem with PayPal from the customer side is ther are a number of "I'll never use PayPal" folks out there. And there also a lot who can't get an account, have had theirs closed, etc.
Of course, there are even more who don't have credit / debit cards.
If I had to have one or the other, I'd go with a merchant account. But I've had at least one for years and am used to doing business that way. I now offer both PP and a MA and find that by far the most US purchases are through the MA. But, since I do a lot of international sales, where MA's don't work, I still get a good amount of PP sales. I also use Moneybookers, for some who can't get PP in the UK/EU market.
Putting my personal feelings to the side, I'd say go with PP until you have a good monthly volume. Keep in mind that virtually every MA out there will have a minimum cost of $ 20 per month - even if you never use it.
In fact, one of the things I suggest when comparing MS's is to get a firm figure of what will be your "zero sales per month" cost will be. It's easy to be misled by the online "comparisons". There are so many fees, you have to find the bottom line.
Some have a monthly minimum that includes things like statment fees. others have a minimum that applies to processing only, so you amy find a deal with a $ 20 monthly minimum in processing fees (in small type, of course). But they may also have a $ 10 statement fee and a $ 15 gateway fee, niehter of which are included in the minimum processing fee, leaving you with a bare minimum $ 45 cost.
I use the paypal merchant account as I sell to alot of young moms and they seem to prefer paypal alot of the time. With this I can except paypal and credit cards and I have not had any problems so far. I compared prices and with the gateway fees and Merchant account fees there wasnt that much of a difference except that I can also except paypal and credit cards with the same account.
hope this helps
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
We use PayPal & the only problems we've encountered is that a credit card that is used by a group such as a government agency can only be associated with one PayPal account. Also, email addresses can only be associated with one PayPal account & that can cause problems. I really like PayPal's invoicing tool. It's easy to use.
i've found paypal is THE best! all you need is an email account setup with paypal, which is then linked to your account! everyone who's willing to shop online has one because of ebay and people trust it!!!
We use PayPal & the only problems we've encountered is that a credit card that is used by a group such as a government agency can only be associated with one PayPal account. Also, email addresses can only be associated with one PayPal account & that can cause problems. I really like PayPal's invoicing tool. It's easy to use.
I guess I dont have the problem of what email account does the purchase because on my webstore it asks for a payee email and a shipping email along with the address so I just go by my stores invoice instead of the info from paypal.
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
I had a MA for about 8 years and switched to a PayPal account & been with them for about 4 years. They just recently bumped their monthly bill up from $20 to $30 to be more "competitive", which I think means closer to what their competitors charge. Still, they are less expensive and you get a virtual terminal you can use if you do events and get phone/mail orders. The buyer does not have to have a PayPal account as far as I know.
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CRS Apparel by Lee Parker
customimprintsbyleeparker.com
Ideally, the thing to do is have a regular PayPal business account and an oline merchant account.
You've got to face it, there are a lot of people who believe PayPay Sucks. There are a lot of people who just plain refuse to use PayPal. They've had problems in the past, they feel they go screwed by PP. they had an account and got cut off, etc.
Some, even with the PP merchant account / virtual terminal you will not get their business. And at $ 20, they were in line. At $ 30 they are high. I can get you a merchant account that has TOTAL fees of $ 20 a month. No minimums, etc. If you process no cards for a given month the total is $ 20. With PP it's $ 30.
Rates are 2.34 and 30 cents. Non quals are reasonable and they do not charge the fee again for credits, like some do. Yes, some processors charge you the percentage when you sell and charge it again when you issue a credit. Get you coming and going.
Gateway fee $ 15, statement fee $ 5, nothing else, no minimums. Just the 30 cents and 2.34 %.
OH, yeah, with a merchant account it's in your bank in two days. You don't have to do anything.
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Even though my paypal payments pro excepts paypal, it give the choice of using paypal or credit cards, when they pay with a credit card or paypal it stays on my site and does not go to paypal. So if they choose credit card payment it does not even show it is being processed through paypal. I hear alot of people saying that thier customers wont like it because they dont like paypal but it doesnt even say they are using paypal unless they choose the paypal option.
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
Does the money go to your paypal account or to your bank, as a regular merchant account?
It goes to my paypal account but the processing part is integrated in my website so it just goes to a page on my site with the same header and everything, they never leave my site to process their payment.
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
Paypal merchant account vs. other companies 
