Discuss the process of getting your t-shirt line into brick and mortar stores and selling offline. Topics include industry tradeshows, events, line sheets, sales reps and other retailing tips and advice.
In the near future I will move from customer to vendor status at events in my area. I have been thinking through the whole process and I have questions as to how the credit card process works at an event. Many events do not provide electricity so a manual swipe machine is necessary. What I want to know is how does one process all of the card payment information once the event is over? Do I have to have a service and a device that I can process the payments through, is there some sort of service or something on the web that will process the information? I know many of you have experience in this area and this little ole' greenhorn would love some schoolin' .
Thanks ever so much.
__________________ Bella Pregnant chicks need cool shirts too
Do you have a merchant account already? If so, then they should give you instructions on how to process transactions from a manual swipe machine.
Most merchant accounts come with a "gateway" which will allow you to enter payment securely online as if it were a credit card terminal in your office.
Like Rodney said, if you have a merchant account they should be able to help you. Also I've heard Nextel has a cellphone/credit card phone that allows you to swipe cards into the phone and accept/decline the card.
Thanks for the info. At this point in time I don't have a merchant account, but will get one soon. Man, gotta say that I LUV this website. My brain is bustin' with all the info. you folks are dishing out. I can't thank everyone enough.
__________________ Bella Pregnant chicks need cool shirts too
I now what you mean about to much enfo. I stumbled across this site jsut a couple for hours while at work and not my head feels like its about to explode with ideas and info.
Here's an idea... it might be more cumbersome and take a bit more time though.
ProPay.com offers over the phone credit card input. So... you take down the information from customers, at the end of the day, you call in (or maybe can even punch in online) and process all of your credit cards orders. It's not as simple as swiping someone's card, but would still be effective.
I believe the Propay.com account costs $30 per year and then they also provide you with a credit card (mastercard) to use in conjunction with the account.
My wife uses this for her scrapbooking sales and seems pretty user friendly.
Sounds good, but how do you know if the credit card will be approved?
Quote:
Originally Posted by toastynhere
Here's an idea... it might be more cumbersome and take a bit more time though.
ProPay.com offers over the phone credit card input. So... you take down the information from customers, at the end of the day, you call in (or maybe can even punch in online) and process all of your credit cards orders. It's not as simple as swiping someone's card, but would still be effective.
I believe the Propay.com account costs $30 per year and then they also provide you with a credit card (mastercard) to use in conjunction with the account.
My wife uses this for her scrapbooking sales and seems pretty user friendly.
You can actually call in the information from your "station" or wherever you are selling. You dial into your account and then punch in the customers credit card information on the spot. My wife and I are still learning the ins and outs, but it seems like a reasonably priced solution. I'm sure not "swiping" will have drawbacks at very busy times.
Hope that helps. My wife is getting "training" on Monday and I'll post more about it then.
I have a powerswipe machine, it attaches to my cell phone, and i swipe a persons card and get authorization in seconds. I bought this set up 3 years ago, and its great for trade shows and outside vending when you don't have electricity. You can use it with certain phones by nextel, and a wireless printer (battery powered ) is available also.
How much does something like that cost for your cell phone? Just curious. It sounds like it would make life much easier.
Kevin
I paid about $500 in Dec 2004 for the powerswipe, cell phone and printer. Of course i would assume its less now. I think the printer itself was over $200, and i know you can find those for less online or ebay.
At events we just prefer cash. If we do take a card we just run it manually through our website merchant account when we get home. I think you should always ask for cash when possible and know where the nearest atm is located. I had a customer this weekend wanting to pay a $20 tab with his debit card and the atm machine was 6 feet from our booth. I just gently showed him where it was and made the sale.
Cash is really the best.
have a look at Dionica terminals(Omero X HS Plus - Security and versatility), looks just like a normal terminal, it's batery operated and runs on the GSM network. Can do on-line or off-line sales. Costs.. depend on what you contract with the bank... if they can get it. Runs really smooth.
? on Process for Card Payments at Events 
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