Accepting Credit Cards

     Question:  I have been thinking about selling my jewelry next year at craft shows but my concern is taking payments.  Cash of course is no problem but I would be concerned with personal checks.  I do not know how to go about getting set up to take credit cards.  Do you have any ideas and/or resources you could refer to me?

     Answer:  If you are thinking about selling your jewelry there is no question that making it easy for people to buy from you is one of the best ways to increase your sales.  Accepting credit cards is one of the best ways to make it easy for people to buy from you. 

     When you are talking about taking credit cards you are looking for a "merchant account."  When I was first trying to set up my own account I didn't even know the proper terminology.  Once you know that you are interested in setting up a merchant account you will find that there are a lot of options for doing so.

      To take credit cards at a physical location you need to either swipe the card through a machine or take an imprint of the card.  There are wireless terminals available that you can take to craft shows and swipe the customer's credit on site.  This is the safe way to do it.  If you do not have a wireless credit card machine, you can use an imprint machine and manually input the card information into your terminal later.  This is not as good as swiping the card because you will not know immediately if the card is approved or declined.  If you do take the imprint be sure to get the customer's phone number so you can call them if there is a problem with their card.

     You can set up a merchant account at your bank.  A few years ago, the banks were not easy to qualify with and many may require a storefront in order to set up an account.  If you do a search on the internet you will find companies that will set you up with an account. 

     If you get a credit card machine you can also get a check reader that will guarantee that you will not take a bad check.  Out of all the checks that we have taken in our years of selling jewelry we had very few bad checks but you may feel that it is worth the extra cost of the check reader.

     When you inquire about setting up a merchant account you would be wise to shop around.  Not everyone charges the same rate and there can be a few tenths of a percentage difference between companies.  The fees that they charge per transaction, monthly service fees and statement fees will also vary, so get all of the details and then compare.

     They may also try to sell you a terminal.  This is where the prices will be drastically different.  Most will offer you a lease on the equipment which can end up costing you as much as $3,000 or more.  Once you find a merchant account provider ask them what machines they can support.  With this information you can go on eBay and buy the same machine that they may want to charge $3,000 for.  The charge to you for accepting Debit cards is much less than the charge for accepting credit cards so it is well worth getting a pin pad so that you can take debit cards.

     The merchant account service that the eBay seller may recommend may not be the best option.  It is perfectly fine to shop for the best deal on merchant account services and buy your own machine.  This will save you a lot of money.

     Another option that may be less expensive than buying a credit card machine is to set up an online account an use the "virtual terminal" to input the customer information.  There are many options online for setting up merchant accounts.  If you had a wireless connection for your laptop you could take credit cards at shows this way.  One of our customers uses her laptop with a wireless internet connection and has har customer transfer money to her at the show using their PayPal account.  If your customer has a PayPal account, this is actually easier than using a "virtual terminal" because you don't have to input all of the customer's information.  You just let the customer log onto PayPal with your computer and send the amount of the sale to your PayPal e-mail address.

     If you are going to take checks without a check reader be sure to write the buyers drivers license number and phone number on the check.  If the check is returned you can usually call the person and straighten it out.  If the checks were stolen you can give the check to the county prosecutor and they will pursue legal action.  You can also give the bad check to a collection agency for collection if the buyer is uncooperative.

     The easiest way to take bank cards is to swipe them through a machine.  If you are not going to use it enough to justify the investment you can look at the options that I have explained.