I finally gave up on Wells Fargo Bank late last year and cancelled my long-held merchant account. The fees were just getting ridiculous. A fee for this, a fee for that, a fee for something else, on top of the percentage of sales they sucked from my account each month. And all those fees or percentages seemed to increase at an alarming rate.
So far I don’t think I’ve lost a significant number of sales by no longer accepting credit or debit cards. But as I head into the big summer show season, I’m wondering what kind of hit I may take. It could go two ways, I figure:
-- With everyone tight on cash, credit card use will be heavier and I’ll lose sales.
-- Credit card interest rates are killing people’s finances so they’re using them less frequently, meaning they should have the cash or write a check to pay for their purchases and I won’t lose many sales.
We all know many arts and crafts show purchases are spontaneous. A customer needs to really like and want a product to consider walking over to an ATM to get cash or back to the car to get the checkbook, then returning to my booth to buy something. They may say “I’ll be back to get it,” but they often aren’t.
I’ve sometimes directed people at shows to my online sales, but that, too, removes the spontaneity of purchases. While I’ve been surprised by some of the follow-through for those types of sales, I’d rather make them on-the-spot in my booth at a show.
So, if the first couple events next month indicate I’m losing sales by no longer accepting plastic, I’ll have to reconsider. The research is headache-inducing. So many banks and card processing companies to choose from but few that offer exactly what I want: low fees, low percentages and the ability to put the account on hold for months when I’m not doing shows.
Anyone have any merchant account provider recommendations or suggestions?
So far I don’t think I’ve lost a significant number of sales by no longer accepting credit or debit cards. But as I head into the big summer show season, I’m wondering what kind of hit I may take. It could go two ways, I figure:
-- With everyone tight on cash, credit card use will be heavier and I’ll lose sales.
-- Credit card interest rates are killing people’s finances so they’re using them less frequently, meaning they should have the cash or write a check to pay for their purchases and I won’t lose many sales.
We all know many arts and crafts show purchases are spontaneous. A customer needs to really like and want a product to consider walking over to an ATM to get cash or back to the car to get the checkbook, then returning to my booth to buy something. They may say “I’ll be back to get it,” but they often aren’t.
I’ve sometimes directed people at shows to my online sales, but that, too, removes the spontaneity of purchases. While I’ve been surprised by some of the follow-through for those types of sales, I’d rather make them on-the-spot in my booth at a show.
So, if the first couple events next month indicate I’m losing sales by no longer accepting plastic, I’ll have to reconsider. The research is headache-inducing. So many banks and card processing companies to choose from but few that offer exactly what I want: low fees, low percentages and the ability to put the account on hold for months when I’m not doing shows.
Anyone have any merchant account provider recommendations or suggestions?
I actually dont have any suggestions as I'm struggling with this myself. The fee's are simply outrageous. Depending on where your shows are you may be able to get an internet connection. You could bring your laptop and have them use paypal right there and then.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder: If a person says, "I'll go get cash and come right back," you know the chances are they won't. What if you took those people at their word and said: "Just take it and bring me the cash on your way back."? How much merchandise would you lose to theft that way versus how many sales would you save?
ReplyDelete