Credit Cards - yay or nay? MORE INPUT PPLLEEAASSEEE :D

[rupertspal42]

So i've been readin what ya'll have been talking about and went on to ebay and found a list of em - Handheld Credit Card imprinters And I have been reading up on this propay thing... my mom says I should stay away from credit cards because it can become a huge hassell.. but I use my card 100% of the time because I hate to deal with cash.. and I know a lot of people are like that.. i'm thinking it would be a good idea to do something like this... but i'm afraid that something might go wrong with the whole credit card situation.. so what do you guys think.. could there seriously be that chance? I plan on having each person sign a log book already when they pay for something, yes it's a hassell but that way I can keep track of A.) how much I got B.) who bought it because if they bought a lot then I know what's selling well or what people like more and C.) if I do credit cards I want to have a zip and email address along with the amount they paid that way I can send them a confirmation as well as give them a reciept

 

[Guest]

This really depends on a few things.

First, are you selling online or in person? Where (what kind of venue) are you going to be selling?

There are also several options when it comes to taking credit cards.... you can get your own merchant account and credit card terminal and pay less fees but have higher upfront and monthly costs, or use services like PayPal or 2Checkout where you don't need a merchant account but you pay higher fees.

If you're just starting out and don't know how much money you will be making, I'd recommend a 3rd party processor. The fees are higher, but you don't have to go through the red tape of getting your own merchant account, and they also have preventative measures in place for fraud.

 

[donniej]

If you're going to sell to people (as opposed to B to B) on a level larger than small craft fair, then I'd expect that people will want to pay with credit card. These days people are paying less and less with cash... a guy I know at a pizza shop even constantly complains about peple wanting to pay for 1 slice of pizze ($1.50) with there credit cards.

 

[rupertspal42]

Well i'm thinking for at trade days (huge flea market in Canton, Texas that is about 10 acres of shops lmao) and of course craft shows ya know.. eventually I want to cross into online sells but not until I get in to selling a little bit more

i.e - Hey guys i still need more input.. heheh i'm trying to get opinions of you more experienced sellers :wink:

 

[CiCi]

If you have your own web site, how can people just use their debit cards? Is there a shopping cart program for that? I've often wondered what I will do about people paying for their purchases. I really didn't want to get a merchant account and I know a lot of people are skeptical about PayPal. I would like to offer the option of debit cards and PayPal.

 

[candice19]

Well i'm thinking for at trade days (huge flea market in Canton, Texas that is about 10 acres of shops lmao) and of course craft shows ya know.. eventually I want to cross into online sells but not until I get in to selling a little bit more

i.e - Hey guys i still need more input.. heheh i'm trying to get opinions of you more experienced sellers :wink:

I'm not an experienced seller, but I can say that I've purchased items at flea/farmer's markets before. I run into situations where I wanted something, had NO cash on me, and the vendor didn't take credit cards. I walked away and usually forget about them even if I have their business card. Vendor markets are a very make or break deal, and you gotta grab business point blank. I say yes for credit cards.

 

[rupertspal42]

If you have your own web site, how can people just use their debit cards? Is there a shopping cart program for that? I've often wondered what I will do about people paying for their purchases. I really didn't want to get a merchant account and I know a lot of people are skeptical about PayPal. I would like to offer the option of debit cards and PayPal.

Well with paypal they can use their debit cards and yes there is a shopping car program, I think it was Deda who told me about it. I don't remember actually lol it's a free program and I can't remember what it's called to save me life

rupertspal42 wrote:
Well i'm thinking for at trade days (huge flea market in Canton, Texas that is about 10 acres of shops lmao) and of course craft shows ya know.. eventually I want to cross into online sells but not until I get in to selling a little bit more

i.e - Hey guys i still need more input.. heheh i'm trying to get opinions of you more experienced sellers

I'm not an experienced seller, but I can say that I've purchased items at flea/farmer's markets before. I run into situations where I wanted something, had NO cash on me, and the vendor didn't take credit cards. I walked away and usually forget about them even if I have their business card. Vendor markets are a very make or break deal, and you gotta grab business point blank. I say yes for credit cards.

I'm right there with you.. at trade days in canton, some people take credit cards.. I think they're getting a lil bit more business because I might only take 40 bucks with me when I go.. and if I run out of cash or don't have enough for something I like I can pull out my card. This is why I'm leaning more toward yay.. because now days more people use their cards ya know..

 

[BluebirdMama]

Go to http://www.SquareUp.com you can get a free credit card reader. It plugs into your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. I love it.

 

[maya]

i work at a place that does not take credit cards. and i think it deters business for the owner. now, fortunately there is a bank across the street so people use the cash machine but i still think that if she took credit cards people would spend more. when paying with cash people tend to spend less then if they are "just charging it".

 

[Bigmoose]

I take credit cards at my craft shows and have done so for over 3 years. It would be the single biggest mistake I could have made not to accept them. I had one show where 61% of sales were on the card. I have a show this weekend that is a big one and I am guessing about $400 will be on the card. I process them on the computer when I get home. I have yet to take a bad card or check (knock on wood).

Bruce

 

[fiddletree]

I hear great things about the Square. Unfortunately, it isn't available in Europe, although a similar company in Sweden is going to have something for other EU countries soon. I'd like to have a CC reader, but it could be because I have an American mentality...in reality Italians don't really use their cards much at all, and like to use cash. So I don't know if it would benefit me much.

 

[Moonblossom]

I use SquareUp it is well worth it and soo very easy to use.

 

[Guest]

We use our check card all the time.It would be a great idea.Just research the company.I had one for my shop and the company didnt do right,i wont mention names may be i just got a dishonest salesman.I ended up paying $300 to buy out of the contract the salesman told me was a 2yr ended up it was a 3 yrs.Being able to accept cc's would be great just make such the company has a great reputation.i dont mean to be a downer ,i just dont want anyone else to go through what i did.The PayPal thing sounds great,a win win

 

[Bigmoose]

A couple posts ago I said that I was expecting to take over $400 at a weekend show, it was over $600. I can't imagine taking a chance on losing those sales by not taking plastic.

Bruce P.

 

[soapylady]

I think you definitely need to take cc these days. So many people are used to being able to pay with a card for everything and you don't want to lose out on a sale just because someone doesn't have cash or doesn't want to go through the hassle of finding an atm. I sell my soaps online with a megento shopping cart. My merchant account has a virtual terminal so i can process a card manually on my laptop. I'm working on getting a more automatic system going for farmers markets and such, but in the meantime, it's an easy solution.

 

[Lindy]

I wouldn't be without credit card acceptance....

 

[ambers_artworld]

Hello I just thought I'd share my experience with the craft shows that I've done, as soon as I started using the Square (I also have GoPayment, I'm trying to decide which I like better) I've averaged around 50 - 60% of all sales on debit or credit cards. I make sure to display the big "Visa" sticker they send with it, and the typical experience seems to be that I'll have a browser who brings a bar or two to purchase...and I make sure to mention each time, "Just so you know, we do accept credit and credit cards." At least half the time, they end up doubling their order - or more. One thing that helps is to make sure you tell them that you never even see their credit card information, that it is processed through Square (or GoPayment, which is a Quickbooks product). That seems to help a lot (especially with my older customers). I have an iPhone and an iPad, and they like that they actually have to sign (with a stylus pen or finger) for their purchase and can email a receipt to themselves if they want to type in their email address. It's pretty cool. I would go as far as to say that the craft fairs wouldn't have been worth it if it weren't for the sales that I got from accepting credit/debit. I make sure I offer it because I know how much it drives me crazy when debit isn't accepted, and I've passed by a lot of things I would have otherwise purchased if they did accept them...and I know I'm not the only one

 

[Lindy]

Amber has a really good point. My sales that are credit cards are usually substantially higher than cash transactions. Also I would say that credit cards account for about 35% of my sales. Well worth it in my opinion.

 

[markwadsworth]

A sale is a sale. Many folks do not walk around with cash and if you can not take a card you letting sales walk away. Yes taking cards can be trouble every now and then. But you will have more sales in the long run. When I started taking cards for my Civil War Tailoring business my sales more then doubled.

Mark

 

[Chay]

At craft shows my CC sales have reached as high as 90% of my daily sales. With the Christmas buying season just around the corner I would highly recommend accepting CC.