Got Web Ideas? Fishing for the Answers?
Think Outside The Code First!
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Facts, Thoughts, and Opinions About Web Development and Business Strategy
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When considering a new Website or expanding a Website to accept credit cards, you will often see people turn
to message boards and ask the community about processing plans. These people will tend to reach out to
others in their own realm. Thus, if they are entrepreneurs just getting started then they will reach
out to other entrepreneurs just getting started. Much of the advice you see posted is just not
good advice.
People generally want to get in to the credit card game as cheaply as they can. Many of the responses
to their community inquiries are also cheap answers. And not good ones for those looking for long-term
financial growth and sustainment.
By far, most people will respond and tell a rookie Website pioneer to use PayPal. You will see all kinds
of crazy stuff like, "If your transaction volume will be under 1K per month then use PayPal". Then you
see things like this, "I integrated PayPal last year. It is easy to use and the PayPal window opens
very fast".
Then, by the grace of God, you will find a seasoned Internet veteran
who will flat out tell you, "Get your own processing account from Authorize.net". Although, this person
is usually ignored because he carries the weight of "more expensive". But he is right and offering
the best advice by far.
The first PayPal argument does hold weight if you are only selling one thing, you know who you will
be selling it to, and you do not expect to sell much each month. But most will not fall in to
this category. Are you in this to make a living?
If so then you are going to need way more than 1K in transactions every month unless you can find a way to make
a living off of 12K per year or less.
The second PayPal argument is one that costs many business. Any time you send a user to a different Website
to make a payment you have a high chance of losing a sale. I'm the best example. I do not like buying things
online that require me to go somewhere else to buy it. Trust me, I have backed out of several deals when I
got passed off to the middle man and the Website suddenly changed. It annoys me.
You don't have to take my word for it. PayPal is basically saying the same thing by offering a seamless
solution called PayPro. PayPro works behind the scenes so a user does not have to leave your Website
to pay. Why would they build such a service if the traditional middle-man buddy system works so well?
Of course, few giving advice about processors on many forums rarely mention PayPro because it costs more.
PayPro is right in line with traditional processors such as Authorize.net which means it costs more money.
Like I said before, cheap answers offering cheap solutions.
But is it cheaper in the long term? You will lose sales if try and use a third party processor that
requires a user to leave your Website. If your idea is to avoid services like Authorize.net or PayPal
PayPro then you will never realize your potential. Many people like to offer this advice -
start out with traditional non-seamless payment solutions until they reach a volume that makes sense to
forego the expense of a more advanced seamless processor. The question is - will you ever get there?
If you talk to developers who have years experience in building ECommerce systems (hint, hint, nudge, nudge)
then they will tell you that purchasing your own processor is the best way to go. It is more professional
and eliminates lost sales and confusion by redirecting a user to another Website to process payments.
But what are you looking to get out of it? Are you going in to this thing with a mindset to be a strong
online merchant? Or is it just something that you kinda sorta want to do and see where it goes?
Serious players need serious payment solutions.
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