Merchant account for your store or at home business?

Hi folks. totally new and got a question. I know some people use ebay, craigslist, amazon, etc. to sell their products. Do some of you guys who sell from a stor or at home, use a merchant account to do so? ( accept, visa, mastercard, etc.) thanx.

I place ads on Craigslist and primarily sell from the house or directly out of the storage unit. I don't think I have ever been asked if I take credit cards. Although, if you did accept credit cards and you let people know that you did in your ads, it would probably increase your sales.

It's a must have for those who have stores or e-stores.

thanx for the quick response. your model is how i wanted to start. at home and craigslist. guess it wouldnt hurt to be able to accept credit cards

You don't need a merchant account to accept credit cards for re-selling from home.

There are now at least 5 portable credit card readers on the market that work with smartphones (Iphone, android)

Square. squareup.com/

PayPal. paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader

Intuit. payments.intuit.com/mobile-credit-card-processing/

PayAnywhere. payanywhere.com/

Flint. flint.com/

Right now I sell from Craigslist and a flea market. I do accept credit cards using Paypal Here. At the flea market it has helped me sell my larger ticket items. Haven't used it on a craigslist sale yet. Only thing to be wary of is the charge for the processing. Paypal is 2.75%.. If you use it for a $200 transaction. Be aware that you'll be paying Paypal $5.50. The other mobile card processors are around the same rate.

i use paypal. there's better options out there, personally squared looks pretty attractive to me, especially with their flat rate plan however they dont have an option for putting buttons on your websites and thats where most of my transactions come from so that's a deterrant to me

I have a store and have run the gambit with credit card companies. Currently I am using my bank. I found they are offering the best rate. My Square is linked to my store terminal so I get charged the same amount as my regular processing. Currently 1.8% I believe and I have no monthly fees. It is really worth it to do a lot of research. Also seriously consider purchasing your equipment if you are planning on having it for more than a year. 

Currently 1.8% I believe and I have no monthly fees.

That's a really good rate. The best I've found is up around 2.8% with no monthly fee.

Today at the flea market, I was able to save $65 worth of sales thanks to my mobile payment gateway. Another thing you'll want to consider, if you're meeting people for sales ala craigslist, is the safety of accepting credit cards. You carry no cash, people have no reason for funny business. One time, I sold a modem on craigslist for $40. The guy brought $80 in the form of 1 $50 bill 1 $20 bill and 1 $10 bill. He said "I got $50 if you got change, or $30 if you don't." I took the $30 because I had no change. This was before the invention of mobile payment gateways. Or at least before they were widely available.

That's a really good rate. The best I've found is up around 2.8% with no monthly fee.

With that rate what would be the advantage versus just using square or the new PayPay service which charge , I believe %2.75 and %2.7

One time, I sold a modem on craigslist for $40. The guy brought $80 in the form of 1 $50 bill 1 $20 bill and 1 $10 bill. He said "I got $50 if you got change, or $30 if you don't."

I would've said okay the price is $50 since you knew the price was $40 and didn't bring the correct amount.

That's a really good rate. The best I've found is up around 2.8% with no monthly fee.

Yeah, that is a really good rate. I compared about 30 different companies, and after doing the math, PayPal was the cheapest. I sure would like to know who's offering 1.8%. That would save me a few hundred dollars a month.

Today at the flea market, I was able to save $65 worth of sales thanks to my mobile payment gateway. Another thing you'll want to consider, if you're meeting people for sales ala craigslist, is the safety of accepting credit cards. You carry no cash, people have no reason for funny business. One time, I sold a modem on craigslist for $40. The guy brought $80 in the form of 1 $50 bill 1 $20 bill and 1 $10 bill. He said "I got $50 if you got change, or $30 if you don't." I took the $30 because I had no change. This was before the invention of mobile payment gateways. Or at least before they were widely available.

Oldest scam in the book. Knowing the price of an item they are coming to be and then being inexplicably short, or needing to break a large bill. I don't play that no more, happens to often. I always have change to break anything up and if they pull the I brought $10, $20, $50 too little game; I tell them where the nearest ATM machine is. Most of the time they just run to the ATM but sometimes they luckily "find" that extra money in the car. Wow! what a coincidence. 

Oldest scam in the book. Knowing the price of an item they are coming to be and then being inexplicably short, or needing to break a large bill. I don't play that no more, happens to often. I always have change to break anything up and if they pull the I brought $10, $20, $50 too little game; I tell them where the nearest ATM machine is. Most of the time they just run to the ATM but sometimes they luckily "find" that extra money in the car. Wow! what a coincidence. 

Yes, always having enough change should take care of anything they can pull. I draw the line at changing a $100 bill for anything less than a $10 to $15 sale. I can afford to wait for the next buyer to come by.

Also, the "amazing" find of the correct amount (in their car or even in the billfold as they stand in front of you!) plays out periodically.

I sometimes suggest they borrow from their friend who is with them (or spouse). The line sometimes continues .."I/he/she" doesn't have any money. My response is "Oh well, maybe next time". 

These folks don't realize that for the most part we as sellers have done more transactions than they as buyers have done. If we have done 20 to 50 transactions each day we sell for years, it adds up to more experience than they have in buying for the same number of years.

I suppose you could always specify the price is based on "Correct Change Only, rounded up to your next highest bill" in the ad.