Credit Card option

Re: Credit Card option

Joel Hunnicutt

>Check out propay.com It's pretty low cost.

Re: Credit Card option

John Trant (aka Boxes-n-Bowls)

>There is no question that you will loose some sale opportunities, especially on the more expensive items, but you will not have to bother with equipment purchases and CC fees. If you are going to do this regularly or if your prices increase a bit, then it is definitely worth your while. If craft shows will simply be a hit-and-miss endevour, then it may not be worth it.

I have a "seasonal business" account with my provider so that I can activate/inactivate my account as necessary.

John

John

Re: Credit Card option

John Williams in PA

>Somewhere between 40 and 50% of my craft show sales are credit sales. I don't know what you are selling at $3.95, but round it off to even an dollar amount (and raise it if possible) to make it easy for the buyer to use cash. I worry about my $5 spin tops ....but so far only one customer bought one using a credit card.

Re: Credit Card option

Steve Worcester

>Oh, where to start.

If you are only going to do a show or two, ain't worth it. Cut a deal with your neighbor and give him %5 to take the card and have him pay you cash if you can. Encourage checks.

I didn't take cards for a while, now probably

%70 are cards at most shows.

Think about the equipment costs, usually about $200, even if you just get a slider (knucklebuster in the trade) then you still have to key in the transactions. Some services have web based key in services.

There will usually be an annual or a monthly fee, plus a % of transaction fee (varies by card type), plus a per transaction fee. I hear if you use Quickbooks they are pretty reasonable. Considering the software is in the $200 range, it should be. My bank does not have Quickbooks formatted downloads, only Quicken, so I have stayed away from it.

That said, the more shows you do, the more it become necessary to take cards.

Re: Credit Card option

RonZ

>Accepting credit cards is a must if you sell turnings for a living. I also sell turning supplies at meetings so for me it's a must. I don't know if it works the same in the US as it does here in Israel but besides the regular forms and stamping machine, we have call in credit. This also helps me with international sales.

Re: Credit Card option

Robert Savit

>The best deal I've found was the merchant account offered by NOVA through Costco. I only do 2 or 3 shows a year, and it would be hard to get by without taking cards. The Costco account is seasonal, so you don't have to pay monthly fees when you're not using the account. There are up-front machine costs, as others have said, but if you intend to do a even a couple of shows a year (for more than one year!) it's worth it. My advice would be to try to piggyback on someone else's account for the first couple of shows to see if you really like doing them, and then if you do, look into the Costco option.

Bob Savit

I use Nova also

John Trant (aka Boxes-n-Bowls)

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Re: Credit Card option

Russ Fairfield

>Some will say that they have gained sales from having a Credit Card capability. I have been both ways, and have chosen to not use Credit Cards. Others may have different experience with them.

One of the problems that I had with the CC were the fees and the minimum that was collected every month, whether there was any sales or not. The minimums vary, but it will be at least something around $40 a month, and many services are a lot higher

Then there is my Internet sales experience. I have also been selling videos via the Internet, and thought the CC site would be a good option for that. However, buyers were preferring to use PayPal by about 10 to 1. PayPal takes a % of sales with no monthly minimum. There were months when the CC sales weren't sufficient to cover the minimum fees, so dropping the CC service was an easy choice.

My experience with doing Craft Shows without Credit Cards has been a good one for me. The lost sales for not taking a CC have been insignificant, so few in number that I can't recall ever regretting not being able to take a CC. I take personal checks, and have only had one (1) check bounce, for $150, in ten (10 years. It seemed like a lot at the time, but it was only 4 months worth of the minimum fees from a CC provider.

Re: Credit Card option

JamieDonaldson

>I have a Verifone card terminal and printer for sale at half new price-$300. This system works with a phone line and will pay for itself by eliminating the first bad card sale!

Thanks everyone for your help "NM"

Tim McGill

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