If you operate a small business from your home and have been
thinking of moving it online to take advantage of a "global
audience," this article is for you.
A lot of people I talk to are hesitant to start selling online
due to the "red tape" of getting a merchant account, a secured
server certificate, and if needed, shopping cart software. That
is not to mention the huge expense of paying someone to put it
all together for you.
Well, listen up: Forget all of that. I'm here to tell you that
you can test the waters of online selling without going to a lot
of trouble and expense.
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There are many third party credit card and online check
providers who are willing to help you get your e-commerce
business up and running in no time. Some of them may only work
with sites selling tangible goods and others for intangibles,
like services. Before choosing one make sure you thoroughly
check them out and pick the one that suits your needs.
So what do they do? Well, they provide a secured website you
can link to, where they process your customers' credit card
orders. For all of this convenience they take a small piece
of the pie, usually ranging from 7 to 15%.
Let's take a look at a few of them and what they have to offer:
1) iBill: This is the one I use
to sell my promotional services. If you sell services or other intangibles, this one
will work for you. There are no set up fees, or software to
download and your services can range in price from $2.95 to
$100.00. You do need to make what iBill calls a "webgood page,"
so you need to know how to create a webpage and upload it to
their server. iBill takes 15% of the amount charged during any
billing period and sends you a check twice a month. They make
it easy to get started, and after signing up you can be up and
selling online within 48 hours.
2) Valid Check: I've used Valid Check
for years to accept online check payments. Being able to accept checks and credit cards is
important because it gives potential customers a choice when
ordering from you. The more choices you can give them, the more
sales you will have. Basic charges are as follows;
- $4.95 monthly minimum
- $29.95 One-time setup.
- Free Secure Order Page
- FREE Remote Printing Software*
- NO percentage fees
- 99˘ Transaction Fee**
Once you sign up they supply you with easy-to-set-up links that
you can paste into your site. You have two options when it comes
to collecting your money: You can download their free software
and print out your own checks, or opt for them to mail your
checks twice a month (for an added fee of 36˘ per transaction).
3) ClickBank: This is the e-commerce
choice for thousands of business websites. ClickBank can also be used to set up your
own Associate program, where you allow others to resell your
services or products for a small commision. While this service
is not available to process payments for tangible goods, it is
the perfect solution for real-time sales of your services or
digital products. ClickBank allows you to accept Visa, MC,
Amex, and Discover. They charge a one time activation fee of
$49.95 and $1.00 plus 7.5% fee on each sale.
4) DigiBuy: This one is ideal for
those selling software or information. DigiBuy allows you to accept Visa, MC, Amex, and
Discover. Set-up is quick and easy. You have complete control
of pricing, order forms, and delivery options. Their fee is
13.9% of each sale.
5) Online Billing Solutions (OBS):
Allows you to take all major credit cards. After review of their site I could not find if you
can sell tangible or intangibles, so I'm assuming you can do
both. There are no set-up or monthly fees, but they do take a
15% cut of your sales. It is simple to set up; you place a line
of HTML code on your site, linking into their secured server.
Transactions can range in price from $3.00 to $100.00 and money
is paid to you twice a month.
6) CC Now: Used for selling tangible
merchandise, CC Now is a full service electronic commerce solution. Their integrated
shopping cart software encourages customers to purchase multiple
items at once. It is free to sign up, and they charge no monthly
fees, however they do collect a 9% commision on each sale.
Pay-outs are twice a month. CC Now allows you to take all major
credit cards and notifies you by e-mail of any sales, so you can
ship the product.
If you're looking for an easy way to start selling online
without putting up a lot of cash, this really is the best way
to get your feet wet and see if web selling will work for you.
If it does, you can always apply for a merchant account down
the road and save on the transaction fees.
The ability to sell your products/services online is not
difficult or expensive, you just need to know where to look
for help.
