Possible solution if you want to accept credit cards

Ed Caffrey

Ed Caffrey

Joined
Jul 23, 1999
Messages
1,409
Wasn't sure if it this was a proper thread for this particular forum, but its something that I think will be of interest to a lot of Knifemakers. If its not appropriate to place it here....I apologize in advance.

Several years ago I decided that I needed to be able to accept credit cards, and went with a local bank who offered the services.....what a nightmare! The costs ate me out of house and home, the red tape was endless, and I could never get anyone to answer my questions..... I dumped that account, and have not taken credit cards for a number of years...and there is no doubt that not being able to accept credit cards has cost me sales.

Fast forward to now. With the help of my good friend Steve Kelly, I think there might be a solution for Knifemakers. An individual, who is one of Steve's neighbors, operates a business, setting up merchant accounts for credit cards. Her name is Tanya Haas. She's been at this for 10+ years, and not only knows the ins and outs, but will actually take the time and effort to educate you, and explain everything.

Steve gave Tanya my phone number, and about two weeks ago we started discussing my options. Where every other outfit talked in gibberish, and did their best to dodge all my specific questions, Tanya took the time and effort to explain EVERYTHING to me, ensured that I understood, and offered me the absolute best deal I have ever seen for being able to accept credit cards.....something I could afford, and a real person to speak with when I have questions or need explanations. When it came time to fill out the application, Tanya emailed me the forms, I printed them off, and she spent a couple of hours on the phone with me, helping me fill it out, and explaining each line until I understood.

This isn't a sales pitch.....its just Ed Caffrey, trying to help out the family of knifemakers that have been so wonderful to me over the years. I'm not getting anything out of it, and do not want anything, except to help Knifemakers who might be interested in being able to accept credit cards. To that end, if your interested in being able to accept credit cards, you can contact Tanya and see what she can do for you....... here is the information for contacting Tanya:

Tanya L. Hauss,

(954) 608-5103 cell

(406) 837-2173 office

(406) 837-2174 fax

(954) 608-5102 John Hauss cell

thauss@haussaccounts.net

All I can tell you is that Tanya was very honest, open, and helpful. I felt good about dealing with her, and she gave me a FAR better deal than any other outfit I have dealt with. She is currently processing my account, and I should be ready to accept credit cards by the end of the month. Its the best deal that I have seen for folks like us, and just thought that I would share it.
 
I just went through the same thing for a new shop I'm opening up. One of my partners wanted to go through his bank and the monthly costs were ridiculous, the per use charge was high as well. Plus they required a 2 year no-out contract and you had to lease the machine, which carried a 3 month warranty and a $500 deposit.

Luckily enough I got a note from a Quicken owned company the next week. $200 to own the machine, lifetime warranty, and $30 per month if I remember right, along with lower per use charges. We got our machine 4 days after the first phone call vs a 2 month wait for the bank.

End lesson being 1. never trust the bank and 2 shop it around. There's much better deals.
 
Good info ED, for those who need to take CC payments.

In 20 years I've never accepted CCs and only get asked once or twice a year.
For my customers who need to use CC, I just have them pay through my paypal account.
 
Thanks for posting this info Ed. It's a very interesting subject in this day and age of plastic payment options.

I have a couple of questions. What are the costs of doing it this way, just ballpark? The second question, you may not have any idea of so anyone is welcome to reply if they know anything... Just wondering how the system Ed is suggesting would compare to setting up a PayPal account that can accept Credit, Debit and Checking payments?

Thanks in advance,
Rick
 
Like Don, I got along fine for a long while, not taking credit cards. I did keep track however, and I have lost a fair number of sales because I was not able to accept them.
What put a fire under me was that I was chosen by the Montana Art Council to attend one of the largest "handcrafted" shows in the nation. The show will be in Louisville, KY. Feb 19-22. The Art Council is paying the entire cost of attending the show, but one of the stipulations is that each individual must be able to accept credit cards as a method of payment. This stems from the fact that the first two days of the show are for wholesalers only. I'm not all that interested in wholesalers, however, in these economic times, its an opportunity to open new markets to what I do.

To answer Rick's questions: I spent a whole day talking with various commercial outfits about accepting credit cards. Of the 11 different agencies I spoke with, the cheapest monthly rate was $69, and by the time you added up all the other little charges that were included, it surpassed $150 per month, and on top of that each one charged an annual fee, ranging from $90 to $225! Then the "discount rate" is different for each type of card, and also for the way the transaction is carried out (card swipe, keyed entry, etc.) What really got me was there were no straight answers, and if you didn't ask very specific questions, you simply would not get an answer....especially where fees/costs were concerned. The general attitude was "If you want this, you'll pay whatever we say." That really turned me off.

I do have a paypal account, and I also checked with them about accepting credit card payments. Their rate to accept credit cards was $30 per month, plus .30 cents per transaction, AND, roughly 2.9% of each transaction. And the only way to accomplish it at shows is to have an internet connection at your table.

Its not my place to disclose exact figures, but Tanya beat all the other deals hands down. And the biggest plus for me was she took the time to explain the entire process, and told me to call her if I ever have questions or problems......try doing that with one of the commercial outfits.

All I'm doing here is letting folks know that there is an affordable option for those who's business could benefit from accepting credit cards, that is by far the best deal I have seen. Its up to each individual to decide if its something they want to explore. I would expect that each individual's circumstances and needs are unique, and Tanya is the one to contact to find out if its for you.
 
I have been using Tanya's service for about a year and a half now. She has made the credit card nightmares all go away. She is very helpful, honest and extremely reasonably priced.
 
Thanks for taking the time to post this for all of us Ed! Good info that I'm sure a bunch of us will be able to take advantage of sooner or later. Hopefully sonner than later!;)

I've added the contact info to my references book.


Rick
 
I have been taking credit cards through a different company for 3+ years now. I have a machine that I lease for $50.00 per month (I could have bought the machine outright if I'd had the cash for $800 but I was broke) My machine is wireless networked which is good since most of the places I sell there is no phone line within a mile, the company charges me $25.00 per month for processing/airtime.It is instant capture, the money shows up in my account usually within 2 days.

-Page
 
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