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How to Accept Online Payments Without a Merchant Account
Article:
If you operate a small business from your home and have been
thinking of moving it online to take advantage of a
'global audience,' this article is for you.
A lot of people I talk to are hesitant to start selling online
due to the 'red tape' of getting a merchant account,
a secured server certificate, and if needed, shopping
cart software. That is not to mention the huge expense of paying
someone to put it all together for you.
Well, listen up: Forget all of that. I`m here to
tell you that you can test the waters of online
selling without going to a lot of
trouble and expense.
There are many third party credit card and online
check providers who are willing to help you
get your e-commerce business up and running in no time.
Some of them may only work with sites selling tangible goods
and others for intangibles, like services. Before
choosing one make sure you thoroughly check them
out and pick the one that suits your needs.
So what do they do? Well, they provide a secured website
you can link to, where they process your customers`
credit card orders. For all of this convenience
they take a small piece of the pie, usually ranging
from 7 to 15%.
Let`s take a look at a few of them and what they
have to offer:
1) iBill: This is the one I use to sell my promotional
services. If you sell services or other intangibles, this one
will work for you. There are no set up fees, or software to
download and your services can range in price
from .95 to 0.00. You do need to make
what iBill calls a 'webgood page,' so you need
to know how to create a webpage and upload it
to their server. iBill takes 15% of the amount
charged during any billing period and sends you
a check twice a month. They make it easy
to get started, and after signing up you can
be up and selling online within 48 hours.
http://www.ibill.com
2) Valid Check: I`ve used Valid Check for years
to accept online check payments. Being able to
accept checks and credit cards is important
because it gives potential customers a choice
when ordering from you. The more choices you
can give them, the more sales you will have.
Basic charges are as follows;
- .95 monthly minimum
- .95 One-time setup.
- Free Secure Order Page
- FREE Remote Printing Software*
- NO percentage fees
- 99¢ Transaction Fee**
Once you sign up they supply you with easy-
to-set-up links that you can paste into your site.
You have two options when it comes to collecting
your money: You can download their free software
and print out your own checks, or opt for them
to mail your checks twice a month (for an added fee
of 36¢ per transaction).
http://www.validcheck.com
3) ClickBank: This is the e-commerce choice
for thousands of business websites. ClickBank can
also be used to set up your own Associate program,
where you allow others to resell your services
or products for a small commision. While this service
is not available to process payments for tangible
goods, it is the perfect solution for real-time sales
of your services or digital products. ClickBank allows
you to accept Visa, MC, Amex, and Discover. They
charge a one time activation fee of 49.95 and
.00 plus 7.5% fee on each sale.
http://www.clickbank.com/
4) DigiBuy: This one is ideal for those
selling software or information. DigiBuy allows
you to accept Visa, MC, Amex, and Discover. Set-up
is quick and easy. You have complete control
of pricing, order forms, and delivery options.
Their fee is 13.9% of each sale.
http://www.digibuy.com
5)Online Billing Solutions (OBS): Allows you
to take all major credit cards. After review
of their site I could not find if you can sell
tangible or intangibles, so I`m assuming you
can do both. There are no set-up or monthly fees, but
they do take a 15% cut of your sales.
It is simple to set up; you place a line of
HTML code on your site, linking into
their secured server. Transactions can
range in price from .00 to 0.00 and
money is paid to you twice a month.
http://www.online-billing.com
6) CC Now: Used for selling tangible
merchandise, CC Now is a full service
electronic commerce solution. Their
integrated shopping cart software encourages
customers to purchase multiple items at once.
It is free to sign up, and they charge no monthly fees, however they
do collect a 9% commision on each sale.
Pay-outs are twice a month. CC Now allows you to
take all major credit cards and notifies you
by e-mail of any sales, so you can ship the
product.
http://www.ccnow.com/
If you`re looking for an easy way to start selling
online without putting up a lot of cash, this
really is the best way to get your feet wet and
see if web selling will work for you. If it does,
you can always apply for a merchant account down
the road and save on the transaction fees.
The ability to sell your products/services online
is not difficult or expensive, you just need to
know where to look for help.
Merle`s Cyber Promotions (MC)
http://www.mcpromotions.com
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