larrynj1 said:
i have to agree with macguy. e-bay is a bargain. thousands of people are making a good living selling on e-bay.
paypal is the biggest ripoff i've ever seen, 3.5% charge on every transaction, even transfers directing from a checking acct. you need to put your money into CD's for an annual interest rate of 3%. it's only plus side is saving you a trip to the bank to make a deposit, or the cost of a 37 cent stamp to send a payment. i still use it, but it pisses me off every time.
Larry,
I agree with you on the Paypal cash.
However, Paypal is a blessing and a valuable tool to most of us on the internet. With the relatively small volume most of us do on the internet, it would be difficult for us to establish a credit card vendor account. Their credit card fees are actually quite low for these relatively risky transactions.
Businesses long ago accepted credit card vendor fees as a necessary evil. About 10 years ago due to numerous customer requests I decided to accept credit cards for all services offered at my company. Today we pay over $100,000 a year just in credit card transaction fees. Behind salaries, it is by far our largest single expense, more than rent, telephones and full coverage health insurance for our employees combined. I imagine most high volume service companies who are credit card vendors would say the same thing.
It is not easy to be a high volume credit card vendor. Companies have to have sterling credit, ample cash reserves, and continuously updated financial information on file. If they don't they might pay 10% or more in transaction fees. Banks view credit card vendors in the same way they view loans, because ultimately they are responsible for default or non-performance.
Could my company survive for long without accepting credit cards? My view is our prices would go down by 3% and I would estimate our sales would drop by 30% - 40%. The answer is we would be hurting.
So, I am saying, the little guy can thank their lucky stars for paypal. I think they've done a fine job compared to credit card processing centers and banks.
Chris