We’ve Got IT !

If you spend any time at all Shopping Online, you have probably seen all the ways possible to make payment for your chosen delights. Are there any of the offered methods that turn you OFF and send you on your way to another site? I’m pretty sure there are.

We have done a lot of business on eBay, and in talking with other Sellers, I am amazed at how many of them shut the bulk of their potential market out by not offering a broad variety of payment methods. Many will only accept a Money Order or Cashier’s Check. Some allow you to use your credit card, but only select ones, and only through their checkout processor. Those who restrict their methods rationalize by saying, “We do just fine with …”

But what about those they aren’t selling to?

When a Seller or Online Shopping site offers multiple ways to pay for the purchases, they open their market to the most potential Buyers. I always thought that selling MORE was one of the Good Things about business. I just can’t get in sync with someone who says, “Less is enough for me.”

So, what payment methods would you use? I recognize that in some circumstances, a certain kind of payment method is acceptable or required, but I’m thinking in General.

How about sending a Personal Check? Does the bother of printing an order form, writing a check, addressing an envelope, licking the stamp (do they still require licking?) and then waiting for snail mail to complete its appointed rounds appeal to you? Are you willing to wait (generally) for all that to transpire?

What about the added hassle of producing a Money Order? You can get one at the Post Office, or at most Customer Service counters in the major grocery or discount stores. But, WILL you? If there were other websites offering similar products and prices but not requiring Money Orders, would you bolt and go to them?

There are a number of Merchant Accounts that Sellers can use to process Credit Card transactions. Are there any of these services that you won’t use? Have you had any bad experiences with certain ones that make you avoid them in the future?

How about using PayPal or StormPay or any of the other online payment handlers? Do you have accounts with any of them? Do you prefer to use them over other methods?

As a Seller, I can’t afford to sign up with every Merchant Account and have accounts with all the processors. But, I can offer as many as I can so those who buy from us can use the method they prefer. And we try to. We haven’t been burned, yet (knowing we will get our share now and then) but being burned is not what we use to determine the future viability of a payment method. We have to remember that just THAT person burned us, not the payment method used.

I hope you shop well, and that you find payment methods that don’t hinder your transaction completion.

John