PRICE@MASTER.PS.UCI.EDU on tue 12 mar 96
It looks as if we are (finally) going to have to start accepting credit
cards for payment. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good company
to contact to make the appropriate arrangements? We were somewhat disheartened
when the first place we contacted said they did not accept accounts from
"crafts people."
LeRoy Price
Brian Voth on wed 13 mar 96
You might start with your local bank. If you live in a town with many banks,
check with all of them. One thing to check is the different rates for the
differnt types of processing, e.g.: paper forms, semi-electronic via the
touch-tone phone or fully electronic processing. Handling paper forms can
be quite expensive if the clearing house is even willing to do it at all.
I personally use a software that I use with my pc called PTC (Personal
Ticket Capture) which allows me to process at the electronic rate without
buying the machines and printers for sweeping cards, etc.
brian voth...just went from 8 megs of ram to 20 megs of ram...what a rush.
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>It looks as if we are (finally) going to have to start accepting credit
>cards for payment. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good company
>to contact to make the appropriate arrangements? We were somewhat disheartened
>when the first place we contacted said they did not accept accounts from
>"crafts people."
>
>LeRoy Price
>
>
Kurt Unterschuetz on wed 13 mar 96
PRICE@MASTER.PS.UCI.EDU wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> It looks as if we are (finally) going to have to start accepting credit
> cards for payment. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good company
> to contact to make the appropriate arrangements? We were somewhat disheartene
> when the first place we contacted said they did not accept accounts from
> "crafts people."
>
> LeRoy Price
We know the feeling but all is not lost. We, too, were up against a wall.
The bank did not want to issue any account and the fee was absolutely
outrageous. We found Discover Services, now Novus Services, Inc., really
understood our needs and gave us a workable rate. They even came out and
trained us on the equipment. We're in the Chicago area and the number is
1-800-347-2000. I'm sure they can refer you to a service center near you.
We offer Discover, Visa and Mastercard and have found that doing so really
increased our sales. Good luck.
Kurt and Caryn Unterschuetz
schatzi@mc.net
http://www.mc.net/schatzi
Looking forward to NCECA and praying for no snow on the way!
Pelly123@aol.com on wed 13 mar 96
Looking forward to seeing you here....Dial 1-800-Discover and ask for a
Merchant account.....It doesn't snow here....
Sue
Eleanora Eden on wed 13 mar 96
On Tue, 12 Mar 1996 PRICE@MASTER.PS.UCI.EDU wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> It looks as if we are (finally) going to have to start accepting credit
> cards for payment. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good company
> to contact to make the appropriate arrangements? We were somewhat disheartene
> when the first place we contacted said they did not accept accounts from
> "crafts people."
>
> LeRoy Price
Hi Leroy and all,
Go to your own bank first. Then go to the one next door. You are always
well-advised to get your services locally. Compare percentages. Don't
feel like you're begging. This is lucrative business and I'll bet
somebody local will serve you. If you get interested in some offer of
super cheap services better make sure you understand the fine print.
These operations are getting permission from you to dunn your own bank
account for unreasonable charges they don't talk about and are not obvious.
Hope this helps. Eleanora
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 eden@maple.sover.net
StoverL@aol.com on thu 14 mar 96
If you have no luck with your local bank, you can set up an account at a
decent rate after joining the American Craft Association, 800/724-0859 (there
are other benefits too, it's an arm of the American Crafts Council).
jpyle@hs.gettysburg.edu on thu 14 mar 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>It looks as if we are (finally) going to have to start accepting credit
>cards for payment. Does anyone have a suggestion of a good company
>to contact to make the appropriate arrangements? We were somewhat disheartened
>when the first place we contacted said they did not accept accounts from
>"crafts people."
>
>LeRoy Price
Working Assets "Plastic With Purpose" VISA takes craftspeople, I think.
Fleet Bank of NY. I don't know that they're THAT great about giving money
to nonprofit groups, but I hope so. Fice cents per card use, they say.
1-800-537-3777.
PlatypusD@aol.com on thu 14 mar 96
We just went to our bank and opened a Merchant Account - that gets us into
Visa and MAstercard and from that connection we can do Amex if we want to (we
don't)
Since we didn't accept all of the electronic stuff - our percentage is less
but still only around 3% - which is worht it since there are plenty of 'spur
of the moment' sales which wouldnt occur without the credit card!!
Good luck
Karen PLatypus
PJLewing@aol.com on thu 14 mar 96
I've just been hassling with this myself. My bank recently sent me a letter
detailing changes in the fee structure for my bankcard services. I think I'm
going to change banks because of it.
First, know that Visa, Mastercard, et.al. are raising their discount rates
(the percentage you pay to take that card) April 1. So when you're shopping
for a bank, ask wahat the rate will be, not what it is. My bank is also
initiating a monthly charge of $15. There are many months when I don't use it
at all, so this would really hurt me.
Also be aware that there will be different discount rates depending on
whether you do the old-fashioned paper transaction, have the new point-of
purchase thing you slide the card through, or enter the transaction into a
program on your computer. Paper will be the most expensive, and probably will
be done away with altogether before long, but who has a phone line into their
street fair booth?
There will also be a set-up fee for the imprinter. Some banks count this as
your first year's annual fee, some charge an annual fee on top.
Here's why I'm switching. My old bank is going from 6.25% to 7.5% discount
rate, with a $15 minimum charge, and an annual fee of $45. They also at one
time closed this account without telling me, because I used it so little.
The bank I'm going to Charges 4.25% after April 1, with a $35 annual fee, no
minimum, and the $35 setup fee counts as the first annual fee. AND, they will
rent me a cellular phone for a weekend for card approvals. Is it any wonder
I'm switching?
Be sure to shop around
Paul Lewing
Dave Eitel on fri 15 mar 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I've just been hassling with this myself. My bank recently sent me a letter
>detailing changes in the fee structure for my bankcard services. I think I'm
>going to change banks because of it.
>First, know that Visa, Mastercard, et.al. are raising their discount rates
>(the percentage you pay to take that card) April 1. So when you're shopping
>for a bank, ask wahat the rate will be, not what it is. My bank is also
>initiating a monthly charge of $15. There are many months when I don't use it
>at all, so this would really hurt me.
>Also be aware that there will be different discount rates depending on
>whether you do the old-fashioned paper transaction, have the new point-of
>purchase thing you slide the card through, or enter the transaction into a
>program on your computer. Paper will be the most expensive, and probably will
>be done away with altogether before long, but who has a phone line into their
>street fair booth?
>There will also be a set-up fee for the imprinter. Some banks count this as
>your first year's annual fee, some charge an annual fee on top.
>Here's why I'm switching. My old bank is going from 6.25% to 7.5% discount
>rate, with a $15 minimum charge, and an annual fee of $45. They also at one
>time closed this account without telling me, because I used it so little.
>The bank I'm going to Charges 4.25% after April 1, with a $35 annual fee, no
>minimum, and the $35 setup fee counts as the first annual fee. AND, they will
>rent me a cellular phone for a weekend for card approvals. Is it any wonder
>I'm switching?
>Be sure to shop around
>Paul Lewing
A couple of years ago my chargecard provider increased my rate from around
2% to 4.5%, saying they weren't making any money on me--and my charges were
well into the mid five figures annually. I switched to Discover, who is
charging me 2.1% and rents me a printer and an electronic terminal for
$5/month each. I have the option of buying the pieces, but after I bought
my terminals from my last provider I decided just to rent them. Discover
allows you to accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex and others, but I just take
Visa and Mastercard (and now, Discover, of course). There is no fee for
sales made to Discover cardholders! I'd definitely recommend checking them
out in your area.
Dave...waiting patiently for over-the-counter rogaine
Dave Eitel
Cedar Creek Pottery
Cedarburg, WI
daveitel@execpc.com
Jean Silverman on fri 15 mar 96
Kurt
Would you mind sharing with us more info on the types of equipment and
service charges Novuus has? Thanks, Jean
LBlos72758@aol.com on fri 15 mar 96
I got my account at my local bank - the one I bank at. They set up
everything, MC, Visa, Discover, except American Express. They contacted AE
however, who then sent me the application.
Linda
Ithaca, NY
Kurt Unterschuetz on sat 16 mar 96
Jean Silverman wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Kurt
>
> Would you mind sharing with us more info on the types of equipment and
> service charges Novuus has? Thanks, Jean
Hi Jean,
The bank offered us a rate between 4-6% and didn't even want our account as
we would do mail order and we were automatically labeled high risk. So don't
mention you might sell a pot by mail order. Novus got us under 2%,
regardless of mail order. It cost us $14 /mo rental for the electronic
swiper, including printer. The printer is really nice because it gives you
all the information you need and then tallies the batch at the end of the
day. The money hits our account within 48 hours. They are trying to get away
from paper tickets but you can still get them. When we go to a show we use
the manual paper method. I also ask for people's phone number in case I screw
up the ticket, which I have done once, and there has been no problem. We
then input the charges when we get home by manually keying in the account
number. The manual rate is slightly higher than the electronic swiping rate
by about 3/10ths of a percent. Knock wood, we have never had a bogus visa or
an account denied when we get home. This seems to be working for us now.
The mobil modem printers to swipe at an outside location, are still too
costly i.e. rental costs and roaming phone charges. We get visa, mc, and
discover for our percentage rate. It has increased our business by 30% and
we have found that at larger shows the people almost expect you to accept
credit cards. We like renting instead of buying the equipment because if
something breaks, they will replace it immediately. Hope this helps. We'll
be off line for a week as we are off to NCECA today.
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