Online Sales – ”Show me the money!”
OK, you’ve done your part. You’re a smart, savvy, inventive entrepreneur who’s created a product, or service, or tele-class, or webinar that will make life better for everyone, and make our world a better place. And NOW you want to get paid. And, here’s the fun part of online sales – here is how you do get paid!
It’s time for you to get paid!
So you’re going to need a merchant account of some sort, which gets the money from your buyer, to your bank. Remember: your shopping cart will not collect the cash; it simply “hooks up” with your merchant account, facilitating your payment so you can sell stuff online – and helps put their money in your account.
Just as with a free standing, brick and mortar business. Your online sales business needs to be able to process payments. You need to be able to take in the money your customer is giving you. A merchant account provider will process credit card charges and put the money in your bank for you. Of course, they will also charge you for this service.
Your bank can, of course, provide this service for you but, because they are likely to farm this service out to a credit card processing service, it will usually be more expensive than signing up directly with a merchant account provider. It will usually be more cost-effective to set up your merchant account directly with an independent provider. You will do even better if you partner with a provider that specializes in, or caters to online businesses.
Here are some tips to making a good decision on choosing a merchant account provider.
Watch out for miscellaneous and hidden charges
Miscellaneous and hidden charges for any service are the bane of all business, especially anyone who is new to online sales. Terms like “Discount Rate,” “Transaction Fee,” “Gateway Fee,” and “Start Up Fee” are just a few of the ways that merchant account providers have put in place to make money from the service they provide. Some are self-explanatory, while others are kind of scary…and confusing! Make sure you understand all of the fees involved before signing a contract for services.
Here is a list of some of the more popular merchant account providers, with fees and applications for services.
Of course, the largest merchant account provider for online sales on the internet is PayPal. PayPal allows anyone with an email address to make payments, accept payments, and send money – to an individual, a business, or their bank. It is a great service, although it is not as fully functional as some of the other providers. It is a great way however, for beginning online marketers to get paid.
And, that about does it. We’ve made it to the fifth step of the online sales process, how to get paid. See, it’s not a bad as you thought. Just put your product out there, set up to get paid, then sit back and watch the cash roll in…Riiiight!