Its my feeling that if i go signup to a host, and i see they use revecom, or ibill, or paypal, i would immediately stay away from them.

To me its cheap, and if hosts cant afford a proper transaction terminal, then i dont want to sign up with them.

Am i in the minority who believe this?

I want to start a host, and money sure is tight, but cheaping out and using revecom, i think, would be bad for my business.

What do you guys think
Trevor

Originally posted by RunOfTheMill
. . . . . . .
What do you guys think
Trevor
I think you're wrong. :D

----------------
SoftWareRevue - Formerly AnIdiot
----------------


Are you SURE about the 'formerly' ?

:D :D :D :D :D
Haha, Just kidding Buddy

I know one host here who uses paypal because of their buissness plan. They allow clients to pay anytime during the month, not recurring billing. ReveCom from what I hear has a good reputation, that might be why a lot of people use it, not because they are cheap.

Others use those companies because we are located outside US and its harder to get a merchant account.

yeah..but thats not really what i am asking.

What i mean is.

Is using obvious 3rd party billing, like Revecom and Ibill, frowned upon, and regarded as cheap.

:D

Again. . . .NO!:rolleyes:

i think it's cheap looking.. most people (i think) don't like walking into a store and having to deal with a separate company to finalize their purchase...

i know when i first got on to the web, i wouldn't buy anything that was third party (clickbank, revecom, paypal, whatever) because it just looked like more layers of hassle just in case...

now i know something like paypal or revecom may even be safer for me to use my card, but still, can't shake the "just started out" feeling... :) for webhosting definitely, if i'm just buying a script, something like that, i'd like to see paypal or revecom, because i know those companies...

You mean, you don't like it when you pay by credit card in a store, and they walk over to a machine that isn't theirs, and put your card in to finalize the transaction??
You find something wrong with all that??

One way or another its another company doing it, I acually like going through 3ed parties. I prefer my billing info on one of those servers then the person im doing it through.

Well, why waste $2000 + on a merchant account when you can spend that on improving your service. I think clients would take more notice of better service and upgraded equipment then the merchant you use. It is not 'cheap', i regard it as not 'wasting' money when you can spend it on your service and make your clients more 'happy'.

Oh, just forgot, one more thing:

Its better to use a merchant like 'Revecom' as you will not have to take responsibility for the credit card numbers, the merchant is fully responsible for the records they keep. Why add extra work to your work load??

Kindest Regards,
HostEXP

Originally posted by Hostexp

Its better to use a merchant like 'Revecom' as you will not have to take responsibility for the credit card numbers, the merchant is fully responsible for the records they keep. Why add extra work to your work load??

I guess I'll add my opinion to the mix. I personally prefer when a company has their own merchant account. I think it looks more professional and I like to see the company's name on my credit card statement so I know for sure what the charge is for.

This is not to say I wouldn't buy a from a company who uses a third party system (although I wouldn't buy hosting). I DO purchase a lot from people who use PayPal, but that puts a lot of 'PayPal's on my CC statement and trying to figure out which charge is which can get pretty bad.

Also you don't have to take responsibility for the CC numbers (at least with AuthorizeNet), they go directly to the AuthorizeNet server and are processed and stored there. If you do happen to make a file for batch uploading recurring billing it can (and should) be kept off server, which is much more secure.

It is an added expense but it's a costs of doing business as far as I'm concerned. For a hosting company I see third party billing as a flag for one of two things. 1) They are just starting out or 2) Their profit margin is low enough that the $600-$1000 it takes to run a merchant account for a year means too much to their bottom line, and they probably won't be around long.

Whether or not either of those things are true doesn't matter. That's the perception I have, and perception plays a big role in a person's decision to buy.

My 2 cents... take it or leave it.

You pay a larger percentage when going through a third party, so over a year you actually recover the additional expense yourself. There is also the image thing, I don't like advertising other companies on my site unless I am being paid for it.

With our site we aimed to keep it all on our site under our domain name and all looking the same. The increase in sales since moving to this has more than covered the investement.

Buying from a custom system such as amazon.com is much more pleasant and trust building than going to a third party site.

It is also harder to get a merchant account in the UK than to sign up for someone like Worldpay etc. So if you see a full Merchant account you know additional vetting has been done.

Originally posted by davidb
One way or another its another company doing it, I acually like going through 3ed parties. I prefer my billing info on one of those servers then the person im doing it through.

not at all, but who do you think shows up on your credit card? not revecom or paypal or 3rd party credit card system but the company name... more professional when you go to deal with one company, only one company is displayed.

i'm not saying it's right or wrong either way, i'm just saying that's how i felt, and if you had a 3rd party system, chances are, i wouldn't buy from you.

if it's hosting, i still wouldn't buy from a 3rd party system, as that *usually* means they're a reseller, which i personally would rather not go through...

Using a third party doesnt make a difference. Are you comfortable with a person seening your credit card number? That doesnt happen with a thirdparty. And i totaly agree with the point that "why spend $2000+ on a merchant account when u can improve the service" ive shopped online quite a lot of times and frankly i dont give a hoot if someone is using a third party. Just my opinion. ;)

Originally posted by ^Kyo
Using a third party doesnt make a difference. Are you comfortable with a person seening your credit card number? That doesnt happen with a thirdparty. And i totaly agree with the point that "why spend $2000+ on a merchant account when u can improve the service" ive shopped online quite a lot of times and frankly i dont give a hoot if someone is using a third party. I, personally, find it reassuring when using third party billing.
The fact that I'm not giving my credit card information to some teenager (no offense to all teenagers) is comforting in it's own way.
For this reason, I prefer third party billing.

talking bad about teenagers SWR?

*wags finger*
C'mere old man!

:D
Much Love
:stickout

RunOfTheMill,
Is that an attempt to reveal your age??

Or

You want me to just tell your ma on ya?? :D

:D :D

Hi,

Well i haven't heard of authorize.net i think i'll take a look at them, also who is a good reseller for authorize.net. What are some good billing software to use with authorize.net? In Australia where i'm located the merchant account from the bank costs $2000+ and the card numbers etc, are your responsibility.

Regards,
HostEXP

Exp: I believe Sfcommerce.com is a good solution for you. Also, Ubersmith is a great program for Authorize.net accounts.

They only offer merc. accounts to Canadian and U.S.

Originally posted by Hostexp
They only offer merc. accounts to Canadian and U.S.

Jeditio (Jorge with downtownhost.com) has a merchant account with them. They have another option that isn't listed on their website. I believe it's around $300 setup, and $0 a month. Not sure though.

Very rarely will I purchase from a host using a third party system. I won't use a host outside the USA and I think most established hosts here ( which is what I look for ) can swing a Merchant Account. There's so many solo resellers popping up using these third party systems that it's almost like a warning sign to me now. What I like to see is a contact page showing the location of the hosting company, actual names of the people running the operation, not "admin or webmaster or support". Sure that may sound harsh, but I feel you have to be careful with where you allow your credit card numbers to flow. Heck, I even do a search on Dun & Bradstreet and the BBB first.

third party billing does not mean that you company is cheap , also what you have to remember is that you still have to pay ibill, paypal, billpoint etc..


with my company i use ibill.com for the first payment then paypal for recurring charges ..


if they have a problem with there cc they dont call me they call the third party billing company --they call me for service problems and upgrades


Mas
gemini-isp.com:cartman:

I use RevEcom and chose it for a couple of reasons. The first being that I would like my customers to be able to call and speak to the billing department 24/7, something that I cannot provide. I would like them to feel secure when they order through me, because they know I'm not some irresponsible person who is going to post their credit card number all over the internet. And I would like them to feel comfortable that they will not have their money taken and run with because they can always call the third billing company and have things straightened out.

My customers have never complained about using 3rd party billing, and I think that many prefer it.

So thumbs down to you!:disagree:

:D :D :D

Well, why waste $2000 + on a merchant account when you can spend that on improving your service.
:confused: :confused: :confused:
If anyone here, in the US at least, is dropping $2,000 on a merchant account, I feel really sorry for you.

We cruised on over to charge.com and applied. Cost us nothing to do that. The only upfront charge we incurred was $200 for outright payment of the gateway. I figured it was easier to pay it now and save monthly.
Then we spent around $150 for ModernBill...one helluva customer management/billing solution for hosts.
Total investment...that we didn't even *have* to make= $350, give or take.
Sure, we could have stayed with Revecom and paid more on a piece-by-piece basis, but if you plan to stay around a while, then this is definitely the way to go.

We also run a retail computer shop, and the added benefit is that we can charge our retail customers via the virtual terminal.

3rd party processors are, I suppose, ok for people just starting out in the business. But for someone who has been in the business a while to say that it is better than your own merchant account shows either a lack of basic math skills, or a lack of funds. Either would worry me if I was a potential customer. To say that you LIKE not having the ability to quickly charge your customer for an extra feature, or not being able to represent yourself during a chargeback, is silly. What happens during a chargeback with Revecom? You get an email telling you that it has occured. They will not fight it, or ask for documentation from you about it. They'll let you know AFTER it is finished.
And what happens when a customer requests a refund? They get it. Even if they've been hosting with you for 7 months and you cancelled their account for distributing kiddie porn. They get it.

My sincere apologies if I've stepped on anyone's toes. That is certainly not my intention.

These are the reasons that some would generally go through a third-party instead of a merchant account (not all of the comments apply to all merchant accounts):

1. no monthly fees
2. low per-transaction fees
3. recurring billing services
4. some offer chargeback protection for tangible goods
5. ability to accept payments from a variety of sources, such as a PayPal Balance,echeck, or credit card
6. No equipment costs
7. Can't qualify for a merchant account
8. No rolling reserve for chargebacks
9. User base (PayPal has 12 million+ accounts, which can expose a great deal of users to other businesses)
11. credit card/banking information is stored at one location, which is not revealed to senders/recipients
12. Ease of use-account-based payment systems can offer strong protection from fraud


Many users in this forum, as well as others, do use third-party processors for some of these reasons. Parties do need to do some research to find a payment processing method that they are comfortable with.

In my opinion a merchant account does NOT make a difference. All those people who say 'I'd never purchase from a host outside USA' dont know the first thing about hosting. There are many respectible hosting companys which are in different parts of the world. They cannot get a merchant account therefore they use thirdparty billing.

For example, we know championhost, they have a merchant account but does that make them any better?

~Asher.

Originally posted by ^Kyo
In my opinion a merchant account does NOT make a difference. All those people who say 'I'd never purchase from a host outside USA' dont know the first thing about hosting. There are many respectible hosting companys which are in different parts of the world. They cannot get a merchant account therefore they use thirdparty billing.

I'm not sure how championhost got their merchant account, but generally the standards that have to be met to survive the verification process to get a merchant account are high enough to prove the following:

1. The business is licensed and actually exists.
2. The business is run by an adult.
3. The business has a real physical office.
4. The business is trusted by the bank to accept credit cards.

This makes me trust an organization that has a merchant account way more than one that hasn't had to prove the above.

Also, in the US, most third party credit card processors are only avoiding the illegal activity of credit card laundering by using loopholes in the law, such as the exchange of tokens, or doing it off shore. This will always seem a bit shady to me.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/tsr/creditcd.htm

I personally would never do business with an organization outside of my own country that demanded any type of liability on the part of the organization. It is too hard to sue or prosecute across international borders. IMHO.

Hmm, i think it would help if the person using a thirdparty account had a 'site-seal'. That would prove the legitimacy of the business.

A lot of people prefer PayPal for paying, however customized order forms matching your site are a plus with other customers, and then there are the people who don't care as long as the order system is safe and easy to use :)

I use RegNow.com for most of my billing with Credit Cards, however since I do advertising a majority of my payments are sent via Check or PayPal.

Well, I think any company that goes through the process of getting a merchant account, two thumbs up to you.

BUT, as far as the payment processing goes as to what is safer.

It does not matter which one is safer, it however boils down to the web host.

Anyone remeber a host called "PAGECREATORS.NET"?

A 17 year old kid, with his own merchant account BTW!

How do I know this. I signed up with them when they first started out years ago, and on my CC statement was pagecreators.net

If you don't know about pagecreators.net goto google.com and search "pagecreators.net scam"

And as far as a company that uses a 3rd party biller, they could take all their money out of paypal and close shop.

Again, it boils down to web host that are honest.