35 replies
Hello Out There...

It is an absolute beautiful day here in Canada...
I hope everyone is enjoying their day...

Just looking for some experienced opinions... I'm looking to setup
a merchant account on a web site... I was wondering what the best
companies are and why? In other words, I would like the best performance/price mix.

For those warriors that are selling multiple products off their web sites
what are your thoughts?

Can anyone lend a helping hand?

cheers
#accounts #merchant
  • Profile picture of the author Les Blackwell
    Use paypal and sign in at e junkie, clickbank is also good if you are an affiliate or publisher.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
      Originally Posted by Les Blackwell View Post

      Use paypal and sign in at e junkie, clickbank is also good if you are an affiliate or publisher.
      Thx,

      But I should have been a little more specific...
      I'm not promoting digital products so I think
      clickbank is primarily about affiliate channels.

      This is for the sales of industrial chemicals...
      I'll look a little further into paypal... Maybe
      they're all I need.

      cheers
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      Cheers

      Jay
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      • Profile picture of the author Zacman
        Definitely Paypal and maybe even add Google Checkout too.

        Other merchant accounts which require monthly fees, a gateway processor, and still charge about the same percentages as Paypal and Google aren't for small timers or those just getting started.

        Cheers,
        Zac
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        • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
          Originally Posted by Zacman View Post

          Definitely Paypal and maybe even add Google Checkout too.

          Other merchant accounts which require monthly fees, a gateway processor, and still charge about the same percentages as Paypal and Google aren't for small timers or those just getting started.

          Cheers,
          Zac
          Thanks Zac,

          I've never used google checkout... That sounds like two great options
          Ok, so i've got a little homework to get started on...
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          Cheers

          Jay
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      • Profile picture of the author Sam Rodrigo
        Originally Posted by JaySabree View Post

        Thx,

        But I should have been a little more specific...
        I'm not promoting digital products so I think
        clickbank is primarily about affiliate channels.

        This is for the sales of industrial chemicals...
        I'll look a little further into paypal... Maybe
        they're all I need.

        cheers
        I am a little confused. If you are selling industrial chemicals, you are usually selling to a business. I suggest that you take pre-payment via Paypal for the first or second order. Then for larger orders following that, after a 'relationship' is established, you INVOICE the client. OR payment upon delivery.

        After a order or two you could have them complete a credit app, and you have an agency run the credit and when clean you ship. Otherwise, the customer should always pre-pay prior to shipment.

        This is the usual business sales model, unless I misunderstood your product.

        Sam
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  • Profile picture of the author p2y
    I like charge.com, they had me setup within 2 days and the whole process is really easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
      Originally Posted by p2y View Post

      I like charge.com, they had me setup within 2 days and the whole process is really easy.
      Hey there,

      I've never heard of charge.com... I am from Canada...
      Are my able to use them over here?

      cheers

      jay
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      Cheers

      Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author Lindsay Brynn
    You can look into Authorize.Net. I hear they are pretty good.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
      Originally Posted by linm View Post

      You can look into Authorize.Net. I hear they are pretty good.
      Thanks Lindsay...

      Have you ever used them? I would like to get the opinions
      of people that have used the merchant companies...
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      Cheers

      Jay
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      • Profile picture of the author Lindsay Brynn
        Originally Posted by JaySabree View Post

        Thanks Lindsay...

        Have you ever used them? I would like to get the opinions
        of people that have used the merchant companies...
        Yes, I have set up an Authorize.Net gateway for a client before and they are happy with it.
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        • Profile picture of the author cassidywilliams
          Authorize.net is by far the best in the market. You cannot buy their services directly though, you have to go through a reseller. Now this is very it gets interesting. Some resellers increase their prices like 5 to 10 times!! Some charge fees that actually do not exist like setup fee!

          The reseller (merchant) I use and that is very cheap is PowerPay. I couldn't be happier.
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          • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
            Originally Posted by cassidywilliams View Post


            The reseller (merchant) I use and that is very cheap is PowerPay. I couldn't be happier.
            I also use Power Pay and they are a great company... unfortunately the individual who started this thread appears to be in Canada and cannot qualify for a Power Pay account which is only available to US based merchants.

            This is why we sought out and found the Canadian provider we recommend otherwise I would recommend Power Pay to everyone.

            Authorize.net is by far the best in the market. You cannot buy their services directly though, you have to go through a reseller. Now this is very it gets interesting. Some resellers increase their prices like 5 to 10 times!!
            You are confused. Authorize.net fees are the same no matter what. They do not have "resellers' that charge different fees for the use of Authorize.net

            The fees that might be higher are merchant account and processing fees which are from the actual Merchant account provider you apply with which connects to your authorize.net gateway.

            These days there is a lot of competition for merchant account providers and generally you can find ones that have no setup fees and competitive discount rates.
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            • Profile picture of the author PPIM
              Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

              I also use Power Pay and they are a great company... unfortunately the individual who started this thread appears to be in Canada and cannot qualify for a Power Pay account which is only available to US based merchants.

              This is why we sought out and found the Canadian provider we recommend otherwise I would recommend Power Pay to everyone.

              You are confused. Authorize.net fees are the same no matter what. They do not have "resellers' that charge different fees for the use of Authorize.net

              The fees that might be higher are merchant account and processing fees which are from the actual Merchant account provider you apply with which connects to your authorize.net gateway.

              These days there is a lot of competition for merchant account providers and generally you can find ones that have no setup fees and competitive discount rates.
              You actually can sign up for Powerpay if you are Canadian with a US bank account.
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          • Profile picture of the author webpromotions
            Originally Posted by cassidywilliams View Post

            Authorize.net is by far the best in the market. You cannot buy their services directly though, you have to go through a reseller. Now this is very it gets interesting. Some resellers increase their prices like 5 to 10 times!! Some charge fees that actually do not exist like setup fee!

            The reseller (merchant) I use and that is very cheap is PowerPay. I couldn't be happier.
            As you kind of hinted to in this post, Authorize.net is not an actual merchant account provider...they are just a payment gateway.
            They don't have 'resellers' that provide their services...they just have actual merchant account providers that support authorize.net as a gateway.
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        • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
          Originally Posted by linm View Post

          Yes, I have set up an Authorize.Net gateway for a client before and they are happy with it.
          Lin - thx

          I'm looking into it...
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          Cheers

          Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Depending on what you need it for sometimes the gateway is as or more important than the merchant account itself.

    For example an Athorize.net gateway enabled merchant account can provide you access to features and abilities in some ecommerce automation systems that Paypal and other options cannot like one click upsells, one click refund and void management etc.

    Since you are in Canada there are not really many options for obtaining an Authorize.net enabled merchant account out there. I recently presented at the Canada Marketing Summit so I searched out and established a relationship with a Merchant account provider who can provide Authorize.net enabled merchant accounts to 100% of Canadian applicants.

    Because of the demand for it among our own publisher base we set up a page for Canadians to subit application requests to this company which is called "Charge Today" that are specified as Canadian application requests:

    Authorize.net Merchant Account Information

    That is not an actual application but only a request to initiate the application process.

    Personally I would never use a merchant account that was not compatible and enabled with an Authorize.net gateway.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vince Courtney
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Depending on what you need it for sometimes the gateway is as or more important than the merchant account itself.

      For example an Athorize.net gateway enabled merchant account can provide you access to features and abilities in some ecommerce automation systems that Paypal and other options cannot like one click upsells, one click refund and void management etc.

      Since you are in Canada there are not really many options for obtaining an Authorize.net enabled merchant account out there. I recently presented at the Canada Marketing Summit so I searched out and established a relationship with a Merchant account provider who can provide Authorize.net enabled merchant accounts to 100% of Canadian applicants.

      Because of the demand for it among our own publisher base we set up a page for Canadians to subit application requests to this company which is called "Charge Today" that are specified as Canadian application requests:

      Authorize.net Merchant Account Information

      That is not an actual application but only a request to initiate the application process.

      Personally I would never use a merchant account that was not compatible and enabled with an Authorize.net gateway.
      Hi Josh - hope you are monitoring this thread

      I am a Canadian just setting up a new membership site and have it set to take payments through PayPal but am a little worried that if I get too many orders quickly PayPal may suspend my account.

      Is it advisable to get an Authorize.net enabled accoun and have them both available for payment options?

      Or is there something else that you might suggest.

      Regards,
      Vince
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      • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
        Yes, that is what I would advise. It is always a good idea to have a backup. Also I offer both options for one time items so that those who do not want to use PayPal have a choice.

        When it comes to recurring I never offer paypal. For that I use Authorize.net and my merchant account as it is much safer.

        Also Authorize.net enables me to offer one click upsells in my Ecommerce system which is something you cannot do with Paypal. Also I can switch between authorize.net enabled merchant accounts in seconds if I needed to.

        Originally Posted by Vince Courtney View Post

        Hi Josh - hope you are monitoring this thread

        I am a Canadian just setting up a new membership site and have it set to take payments through PayPal but am a little worried that if I get too many orders quickly PayPal may suspend my account.

        Is it advisable to get an Authorize.net enabled accoun and have them both available for payment options?

        Or is there something else that you might suggest.

        Regards,
        Vince
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        • Profile picture of the author jmidas
          Jay, I use a company called Practice Pay Solutions. They use the Authorize.net gateway. Excellent prices and service and easy to use interface. I think the site is practicepaysolutions . com. Ihave used them now for about 4-5 years and have no complaints.
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  • Profile picture of the author trishworks4u
    Depends on what you are looking for. Paypal and Google checkout are fine if you have rare occasions of needing to take credit cards but I have recently found that they have an inconvenience factor that can be bad for business.

    I have a physical business (Crime Scene Clean Up) and use Google check out but if someone wants to pay me with a credit card, they have to go online, register with google checkout and then make the payment. Pretty sure it's the same with Paypal. This was a chore for a recent client who finally went through the process but really didn't so I now have to tell them that I actually didn't get paid.

    Long story short, I have also been looking at merchant accounts online for the past 2 days so that I don't lose business over this kind of thing. I'm looking for the cheapest monthly fees to be able to take credit cards without having my customers jump through hoops.
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    You definitely would NOT want to use Paypal for this. You would want a merchant account.

    You don't want paypal's policies or complaint system involved in that scale of transaction.

    A merchant account actually provides you more protection against false chargeback and challenge claims.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
      Josh Thank you for providing so much information... I'm using your advise as we speak...

      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      You definitely would NOT want to use Paypal for this. You would want a merchant account.

      You don't want paypal's policies or complaint system involved in that scale of transaction.

      A merchant account actually provides you more protection against false chargeback and challenge claims.
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      Cheers

      Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author trishworks4u
    Thanks for the link MarketPro...very helpful. I think I may actually go for the pay by phone deal. Expensive set up but only $5/month, no contracts, no minimums. I don't really have people buying my services for my main business on my website.

    If it were for an IM site, i'd probably stick w/ paypal. for the most part, we all have paypal accounts already anyway....whether we like it or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by trishworks4u View Post

      Thanks for the link MarketPro...very helpful. I think I may actually go for the pay by phone deal. Expensive set up but only $5/month, no contracts, no minimums. I don't really have people buying my services for my main business on my website.

      If it were for an IM site, i'd probably stick w/ paypal. for the most part, we all have paypal accounts already anyway....whether we like it or not.
      What is most important is the dicount rate and per transaction fees.

      Make sure before you decide on a solution that you know how much they will charge you for each transaction...

      For example standard merchant acconts usually charge around 2.2-2.4% of each transaction. Paypal charges 2.9% Clickbank charges 7.5-9%

      But some of those "pay by phone" only services can charge upwards of 10%

      That adds to your cost of doing business and if you don't fee comfortable with giving away 7% of your revenue right off the top make sure you check on that.

      Also be aware that with a normal merchant account and gateway like the Authorize.net gateway you have a virtual interface where you can take orders via the phone and enter the data and process the order online while speaking with your client.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sam Rodrigo
    Hi... Just a follow up.

    I was under the impression that perhaps, at first you might send samples, and very small amounts that mostly wanted to cover shipping costs.

    Josh Anderson's reply above is correct --if you are taking large orders a merchant account is the way to go. Of course, you'd also want to get a copy of the CC and ID for very large orders.

    Sam
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  • Profile picture of the author Vince Courtney
    Thanks Josh, much appreciated!

    Just found your other thread about Nanacast and am going to look into that as well.

    Best regards,
    Vince
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  • Profile picture of the author trishworks4u
    good advice. the accept-by-phone.com actually fits my needs and they are an authorize.net service. Their transaction fees are 3%, no contract, no monthly minimum and monthly fees only $5.

    I'd like to be able to enter transactions in online but that's more of a convenience factor for me than anything else. You can log in and view your account ledger anytime though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by trishworks4u View Post

      good advice. the accept-by-phone.com actually fits my needs and they are an authorize.net service. Their transaction fees are 3%, no contract, no monthly minimum and monthly fees only $5.
      Actually its 3.95% ;-)

      which is about 33% more expensive than a traditional merchant account.

      You may want to look a little more closer at the features because that service appears to be for submitting orders via a phone... not for processing orders on the phone.

      In other words that service is an alternative to the terminal. It allows you to call in and type in your orders but it does not necessarily help you take orders via the phone.

      If you are planning on having your clients call you to place orders you would be better off getting a normal merchant account with lower fees and using the Authorize.net gateway with its virtual terminal.
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  • Profile picture of the author morwanneg
    Great discussion here. I am actually thinking twice of using paypal in my site. I heard paypal can be mean to their account holders when it comes to customers' claims.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dexx
    Hey Guys,

    I'm from Canada too (Alberta Woo Woo!) and was in a similar research boat back in December...I found a great merchant account provider with great fees and is actually a subsidary of TD Canada Trust:

    Beanstream Electronic Payment Processing - Online Credit Card Processing, Online Debit Cards, and Direct Debits / Direct Payments.

    Hope that helps!

    PS - I almost went with PayPal too but I don't want them suspending my account for 6 months without my say, or issuing refunds just because they feel like it without giving me a fair chance to defend myself...food for thought!
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    • Profile picture of the author JaySabree
      thank you...

      That's great info... I bank with TD, mortgage, insurance ... so why not merchant account also?

      Originally Posted by Dexx View Post

      Hey Guys,

      I'm from Canada too (Alberta Woo Woo!) and was in a similar research boat back in December...I found a great merchant account provider with great fees and is actually a subsidary of TD Canada Trust:

      Beanstream Electronic Payment Processing - Online Credit Card Processing, Online Debit Cards, and Direct Debits / Direct Payments.

      Hope that helps!

      PS - I almost went with PayPal too but I don't want them suspending my account for 6 months without my say, or issuing refunds just because they feel like it without giving me a fair chance to defend myself...food for thought!
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      Cheers

      Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author BenQ
    I've used paypal in the past for occasional sells, and they're fine for that. But if you're doing any kind of volume you don't want to be invovled with some of their practices.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vince Courtney
    Hey Josh

    Thanks again for the advice. I went and viewed the entire video library at Nanacast and have my programmer looking at it now as well.

    I am very impressed to say the least :-)

    Your service has almost everything I need all in one spot. The programmer should be able to take care of the rest with no trouble.

    Best regards,
    Vince
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