Setting up CCs or not

[montytx]

Hi all,
I run a shopping site and as it begins to draw more traffic I am trying to decide if I need to take CCs or not. I have paypal set up but I am wondering if I am losing lots of impulse shoppers b/c I dont take CCs.
Anyones two cents would be appreciated and any opinions on a chep strictly online service. I am looking at Authorize.net.

[StevenAllen]

Yes, you are losing business in two ways:

1) Impulse buyers who do not care for Paypal
2) Buyers who see your website as just one step above Ebay. Making an on-line client as comfortable as possible with your website and giving them a sense of confidence that you are a professional business, not accepting credit cards is an error.

There are many options out there. You will need a merchant account and access to a gateway such as Authorizenet. Yes, there are very competitve programs available and if you have additional questions we would be happy to lend a hand.

[RikR]

I disagree. PayPal's new policy of not requiring the customer to have a PayPal account to use a credit card, makes checking out about the same as using most any cc checkout process. Plus there is no merchant fee, minimum monthly fees, or set up costs.

[StevenAllen]

I think you would be in the minority with your point of view and this is based upon several reasons.

1) There are more then 500 EMG merchants and I have an opportunity to talk with many of them and most agree with my point of view. You simply look small time and do not inspire confidence in clients when you only accept PayPal. Bringing traffic to your site is important, but converting that traffic is as important.

2) Paypal is NOT cheap and not just because of potential sales lost, but the discount rate. If you can obtain a merchant account and get minimum monthly fees waived (while you grow) you allow yourself to grow your business.

If your business is hobby income this is the ONLY time I would stay with Paypal.

[montytx]

I think I agree with you. I am trying to get my site set up SSL first. I run OScommerce and I was thinking I would use Authorize.net. Do you have any opinions on what is the best gateway? Also if you are aware of any great deals on the reseller of services. I had someone quote me today $15 a mo. + $10mo for authorize and 100 set up fee plus a 2.25% fee. Seems okay but I am wondering what other gateways there are....

Thanks in advance.

[StevenAllen]

Authorizenet is the most popular with over 100K users. This is why we negotiated a deal with them as many EMG members asked us to do so. They have been VERY reliable with the exception of a DOS attack some months ago.

[Corey Bryant]

You do not state what you volume might be. But if you are happy with it - consider staying with Paypal. Paypal is good for some. Getting a merchant account is sometimes too much for some people to handle unfortunately.

But if you are in the United States, and processing more than $1,000 a month - a merchant account is usually easier for you in the long run. You get your money usually 24-48 hours after the sale is made. No need to worry about calling or signing into a website to get your money

Authorizenet.com is only an electronic payment gateway, like LinkPoint and Verisign. Authorizenet.com has been down about seven times since November 2003. Verisign has been down once, and LinkPoint has not. If you are concerned about fraud, get Verisign. They have a lot of extra to add on to their services to help you combat fraud.

If you decide to stick with Paypal, make sure you put on their that they do not have to be members to pay you. This has been going on for over one year, but most consumers do not know this. It is not advertised all that much. The downside, you do still get incessant emails from Paypal to join :)

[montytx]

My site is pretty new and I am in process of pusshing it up in Google. My volume is sub $1000 right now. I have a modest goal this year of getting it to around $2000 mo. initialy. I am concerned that I need CCs b/c as my volume of visitors is moving up quickly these past 2 months ( almost 100%) I am not seeing a corresponding increase in sales. So I am assuming that with 200 visitors a day I am missing something.

[cyanide]

How many(approximately) of those 200 are buying ?

[jestep]

I would say that once your volume exceeds about $1000 - $1500 / month, it is time to ditch paypal.

I would also agree with using authorize.net AIM method. I think it is the best method for the money. The visitors always stay on your site, which makes tracking easier and makes the site much more professional. It is also much cheaper then Verisign, or other payment options.

Definitely start looking into and implementing your options now, and it wont be so hard to switch when you do decide to.