Do You Take Credit Cards?

JimS

JimS

Adopt a shelter pet!
I don't do detailing professionally but I do have a little business where I'd like to take credit cards.

I've been seeing some talk about Charge America a service where you don't need a card swiping machine and all that stuff. YOu just call in the charge.

Have you tried it? Have you heard anything about it?
 
no but what luck have you had with it so far? ...I'd like to take them but between the fees and cost of either renting or buying the machine it doesn't seem worth it:dunno chargeamerica looks like a decent alternative even though their % is a bit higher
 
BAH!! you just did the same thing on autopia... why are you double posting the same stuff on different forums??

Here is the link to your previous thread on this forum:
http://detailcity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3909&highlight=credit

Autopia1:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36945&highlight=charge+america

Autopia2:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=352457#post352457


I dont get it, you have such a high post count on both sites, you should no not to create repeat threads like that, do you work for chargeamerica or something?

Not to get on you or be an ass, i am just real confused, and it is generally noobs that get "moderated" on many forums for this :dunno
 
I would suppose that Jim has not gotten the responses he was hoping for on the previous threads:dunno ..sometimes threads and important ones are not seen by many people and then disappear from the front pages and no more responses to them..:dunno ...
 
:yeah

I must attest to what Steve brought up. Sometimes there are so many new threads in one day that important or pertinant ones can get swamped, only to never be seen until someone replies to them.

Hence i beleive Jim reposted a similar topic because me might of felt he received inadequate responses.

Its all good, no harm done.:)
 
jim ive got lots of people calling and mailing me stuff on this ever since i went legit .. im very interested in this topic as you are.. keep us posted on what you find out ..:ranton :ranton
 
tpgsr said:
BAH!! you just did the same thing on autopia... why are you double posting the same stuff on different forums??

Here is the link to your previous thread on this forum:
http://detailcity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3909&highlight=credit

Autopia1:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36945&highlight=charge+america

Autopia2:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=352457#post352457


I dont get it, you have such a high post count on both sites, you should no not to create repeat threads like that, do you work for chargeamerica or something?

Not to get on you or be an ass, i am just real confused, and it is generally noobs that get "moderated" on many forums for this :dunno
Click to expand...

What's your point :dunno Not everyone on autopia is on DC and vice-versa. It always helps to get as many responses as possible and if the mod's have a problem then they will handle it. Last thing we need is a bunch of traffic cops.

Jim, I have not tried it, but I know alot of banks have a program where if you have a biz acct then you can call in CC#'s direct to a number they have.You may want to check with your current bank. Just a thought

Eric
 
tpgsr......what difference could it possibly make to you if I try to get more responses to a question that is important to me. If you don't like a thread why waste your time responding. Just move on....like out of my life.
 
Yay, it's Jim, his pimpin truck, and his dog! (I saw your earlier post with pics)

Jim - this might be more of a hassle than chargeamerica, but seeing that you would need to call in the charge, and THEN get hit with a fee, this alternative might work -

Ever thought of using paypal? You could use the request funds feature (and ask ur customer to pay ahead of time to make sure they pay), but this would mean that customer will have to sign up for paypal.

Otherwise, you can set up a merchant account. The terms are as follows:

Low cost. With PayPal, there are no setup charges, gateway fees, cancellation fees, or monthly charges. You can apply for the low merchant rate of 2.2% + $.30 per transaction.

Looks cheaper than chargeamerica? (Their terms are attached as well:)

Upfront Investment: One-time fee of only $99. 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied for any reason, you can get your $99 within 30 days. This guarantee applies even if you use the service every day. See special offer for details.


Activation: Same day. Start accepting credit cards within a few hours.


Approval Rate: 99%. No need to have perfect credit. Proprietors and new businesses welcome. No storefront required. You can use a personal or business checking account.


Credit Card Terminal: No credit card terminal is necessary, since you can use any touchtone phone, including a cellphone.


Monthly Fees: Only a $9.95 monthly-access fee. No monthly minimum, no monthly statement fee, no leasing fee. Special Offer: Sign up now and pay no monthly access fee for the first three months. Offer expires May 31st.


Transaction Fee: None.


Discount Rate: 3.95% Example: On a $50 dollar bill you are debited $1.97. If you calculate all the fees that come with a traditional merchant account, you will often find that your effective rate can be 5%-7%. Since there are no other fees except the discount rate, our service will cost you less money. It is clearly the best choice for the low-volume merchant.
 
tpgsr said:
BAH!! you just did the same thing on autopia... why are you double posting the same stuff on different forums??

Here is the link to your previous thread on this forum:
http://detailcity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3909&highlight=credit

Autopia1:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36945&highlight=charge+america

Autopia2:
http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=352457#post352457


I dont get it, you have such a high post count on both sites, you should no not to create repeat threads like that, do you work for chargeamerica or something?

Not to get on you or be an ass, i am just real confused, and it is generally noobs that get "moderated" on many forums for this :dunno
Click to expand...

With all due respect to all of the other forums on the internet, Detail City is really the only one that matters to me.

Just because something is posted elsewhere does not mean that it cannot be posted on Detail City. How else will myself or many of my other members that choose Detail City exclusively be able to read these posts and have the opportunity to respond?

Sit back, relax and let me take care of moderating Detail City.

Thanks.
 
Dwayne said:
With all due respect to all of the other forums on the internet, Detail City is really the only one that matters to me.

Just because something is posted elsewhere does not mean that it cannot be posted on Detail City. How else will myself or many of my other members that choose Detail City exclusively be able to read these posts and have the opportunity to respond?

Sit back, relax and let me take care of moderating Detail City.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
:yeah :D ;)
 
Yeah, hi, umm sorry bout that, i wasn't trying to step on anyones toes, i just put the autopia links to show that it was done there 2x as well as here 2x, i know alot are not cross posters, they werent there for that reason. If you notice the first link was showing that it was on this site already too. In fact it is right on the front page at the top of the news section, very visible even to those that read just this forum exclusively :) I just put the autopia links to ask him specifically why 2x on both forums, why not just bump the original thread??

I wasn't trying to mederate, just simply stating a fact. If he wants to post twice, what do i care, i was just wondering why? Why not just bump up the original thread?
I dont like causing drama, so that is all i will say with this.

Sorry if anyone felt offended or that i was out of line

Mike
 
To get back to Jim's orgional question, I would also like to know how many independent detailers out there accept credit cards, and how much have they increased your business? Thinking of doing that myself.
 
I'm really surprised that more mobil detailers haven't posted on this subject. It seems lilke taking cc's would be a really good idea for increasing business. It would make selling a $200 job much easier....imo.
 
You can check out some others...

http://www.dialasale.com/
http://www.charge-it-now.com/content.asp?page_id=48
http://www.freecreditcardprocessing.com
This one is pretty cool if you have a nextel cell phone!
http://www.merchantexpress.com/cell_phone_credit_card_processing.htm
http://www.nestacertified.com/index.html
This company offers units that are for mobile use (i assume they work on other wireless networks. But there is no need for cell phone
http://www.infomerchant.net/creditcardprocessing/wireless.html


If you do a google search on "credit card processing by cell phone" you will come up with all of the various different companies. My recomendation is to look into something simalar to the units offered for nextel phones. Whats cool about that is that once you swipe the card it becomes encrypted data ... (no need for your customers to worry) plus it looks kind of ligit. I don't know what there fees are.

However you shouldn't look at it as "I pay XYZ on charges" its really an investment. Your opening your business to a whole new world of clients. You will find that AMEX is probably the most expensive card to accept followed by discover and so on. Another recomendation is to limit it. If your customer asks if you accept AMEX...say no... if they make a stink tell them you can call for the authirzation or something (make them think your going out of the way to help them). Plus you limit the rediculous rate that AMEX Charges merchents.

You may even want to contact AMEX directly. I know they offer a wide range of services for "Small Business" Accounts... which is about half of this website.


Well I hope I haven't spoken out of line here... and that I have given you some helpfull information. The other options listed above by other people are very good and although they will get the job done having a customer use paypal in my opinion is not very professional!
 
I post frequently on multiple boards. I may not double time on Autopia and DC, but many of the articles that I post get copied and pasted to other boards. It saves me from having to type the same thing over again. There are a lot of people on DC who aren't on Autopia so it is logical to ask the question over here as well. Detailing boards aren't like a political party or a religion where you have to pick just one. There is nothing wrong with sharing your knowledge with as many boards as you want. Obviously tpgsr is on both boards often enough to have caught the posts, so there really shouldn't be an issue here. ;) A lot of us who have chosen to hang out on DC more than Autopia would have missed his question if he hadn't posted it here anyway.

I use PayPal to accept credit cards. Most of the people just give me a check or cash, but there are the odd jobs out there when the price is pretty high and they may not be able to do it otherwise. I've had a few jobs where it was to get the car ready to sell and the bill was over $300. The owner considered it an investment and got the $$$ from the car sale. At the time it was pretty expensive and the fact that I could take a credit card got me the job. If you don't offer the option for your customers then they will go somewhere else. I can guarantee you that. Just about any shop is going to take their credit card. To offer them the option at least of doing PayPal (which is free for them and very reasonable for you) lets them know that you are trying to make it easier for them to have their car taken care of. Its not exactly something you can pull out on site, but if it is someone you know then its a good option. I get a lot of business from people I work with and they just send me the money when I bring their car back to them. I've been screwed with checks before but PayPal has never failed me yet.
 
THANK YOU!! I really appreciate the support and the information was badly needed and I'm really grateful. This gives me options I didn't know existed. I'm a good addictions counselor but a lousy businessman so this infomation is really very helpful. I'll be able to check things out and make a much better informed decision.

tpsgr.......this is why I reposted with a different thread title. The first one wasn't getting noticed or replies and I needed this help.

DC, as always, just plain ROCKS!! Friendly and helpful folks with a great administration behind it all. This is home.
 
JimS... just to state the obvious....before you sign up for anything you just will want to read through the contract ect...make sure your not getting in to more that you expect!
 
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