Deb Knodel and I have been operating a small mail-order catalog, '...a
harper's garden', as an offshoot of the business of selling our own
albums. This year we have decided to expand our business. However,
in order for our business to continue to grow, it seems like the
ability to accept and process credit cards is necessary.
I contacted a local office of Cardservice International, and this is
what they quoted me (at least, as I understand it):
For a home-based mail-order business we would have to pay -
APPLICATION FEE: $80
TO PURCHASE Software that would enable us to process the transactions:
$720 (!) Lease payments for the software would be $30/mo. for
48 months, totaling $1440.
I gather that the Credit Card folk would get 2.5 % of each credit card
charge.
In addition there is a 30 cent TRANSACTION FEE for each transaction or
batch of transactions(I'm not sure I've got this straight) you dial in, with
a MONTHLY MINIMUM PROCESSING FEE of $25. (the guy figured we'd have to do
$800 worth of business/month to actually get above the minimum fee. That's
a *lot* more than we do right now).
In addition to that, there is a MONTHLY CUSTOMER SERVICE FEE of $10.
The fine print also hints at $1 here & there for bankcard transactions
that don't meet certain requirements, etc., and $2/page for
Documentation fees of some sort.
Anyway, this whole credit card thing seems very *SLIMEY* to me (it doesn't
help that the guy quoted me $420 over the phone for the software, then, in
person told me that that would the first installment of what was really
a $720 charge. $420 seemed incredibly overblown for that stuff, let
alone $720!! ).
So many merchants (including merchants at fairs, who presumably don't do
a whole lot of business in the offseason) take credit cards. The convenience
to customers seems apparent -- it's easier to read your credit card number
over the phone than to dig up your check book and fine an envelope and
stamp and write out an order. Does the convenience generate enough business
that all these costs -- hidden and otherwise -- are justified to the merchant?
Or are there better deals out there than this one?
Are we being *slimed*!!!!!!!!!??
Of course, there's the ethical question as well -- are we going to
embrace an institution that is eager to entice people to spend beyond their
means?
...of course, I guess I'm not in a hurry to give up my credit card, so it may
be hypocritical to ask that ....
Thanks for your thoughts on this matter!
Cheers,
Jane Valencia
jtk@netcom.com