I have looked at several solutions for a business that wants to sell skin care products online.

The two eCommerce solutions I am looking at are PayPal (I have read all the bad stuff about them on here) and Yahoo Small Business eCommerce solution.

Basically, I am looking at these two because they seem to be cheap and easy to use. Although the Yahoo deal charges 1.5% transaction fee on top of the 2.69% merchant account fee.. which seems a bit excessive.

Are there any other easy, low cost solutions out there? This company is only looking to sell between 20-50 products online - and probably will not generate a ton of money by selling online. I would like to find some kind of service that will offer the shopping cart software already on their server - and then I need to find a mercahnt that will not be too expensive.

Any feedback will be helpful. Thanks!!!

The problem here is that most merchant account providers do not offer a "hosted" shopping cart solution with their accounts / gateway.

Personally seeing that cost is an issue, I would recommend that you shop the market for an open source shopping cart platform and then obtain a low rate merchant account for your client.

This way you have a cart that is scallable in the even that your client generates more sales or requests additional functionality.

I have looked at several solutions for a business that wants to sell skin care products online.

The two eCommerce solutions I am looking at are PayPal (I have read all the bad stuff about them on here) and Yahoo Small Business eCommerce solution.

Basically, I am looking at these two because they seem to be cheap and easy to use. Although the Yahoo deal charges 1.5% transaction fee on top of the 2.69% merchant account fee.. which seems a bit excessive.

Are there any other easy, low cost solutions out there? This company is only looking to sell between 20-50 products online - and probably will not generate a ton of money by selling online. I would like to find some kind of service that will offer the shopping cart software already on their server - and then I need to find a mercahnt that will not be too expensive.

Any feedback will be helpful. Thanks!!!

I don't think you will beat those prices, though it's worth asking your bank to see how much running a merchant account will cost you.

Despite reading bad stuff about Paypal you have to remember that many buyers prefer using it as opposed to using their cards directly. If you don't offer it you will lose sales. So long as you stay withing their terms and conditions you should have nothing to worry about.

Finally, when you start to run your own business you will find that using the cheapest is not always the best option. Reliability and support are the major things to consider because without these factors your business can fall.

I don't think you will beat those prices, though it's worth asking your bank to see how much running a merchant account will cost you.

After talking with your bank, shop around the different merchant account providers that exist, <<Snipped>> and you'll see what the best rates available are.

Typically speaking a merchant provider can give you better rates than your bank. Example, we are an ISO of multiple banks, therefore we have the ability to get you acceptance regardless of your credit rating, business history and anticipated volume.


Despite reading bad stuff about Paypal you have to remember that many buyers prefer using it as opposed to using their cards directly. If you don't offer it you will lose sales. So long as you stay withing their terms and conditions you should have nothing to worry about.

Paypal is a great company. They have been very successful at what they are doing. The only problem that really exists with them is that THEY are in charge of your account and are the Judge, Jury and Executioner when it comes to making decisions with your businesses tool for accepting payments on-line.

Typical merchants that we deal with keep paypals basic service as a secondary option for accepting payments. It's typically used by international clients (at least it's the general feedback we receive across the board).

Finally, when you start to run your own business you will find that using the cheapest is not always the best option. Reliability and support are the major things to consider because without these factors your business can fall.

Very true. Business online is not as "cheap" as most people believe it is. With the vast amount of competition, you cannot simply register a domain, buy a hosting plan, setup a shopping cart and expect orders to start flowing in. An online business needs to be treated like a traditional brick-and-mortar business.

You need to be careful when shopping for solutions online. Most companies will promise you the moon and the stars and only deliver you with a picture of it... this is especially if you are shopping for a business merchant account. Far too many companies either lure clients in with low rates and do not properly disclose their "hidden" fees, lure you in with a low discount fee and markup all transaction fees or lock you in for long-term contracts and obtain a "visa & mastercard" rate increase a few months after you have signed up for services.

My advise when looking for a payment solution is be careful, read the fine print details PRIOR to signing-up with a provider.

In todays competitive world, you should not be forced to lock into lengthy contracts or penalized should you decide you want to choose another provider down the road.

Good luck with your online venture. I truly hope it is a successful one. :peace:

Typical merchants that we deal with keep paypals basic service as a secondary option for accepting payments. It's typically used by international clients (at least it's the general feedback we receive across the board).

Good point! It's usually a good move to provide a range of payment options, using your primary processor as the default one, but give your customers a choice of how to pay (they love that). As payquake said, using Paypal as a secondary option is an option. Also don't rule out telephone sales and even traditional cheque/mail order - although they may not be widely used it can drive a few extra sales your way.

Offering customers a choice empowers them to make their own decisions and can give them more confidence in buying from you.

Hi, Aristotl3!

1.5% transaction fee on top of the 2.69% merchant account fee.. which seems a bit excessive.
I agree with bluedreamer and don't think that you will beat these prices..

I would like to find some kind of service that will offer the shopping cart software already on their server - and then I need to find a mercahnt that will not be too expensive.

There are many shopping carts on the market - from free to very expensive. For 20-50 products I would suggest to use shopping carts with price range of $100-$200 with one time payment. As I know Yahoo charges monthly and the prices are high if your store doesn't sell tens or hundreds products/day.

When you will choose a shopping cart for your store don't forget to explore how it's easy to customize design. Because it may take a lot of time and money to customize and integrate with your site. Some of them require programming skills for customization.

The only problem with PayPal is that they advertise that you are not safe to accept credit cards, but they are safe. That is sort of counterproductive to your business if you ask me.

Look for banks or ISOs that have interchange+ rates. If you can't get those, be careful about extra fees you pay for business & purchasing cards, rewards cards, non-qualifying transactions, etc. because alot of merchant account providers blend this into a large fee and really overcharge you for these. Alot of them try to keep this fact as obscure as possible and you will find out that your average effective rate is much higher than what they advertise.

For example, you might see company XYZ advertising 2.25% + $0.30 per transaction. Then there may be another $0.10 for authorization & gateway fees or something. This is only for one type of Visa or MasterCard and if someone uses a business card, you may actually be charged 3.35% + $0.30 + $0.10 (which is waaaay to much for some of those cards). At the end of the month, you could find out your real rate per transaction averages out to be 2.7%!