Teach Soap

Hello Soapmakers . . .

Do you use Pay Pal on your web site and, if so, what are your thoughts on it? Are you happy with it? Is it worth it? Is it worth it if a person only sells a little bit of soap online to their friends and family?

I have Paypal on my site as one of the options. I also take credit cards via Propay.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I do not like PayPal charging 4% on all merchandise transactions but it is more secure and direct without signing up for credit card charges. Sometime my friends would offer to send me PayPal personal $ as payment to help me avoid the 4% fee.

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Shieh Design Studio
https://www.facebook.com/ShiehDesignStudio
http://soapandrestless.blogspot.com

I use and like PP as one of my methods of payment, however, I would NOT have friends and family pay through it, I'd save myself the fees and get the cash. Now, if you are talking about being on Etsy or Artfire and want them to pay so that you will show sales and get reviews, then it may be worth it to you, but otherwise, I'd say no.

I have had my PP account for many years and I love it. It is WAY less expensive than regular credit card companies, and way easier than many others. There is no minimum, no monthly fees, and you can refund partial or full amounts exceptionally easy. Not to mention the records are easily accessible and always available. Besides that, there are the virtual terminals that you can use at shows, and you can initiate and discontinue it at your convenience.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

If someone send you PP as a personal gift, then you don't get charged their fee. There is no monthly charge to have PP on your site.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Can someone please tell me what kind of fees venders pay to take credit cards at craft shows? Right now Im doing cash and carry.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I use paypal personal for my small soaping adventure but the customers will have to have an account with paypal to send the payment some don't want to sign up so they contact me and we make other arrangements.

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"Maintaining Balance Between People and Nature"

For instance what does Visa charge venders to take credit cards?

It really all depends on the rates you can manage to negotiate with your chosen card processing company, software, or vendor. 2 - 5% is not uncommon (5 being pretty darn ridiculous type high).
Watch out for extra little fees they may stick on your statement (your processing co not the actual credit card company).

Although some card companies do add a few fees. In my business days, Discover was notorious for little fees. American express gets a bad rap for charging higher fees but for smaller companies they do (did at least in my business days) have a flat monthly fee option.

Also, your annual estimated sales volume for each kind of credit card plays a factor when you're negotiating rates. Usually the more volume you do with that particular credit card company (not your actual card processing co) the rates are lower & vice versa.
That being said, the biggest thing to remember is that the rates ARE negotiable unless of course you're dealing with pay pal who will just continue doing what they want to because they can.

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In this world you can be either oh so smart or oh so pleasant. I used to be smart. I prefer pleasant. You may quote me. ~Elwood P. Dowd

Thanks for all the info. At this point Im not taking credit cards at craft shows. I don't want to absorb the cost. My customers who would use credit cards would be put out if I charged them extra to use their cards and it would not be fair to charge everyone a little extra for some to use credit cards. I write cash and carry on my sign and have had very few people say anything about it. If I sold large ticket items then for sure I would take them but most of my sales are less then $20.00. Once in a while I'll take a check with lots of ID and an honest face.

My husband & I used to sell candles at craft fairs and flea markets. At first it was cash only. The products ranged from $4 to $25 each. The day we started taking credit cards our sales increased at least 50%. Not only did we get more customers, but more importantly the amount each customer spent increased dramatically.

Also, when someone is counting the cash in their pocket, they are less likely to make an impulse purchase. How many times has someone walked away because they wanted to be sure that your product was the one they REALLY wanted to spend their cash on or come to find out they didn't have enough with them. Then compare that to how often that person actually came back to purchase your product.

Accepting credit cards will pay for itself with increased sales without having to increase your prices or charge a credit surcharge.

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thats a point of view I hadn't considered, thanks

Sea Shore is correct in my experience, however, you have to be very careful. There can be hidden fees in your credit card companies contract. This happened to me, and I thought I understood the contract, which I spend hours reading and asking questions about. Still, there was a minimum sales amount that had to be met monthly, and when it wasn't, the fees were astronomical. Then the customer service that was so great when I was considering signing, was nil when I wanted to discuss the fees. I had to email and call sevral times just to get my account manage to speak with me. Then all he would say is "well you signed it". My saying that he told me it meant xyz never got any response except for the "you signed" comment. The supervisor was worse. It was awful, and I had chosen them because of their high ratings.

There is a really cool chip now that fits into your phone like a charger, and allows you to run credit cards right through your phone. Of course you need a tech package on your phone, but the device is FREE,and there are a few of them, and they fit different phones. The one I looked at had NO fees except the transactions. If I recall it was a 3% per fee. But I read the entire contract and it was very simple and plain, and explicitly stated that there were no other fees, no minimums, no monthly fees, no anything except for the transaction fee. As long as you have phone service, you can accept a card! I am seriously considering upping my phone package and getting one of these.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy