Auction Houses that accept PayPal and/or credit cards

[4815162342]

Why don't all auction houses accept PayPal and/or credit cards? I know it's the fees, but isn't that just one of the costs of doing business?

[bnorth]

When accepting CC there are many more fees than you would think. I looked into it a couple years ago and you need to buy the CC machine and choose a provider to process the payments that also charge a yearly fee. All that is on top of the per transaction fees. Then it also depends on the provider what CC/Debit cards you can accept. For me it was too much of a pain in the a$$ to do for the few customers it would add.

The auction house would have to raise buyer/seller premiums to make up the difference. I know in the state I live in you can not add the CC/paypal fees to the purchase because it is illegal. Most get around this by raising prices and giving a discount for cash.

[4815162342]

How is giving a discount for other forms of payment besides PayPal/cc any different than raising the price for accepting PayPal/cc?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

How is giving a discount for other forms of payment besides PayPal/cc any different than raising the price for accepting PayPal/cc?

In reality there is no difference but it makes it legal. There are a few places around here that only accept a CC if you spend over $20. Most hate it but as a business owner I understand, those small purchases will kill your profit margin after CC fees.

[Leon]

Paypal or CC charge about 3% to take their service. In my small auction company we only charge a total of 12.5% fees. If we took those payment options it would take up to 25% of our profit. That is the main reason we don't take it. The other is charge backs.....That/they would really suck.

As someone who took credit cards for the last 9 yrs, to the tune of about 700k per year in cc's, I can tell you that those services rape you and they suck bad to deal with. As a consumer I love them...but as a merchant, no way.

If I was in a business that had to take them I would......but did I mention I hate Merchant Services (the cc part of companies)....?

[4815162342]

Understandable Leon. What if you could raise the BP to 16% for PayPal/cc customers, and keep it at 12.5 for check/money order customers? Or is the hassle (chargebacks, etc) just too much?

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by bnorth

In reality there is no difference but it makes it legal. There are a few places around here that only accept a CC if you spend over $20.

CC companies generally prohibit this discrimination. However, what I find it funny is that my card works just fine when I tell them that's all I have and start to walk out.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

CC companies generally prohibit this discrimination. However, what I find it funny is that my card works just fine when I tell them that's all I have and start to walk out.

That is because the person behind the counter is being nice to you. They are just an employee and losing money on your small purchase means nothing to them.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Leon - I believe you about the low margins. My father-in-law's friend used to a gas station and hated it with a passion.


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