Credit Cards, MO, Cashier Checks.Please HELP!

M

mpayne

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Ok guys, I may be in the wrong folder to post, but I gotta find out your opinions, your honesty to me as a small dealer would be very beneficial to me.

On the forums here, as far as making purchases, would the convenience of using credit cards with small dealers like myself or any other "small dealer", affect your number of purchases made. Or does it not really matter which way you pay as long as you get a great price. Also, if a dealer does accept Credit Cards, does that give you a little more "trust factor" to want to do business with he or she?

I ask, because I am trying to make a decision as to whether or not to go with a merchant account. I don't know if it would really "increase" my business or not. You certainly have to have the volume to be able to justify the fees involved with it. The Gun/Knife Shows, network of friends, & BF are my main link to prospects right now, and I will have to make a decision soon about purchasing a monthly banner so that I may continue to post on BF(not complaining M. Turber!) Even at Knife shows, I have very few people who want to use credit cards.
Is it really a hassle to send a Money Order for you guys, or does it not matter. I know what the Merchant Account people say, but what really matters is your opinion, since YOU are the customers.
It is definitely hard to run with these "big boys" on the net with huge websites, but........I'm trying!

Please, your input is very important to me.

Thank you,



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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
Mike,
I can only speak for myself, but if the dealer doesn't take credit cards, I'm probably not going to order from him/her.

Using a credit card is way more convenient, and offers protection that I don't get if I write a personal check. Plus, with a personal check, I have to wait for it to clear before [most, if not all] dealers will ship -- I'm just not that patient when there's a new toy involved.

Money orders are completely out of the question; I have to go out of my way, and there's a fee involved.

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Dave

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives
 
I have to agree with dsvirsky. Credit cards are much more convenient than waiting for money orders to mail. I want to fondle my purchase as soon as possible.
You have to look at your circumstances to make this decision. Will your volume of knife sales support the use of credit cards. I did recently use PayPal to replace payment after losing a money order in the mail. Transaction was smooth and no complaints from the seller.

Check the alternatives and then make your decision.

Best of Luck,

sarge
 
Mike,
IMO, the ability to accept cc payments is important for a small business such as yours. I recently bought a TOPS Wolf Pup from another small dealer. Since he didn't accept cc's, I bought & mailed a MO. It took 6 days to make it across the country! I agree w/Sarge -- I want to be able to play with my purchase as soon as possible.

I also know that merchant accounts can be prohibitively expensive. I'm a consultant & one of my clients recently asked if they could pay for a seminar via credit card. I'd hate to turn away business but a merchant account would have cost me several thousand more over the course of a year than I would earn from them.

I set up an account with PayPal in the hope that the client would agree to pay me via cc using it. Well, I'm still waiting to hear from the client but I have used it for quite a few private knife deals as both buyer & seller. It costs nothing & could be a good "toe in the water" approach for you to see if the volume of your cc sales would justify the expense of opening a merchant account.

Good luck with your decision & your business.

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Cheers,

--+Brian+--

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Well said so far gentlemen. Other opinions welcome!

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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
Great question Mike. We seem to be in very similar circumstances here in reference to starting a new business. Your initial post summed up my situation exactly.

Best wishes,

Kevin Pensinger aka "Waldo"
The Edge Equipment
theedgeequipment@yahoo.com
 
The ability to buy by credit card is a big factor for me. I have made purchases by cheque and by cash, but only if I had no choice or had another good reason [ie discount.] For crossborder transactions, credit card is much more convenient and cost effective for the purchaser [in a consumer transaction, of course]. I've got horror stories I'm sure you don't want to hear.
The credit card gives me insurance for theft or damage and confidence in case of a problem. Although I've never had to rely on it re a knife purchase, it's nice to know it's there. For most people, buying on a card is painless, at least at first, which makes the decision to buy easier - especially if they're getting points or cash back etc. It's a lousy way to finance a purchase, but people do it, and even if you don't use it for credit, a card is soooo convenient, and the knife is soooo nice...
In short, ya, it makes a big difference to me, and probably to many other potential purchasers. It's a cost of doing business nowadays, IMO.
 
Great point HJK. I did ship something to Canada and got paid by cashier check, only to find my bank socked me with a $3 charge for a Canadian Money Order Fee.
I'm getting the point here guys! But more comments welcome.

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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
CC's are the way of the world.I don't mind personal checks so much because if they get lost you can get another right away.With a money order you are f***** if it gets lost.Have to send another and wait for your money to get returned from Post Office or other issueing agent.Credit Cards are the way to go.Very convenent.IMO

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have a"knife"day
 
Yeah, I don't such mind a personal check either, and I only use my own disgression about waiting till it clears before shipping. At least with BF, you do start to get a feel of the integrity and character of the members here. On more than one occasion I have shipped even before I received money in hand, and these were not cheap blades either.
More great opinions. I think I'm leaning towards lookin' into the merchant account. It was just my bad luck at the last gun show, I missed 4 sales because I could not, but at the previous one, no one even asked about taking credit cards. Who knows the people tho, If I've got plain edge, they want serrated, If I've got yell Photons, they want red.........

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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
Mike,

Go with the wave......uuuuhhhhhh I mean plastic! Easier for buyers to deal with.
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Personal checks and money orders mean prolong waiting.
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With plastic I call or send you the number and the next day you have the blade in the mail.
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Several days later I've got my knife!
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As I'm sure that you're aware......there are a bunch of "knife junkies" out there.
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Need their blade fix more rapidly than the normal human species!
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I don't think I need to run through the routine of getting a money order! Can, at times, be a pain! 7 - 14 days later I get my knife!
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Same with personal checks!
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Ya see.....I'm a "nif nut!!!" I've been known to show signs of strange behavioral patterns while waiting for MY KNIFE!!! Yes, that's right!!! A "knife junky!!" I HAVE A HARD TIME WAITING FOR THE "FINE DELIVERY FOLKS" TO ARRIVE AT MY ABODE WITH DAT LITTLE BOX IN THEIR HANDS!!!
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In fact, I'm presently going thru "money order withdrawals." I know... It's hard TO TELL!! I sent someone a money order 10 days ago and STILL DON'T HAVE MY "NIF"
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I'm with my bud "Nifrand"..... USPS lose a MO..... Your f*****!!!!

Hey Randy, what's "f*****"......
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GigOne
"Livin' Life - Full Throttle"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it."
 
Mike, Just a view from the other side of the situation. As a seller of custom and collectable knives I got myself a merchant account about a year ago. Got it from an ad over email as a matter of fact. There is no doubt in my mind that I have had increased sales and have at times gotten better prices on some of the auction sites because I was able to take credit cards. As previously mentioned a person will buy using a card when they won't buy if they have to pull cash out of their pocket. Just one word of caution, shop around for the best deal, they are not all alike. Some charge high discount fees, some transaction fees on top of that, some charge fees if you don't have any transactions for a given month, some have a sliding scale, etc. Some however are a good enough deal to make it viable. You should never pay more than 4% discount fee. Hope this helps with your decision.
Rs
Don
 
I definately buy more and more often if I can buy with plastic. I'm not very good at waiting for new toys to arrive.

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The thorn stands to defend the Rose, yet it is peaceful and does not seek conflict
 
CCs are the way to go in most cases. Same as above reasons. But do decide on a return policy that best fits your business needs. If you offer refunds with a CC transaction, you' ll eat the 4% or whatever it is.

L8r,
Nakano
 
Another vote for credit cards. I can be assured that the merchandise is in the mail in the next 24hrs usually.

I've been using PayPal quite a bit lately and strongly recommend others to open an account, I think I'm going to strongly encourage it's use in my next batch of knives for sale. You can use a credit card or personal check to pay for items and there are no surcharges on either side, something you get whacked for on a merchant account.

If you use my silly referral address below you even get a free $10 on your account (as do I) and you can use it towards a real purchase (or just have the $10 deposited in your checking account).

Go to:

https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=douglas%40netcom.com

Slick stuff.

--Doug
 
I purchase online exclusively, for most of the reasons already stated. Also, I use the internet bacause I'm just a big kid who wants his purchases NOW!
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If I have to order, then purchase and mail a money order, or write and mail a check, I might as well shop at retail stores, even paying a little more to get my knives sooner. I would be very surprised if your business did not increase with credit card acceptance, assuming your products,prices, and website were all up to par.

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AKTI Member #A000934
"Always just one knife short of perfection!"
 
Fellow Forumites,

Once again thanks for the information in this thread and to Mike for initiating it
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I signed up for a Pay Pal account so anyone wishing to pay for a purchase by credit card with The Edge Equipment may do so now by going to Pay Pal.com and creating an account. This seems a very secure and instant means of payment.

Thanks to all who suggested this and Doug - you got the referral buddy and as a long time member in good standing and great guy to deal with you deserve the 10 bucks!

For those wanting to sign up to do business with me you can use the following link (if I can confirm that you use my referral to sign up I will deduct my $10 referral credit from your bill! Unsure if this is possible but it probably is)

The referral link is:
PayPal.com

Please not that I am not trying to make money by soliciting referrals here and certainly not trying to take any referrals away from Doug but trying to make it cost effective and convenient for someone who wants a knife from me to use Pay Pal (without me making any additional gain from such usage other than the purchase).

Thanks,

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Kevin Pensinger
The Edge Equipment
theedgeequipment@yahoo.com

Contact THE EDGE for your cutlery needs!

[This message has been edited by Waldo (edited 02-12-2000).]
 
well fella's i came here tonight to ask nearly the same question. I have been thinking about taking phone checks. this works in a couple different ways. you can fill it out on the site and it comes to me there or you can call me and i take the info from there. it allows me to write a check from your account. now my question here is are you intrested in this feature at all !!!
Mike i accept credit cards and have for years now. with out taking the cards at the gunshows we would loose 1500.00 to 3000.00 a weekend as far as the internet i cant even begin to tell you the amount of money i would never see with out taking the plastic wonder of the world. you can get setup at a resenable rate these days so that volume of sales isnt really a big issue.........it is more then worth your time and money. now is anyone intrested in checks by phone/e-mail
it would save me money. i loose 3% on credit card sales everytime. with the checks they check to see if the money is there. when i get it all i do is ship it just like a credit card. then i ship the merchandise same day or the next just like with a card but i dont loose that 3% as i do with a card
just some thoughts. anyone intrested?

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Mark-@-MJS
mjsknives.com
knifeman@mjsknives.com
1-800-434-5073
good as the best and better then the rest.


 
Mark, my preference would definitely be credit card.

However, if someone does not have a credit card (or trying to recover from credit problems), I could see how the phone check could be a viable alternative.
 
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