|
|
|
A College Degree or an MBA is NOT NEEDED to be “Financially Free”
Look at Forbes’ top 10 United States wealthiest people. Notice the top five “self made” billionaires (excludes the Waltons who’s net worth is due to inheritance) are college dropouts. If MBA/college degrees were the answer, this would not be true. ...
Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 1)
Is it right for you? If you decide to advertise your product or service then you must ask yourself - "Will potential customers read this publication and will they take action having read my ad?" National newspapers - Read by a huge cross section...
How To Turn Business Losses Into Cash Flow
When the typical new business operator starts a business, they concentrate on making the business succeed. That is necessary but not the only thing that a business operator should concentrate on. A business depends on cash flow to exist and...
How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game
I am certain that, as a business owner, you have often entertained the question as to how much to spend and where to spend your advertising dollars. For most small business owners, these questions can add to the headaches suffered in the course...
Sell Your Love
It's well documented that if we love our work, then we usually become experts at it and eventually the money shows up. Makes sense, but this is a slight shift on that concept. I want you to literally look at the concept of selling love for...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad
If you want to sell on the internet, your need to accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you need a merchant account, or access to one. There're two ways of getting this: Get your own merchant account, or 'pimp' off someone else's.
The latter is the option most new merchants choose. You use a third-party to process your payments, and they take percentage. Here are a few popular ones:
PayPal.com (http://www.paypal.com)
I don't recommend them as your main processor. See http://www.paypalsucks.com. PayPal is popular because it was 'firstest with the mostest' on auction sites. For this reason, eBay bought them out. PayPalSucks.com) alleges that if you have a bad order they freeze your account, and can even dip into your bank account to make up any shortfalls. Mitigating circumstances are not taken into account. I've read enough complaints about PayPal on webmaster forums to heed them.
The usual rejoinder is; "But I've never had any problems with PayPal". To which is usually retorted "Just wait 'till you get a chargeback!"
A chargeback occurs when someone asks their credit-card company for a refund. They say they didn't get the goods, or they never made the order, or the goods were not as advertised. This is passed on to the processor, who in turn debits the merchant. Or drops him entirely. You don't want too many of these.
I've used them for years for small amounts, with no problem, but on the basis of others' complaints in webmaster forums, I wouldn't use them for large ones. Don't leave large amounts 'on deposit' in any internet-based company; they're not banks, and even banks go bust occasionally.
The best use for PayPal is to entice customers who already use it. Find another provider to be your main one. One like ...
2Checkout.com (http://www.2checkout.com)
This is a factoring service like PayPal. Unlike them, they have a pretty good reputation with webmasters. Like PayPal, they don't provide you with a merchant account; they process your orders through their own.
This is why such sites have to be very stringent; they are answerable to their own merchant account provider. Too many bogus orders, and they go out of business.
This is why third-party factoring services like 2Checkout are very useful to a newbie merchant: fraud prevention. They can screen out suspicious orders.
Most merchants would like to think they can sell worldwide. The fact is most of the world is poor; MOST countries can't afford your goods. So some citizens try to get them fraudulently.
A smart merchant would bar most of the world from accessing his cart, and only accept orders from the USA, Canada, western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and his home country. Harsh, but you'll sleep better at night.
WorldPay (http://www.worldpay.com)
A well-regarded service. I found adding it to the Oscommerce cart (http://www.oscommerce.com) a bit of a chore, but it worked. More expensive to join than 2Checkout. You don't hear many gripes about WorldPay, which is rare in webmaster circles.
ClickBank.com (http://www.clickbank.com)
Handy if you're selling a few items of inexpensive software to start off your business. They'll let you up the price once they're sure of you. I managed to get them to go up to $150 (whoo!). I was very jealous of their system. It's well designed and extremely 'viral'; they're basically a huge affiliate program. Join ClickBank, and others will try and sell your product for you.
They allow you to block whole continents from trying to buy your product, and that is good. The odds are that a $25 order for an ebook, from a third-world country, is fraudulent.
If an order looks dodgy, it probably is. Contact the customer by 'phone or email. If you don't get a satisfactory reply, refund the card.
When you're making $1000 a month, get your own merchant account.
MerchantSeek (http://www.merchantseek.com)
A useful collection of affiliate links to merchant account and processing providers. Scroll down their front page to their search tool. You can find an account that suits your needs. This is most helpful to non-U.S. merchants, or those seeking 'international merchant accounts'.
In the UK, look for 'merchant services' at:
Barclays bank (http://www.barclaycardmerchantservices.co.uk)
NatWest (http://www.natwest.com)
Bank Of Scotland (http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk)
Royal Bank Of Scotland (http://www.rbs.co.uk)
Streamline (http://www.streamline.com)
UK processing services are:
Secpay (http://www.secpay.com)
Netbanx (http://www.netinvest.co.uk)
Protx (http://www.protx.com)
Having one's own merchant account means paying less in processing fees.
IMPORTANT: You should specify up-front that you are looking for an internet merchant account. Internet transactions are viewed as higher risk than those by bricks-and-mortar businesses. The technical term is 'card not present'.
Some things you may need, if applying for an internet merchant account of your own:
Business bank account;
Photocopy of a voided cheque for said account;
Copy of the articles of incorporation of your company;
Photocopy of your return policy information;
Trade references;
Photocopy of your driver's license or passport.
In short, you need to prove that both you and your company are what you say they are. Your account provider is taking a chance on you. You might send them a ton of bogus orders. A bank is a business too, not a community service. Help them to make the right decision! The more you can establish that you are bona-fide, the lower the cost of your account.
Things to avoid, if you can:
a) Expensive credit-card processing software rental or hire-purchase.
b) Monthly fees.
c) High discounts (the % of your sales they keep).
d) Fat fees up front (anything over $500 is a joke).
e) Salesmen calling you up with a spiel.
f) Getting lumbered with hiring their shopping cart as well.
Things to look out for at sites offering merchant accounts:
If you need to maintain a U.S. presence - full U.S. incorporation, U.S. server, U.S. offices, U.S. bank account - or NOT.
Also if they want a deposit, and the size of their application fee. And the usual monthly minimums, discounts etc.
Avoid getting into any software purchase or equipment rental. You can sort all that out later, for less money. There are plenty of good payment gateways, like Authorize.net (http://www.authorize.net) just itching for your business.
PS: Don't accept a merchant account from an Eastern European bank. I did, some years ago. The bank went bust. One guy wailed on Usenet that he'd lost $10,000 dollars. Luckily for me, business was bad that year!
About the Author
T. O' Donnell (http://www.tigertom.com) is an ecommerce consultant in London, UK. His latest projects are a mortgage calculator and ebook, available at http://www.tigertom.com/mortgages-uk.shtml
|
|
|
|
|
| United States Small Business Administration |
| An electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. Search engine for contracting officers, marketing tool for small firms, ... |
| www.sba.gov |
|
| SBA |
| The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle. ... |
| www.sba.gov |
|
| Main Page - SmallBusiness.com - Small Business Resources |
| Find Small Business plans, advice, tutorials about organization, corporations, entrepreneurship, and smallbusiness. |
| www.smallbusiness.com |
|
| Yahoo! Small Business: Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce ... |
| Yahoo! Small Business provides products and services that enable you to establish and grow your business on the Internet. Services include domain name ... |
| smallbusiness.yahoo.com |
|
| Small business advice business start up small business finance ... |
| business start up small business finance start up advice. |
| www.smallbusiness.co.uk |
|
| Smallbusiness.gov.au redirect to business.gov.au |
| Business Entry Point - Helping small business in big ways. An Australian Government initiative. The content from this website has now been consolidated into ... |
| www.smallbusiness.gov.au |
|
| Business & Small Business |
| Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. |
| www.entrepreneur.com |
|
| Microsoft Small Business Center |
| Your home for information about Microsoft's small-business products and services, tailored business advice, technology tools, and more. |
| www.microsoft.com |
|
| The Small Business Advisor - advice for starting and operating a ... |
| Advice and assistance for starting and operating a small or home based business. |
| www.isquare.com |
|
| SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
| A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs. |
| www.score.org |
|
| Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
| IR-2006-2, January 3, 2006 - Temporary and proposed regulations will significantly reduce tax filing burden for nearly 950000 small business owners. ... |
| www.irs.gov |
|
| Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
| BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
| www.smallbusinessbc.ca |
|
| Small Business Service | Home |
| Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
| www.sbs.gov.uk |
|
| NSW Small Business |
| A site developed by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development for small businesses. Topics include management, resources, current issues and ... |
| www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au |
|
| Business Management & Advice: Small Business Resources & Information |
| Looking for business management and advice? Our website includes small business resources and information that can help you. Visit the small business ... |
| www.businessweek.com |
|
| Small Business Lawyer, Attorney, Law, Legal Help - FindLaw for ... |
| Information and legal sites relevant to small business. |
| smallbusiness.findlaw.com |
|
| Small Business Funding Opportunities (SBIR and STTR) |
| Links to Small Business Funding Opportunities and SBIR / STTR Applications. |
| grants.nih.gov |
|
| Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
| Directory categorized by industry with company business card feature. |
| sbd.bcentral.com |
|
| Our site has moved! Please update your bookmarks! |
| Facilitates the sharing and exchange of information among small business development centers, the small business administration and other business-oriented ... |
| sbdcnet.utsa.edu |
|
| Small Business Development Corporation |
| Our business information services provides guidance to improve business skills and knowledge on advice on starting, buying, selling and expanding a small ... |
| www.sbdc.com.au |
|
|