Is this still a viable option .. if I decide to start a small company with 10-15 customers .. whatever I pay for online billing (I can't use PayPal) ... will eat up ALL my profit ...

What are the options for offline billing ?

Txs

Checks / money order would be the major two that come to mind. It also depends on what you are selling, etc. You might get your customers to use Western Union as well.

But would that be ok .. wouldn't customers see me as a cheap bum if I don't offer CC payments ... should I maybe just bite my lip and fork out the money ... I don't want to but if it's a deal breaker ???

First off what kind of business, and what are you selling?
Are you in the U.S.?

Western Union would be very expensive anyhow.
No, not a cheap bum If you want to keep your whole revenue. Ask them to make to you payments by western union and require that money transfer charges be at their end.

or request checks /bank transfer directly in your bank.

most likely you won't open account with a 3ppp and pay a lot of fees for 10-15 customers.

also, look at iKobo, If you're selling for small volumes, pre-existing relationships consumers. You may consider ikobo for small payments. and it's free to join.

Originally posted by WebWobbler
But would that be ok .. wouldn't customers see me as a cheap bum if I don't offer CC payments ... should I maybe just bite my lip and fork out the money ... I don't want to but if it's a deal breaker ???

If you're selling locally (that is, within the typical financial boundaries local to you, wether thats a state, or country), I'd think Cheque payments would be fine.

Also if your banking system supports it you can also accept AP (automatic payment) or deposit to your bank account, in New Zealand this is a common method of paying people, and bills, and many people prefer it (myself included), although I understand in the States people are much more wary about giving out bank account numbers.

Sure you will lose some customers who want to pay on thier CCrd.

If you are selling internationally, you'll need some sort of online payment method.

With 10-15 clients it isn't worth it for you to get a merchant account. Just accept checks and money orders if you will have a small client base.

Are the 10-15 customers projected or definite? If they are definite, then I would raise their price by a few dollars and use that to cover the merchant accounts. The $25/mo will be worth it if you are looking to expand later on.

You might wish to try 2checkout.com they are not that expensive.

Maybe you need to restructure your pricing scheme. If your current price structure doesnt allow you to pay the 5.5% + $0.49 cents that 3rd party processors like 2C0.com charge then it seems to me that the prices you set just aren't realistic enough.
When setting prices one needs to take into account all possible recurring expenses and then mark up on that. Whereas you cant just hike the prices on your existing customers you might want to consider raising the prices for your future customers.

It's not the per transaction charge that bothers me .. it's the setu fees and monthly rental on the merchant account that kills me

Originally posted by WebWobbler
It's not the per transaction charge that bothers me .. it's the setu fees and monthly rental on the merchant account that kills me

without checking..... I think 2co charges $49 setup and no monthly fees....

2CO does not support "off-line" sales.

do you know who supports offline billing ?

I would like to use that method as it gives me better control over my customer affairs ...