|
|
To date our biggest challenge in providing superb web hosting services has not been how to beat our competition, it hasn't been about drawing potential clients to our site, or even making our web site appealing to our visitors. Our greatest challenge has been providing our clients with an efficient system to handle their billing needs.
We've tried it all, from accepting checks and money orders via postal mail to implementing a 3rd party billing services. We learned quickly that accepting payments by mail was really a quick trip to the insane asylum. From lost mail to hearing "I forgot to send the payment" quickly turned our accounts receivables into a living nightmare as well as contributed to many accounts being deactivated which lead to unhappy customers. Hiring a 3rd party billing service was like jumping from one frying pan into another. Not only did we have to pay out 15 to 20 percent of our profits, but due to insufficient data on reports and inaccurate billing dates, we were literally unable to track our sales and if we were even being paid the correct amount on our sales.
We could actually spend hours telling you of all the inaccuracies in a 3rd party billing service, but if what we have told you above is not sufficient to convince you to not put your hard earned profits at risk, then nothing but experiencing it for yourself will convince you.
We have only a few words of advice for any of you wishing to take the Ecommerce plunge by selling your services and/or products online ----> GET A MERCHANT ACCOUNT and avoid the nightmare by putting your trust into any other method.
Don't use bad credit as an excuse, don't use sole proprietorship as an excuse, DON'T use anything as an excuse to waste your hard earned profits. There are banks approving ANYONE and EVERYONE for merchant accounts without added on costs for bad credit ratings or business status.
Shopping for a merchant account is a nightmare in itself, and after you have visited several merchant sites, it becomes much like buying a bottle of nasty smelling perfume, they all begin to smell the same and confusion will set in. Oh, you can contact them, and I can promise you they will schmooze you like you are going to be their number one priority, but don't let that "all roses and no stink" posterior fool you, they are ALL hardcore liars and will do and say anything to make a sell...as soon as you sign that piece of paper, you learn very quickly just how special you are. We spent hours upon hours researching and comparing the different companies and although the process was not pleasant, we're pleased that we spent the time to do so. The research taught us exactly what we needed to look for and gave us enough confidence to not not be trappedby a phony posterior. We chose Harbor-net for our merchant account processor, their rates were the lowest we could find, for both the discount rate and software prices. After saying what we have about merchant services, we even find ourselves having to admit that their services far exceeded our greatest expectations.
In hopes to save you valuable time, we've provided a comparison chart of Harbor-net and two other top merchant services. If you decide to go with Harbor-net, please let them know how you heard about their services, maybe they will even send a thank you our way. In the event that you want to do your own shopping, be sure to use the information in this chart to assist you as you visit the many merchant sites that you will without doubt encounter. |
| Description |
Harbor-net |
Charge.com |
1st
American
Card Service |
Application
Fee:
Discount Rate:
Per Transaction Fee:
Monthly Statement Fee:
Monthly Minimum Fee:
Software Lease Payment:
or Software Buyout:
Real Time Processing:
Credit cards accepted:
Check acceptance:
|
0
2.40%
.25
9.00
0
$20.00
$499.00
Yes
Visa, Mastercard,
American Express,
Discover
Yes |
0
2.45%
.30
$10.00
?
$39.95
$995.00
Yes
Visa, Mastercard,
American Express,
Discover
Yes |
0
2.44%
.30
9.00
$20.00
$20.00
$429.00
Yes
Visa, Mastercard
No |
|
|
