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Lefty

Canada's Sharpest Lefty
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Mar 31, 2011
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I'm taking suggestions on new methods of accepting payment and paying those who make knives for my site.

Paypal (Big Brother) has decided I am a suspicious character, or something an they are making my "knife life" hell. Add to that their heinous fees and constant monitoring and I'm just about done with them. Because of their exorbitant dues, my prices have been raised, causing only you guys to suffer, WHICH I HATE! I've been taking a knock on almost all of my sales, but it's hard to run a small business when 20% of my profit (which is slim) is getting taken by a bully.

I'm wondering how you all would feel with email money transfers, or other options (please let me know if you have any ideas). The fees on email transfers are, I believe, lower and there is less constant nosiness on the part of the establishment I'd be using.

Let me know what you all think, and as always, THANKS!
 
I'm not a huge fan of PayPal, but I thought their fees were around 3.5%, not 20%. Do they charge differently for vendors or something?
 
3% off the whole sale price, so, depending on your profit margin, they seriously eat into it. As I said, that's not our number one goal (any of us), but it's tough when you fear about breaking even, once all is said and done.

I'm going to look into amazon wallet....
 
How do you set up ACH transfers. I see some places where you can pay by electronic check.

-AJ
 
Didnt Google have a service Google Wallet? Or was that Microsoft?

-AJ
 
Google wallet, I think. My mistake :)
 
All the same fees, it seems. Hmmm

How do people feel about email money transfers? They're insured, I believe.
 
All the same fees, it seems. Hmmm

How do people feel about email money transfers? They're insured, I believe.

"EMTsthrough a process named INTERAC. To transfer money without fees or extra costs you will need a Canadian bank account and an active e-mail account. It is still possible to transfer money in the U.S. by holding an account with an online institute such as PayPal. Though they usually charge either the sender or receiver a transfer fee"
Is that mean "email money transfers" same as "paypal" for US buyer??:scratchhead:
 
My friend uses square for his small business, and said he has not had issues.
 
cclin, it sounds like it basically would take my fees and throw them on you guys, which definitely isn't right. Thanks, though!

Maybe I just have to bite the bullet. I already have a friend of mine, in the area willing to go **** on their lawn. Hahah
 
You need to take the fees (PayPal or others) into account as an 'overhead' expense when pricing your product, and not have them come out of 'profit.' Just like I would hope makers/ vendors factor in credit card fees, etc. when pricing their goods. Maybe look into one of the CC processing companies, as the fees may be less the PayPal's fees.

In the end, you will balance the pricing on your products to make sure you earn 'x' consistantly. But do it sooner rather then later. If the fees continue to come out of your pocket, you need to raise output/ sales 20% just to stay at your intended income level.
 
I use PayPal for my shopping cart and they are consistently at 2.97% each month. On the other hand, I use Advanced Merchant Systems (through HSBC bank) for my merchant account and that is a little over 3% before their ad-ons which are not related to the actual fees. If you are paying anything much above 3% you need to refigure your monthly statement to see what is happening. The world or credit card fees is more competitive that most any field I know of and you can negotiate your way down with just a few calls.
 
Thanks guys. I've looked around and it seems the fees are not the biggest issue, it's more whether or not people would be ok with a different method of payment. Paypal's love of freezing accounts and calling early in the morning just seem to wear on my nerves.

I hope I'm not alone here. Haha
 

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