Hello,
I am very new to all of this and I have so many questions! Some were answered in another thread - but I am still confused.

Is there a difference between an ecommerce account and a Merchant account, or is this the same?

To receive payments by credit card.....Is there a web hosting site that does not cost a fortune that handles credit card payments. What is the best route here? I am starting small and I am afraid to pay a lot to accept credit cards when I am not sure what I am doing yet. I have gone to a lot of web hosting websites to find prices, but it seems that most of them say ecommerce included, but that does not include credit card processing, only carts.

Volution and I think the name is Webmonster(?) claim to be full service with no hidden costs, is this the way to go for someone like me?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have
DC

The old faithfull Paypal is an obvious first choice for taking payments online.

Webhosting/ecommerce and merchant accounts are two very different things. You need a merchant bank account if you want to be able to accept and process credit/debit card payments either online or offline (like in a shop) - however, if you can't get one then Paypal is one alternative.

I now have a store on eBay and I use PayPal, so that would be easy. PayPal can be risky to use, as I have recently learned, but I guess that is just how it is with anything.

I have been looking at ecommerce sites, and it seems as though the fees are too high for someone just starting out with small inventory. When I look at the fees, it seems like a lot - but if I put it into perspective, it is no where near what eBay charges! With eBay, though - there is the traffic, so I would expect to pay much less for a web host so that there is money left for the advertising that I will no longer have because of no longer being on eBay. Hope that makes sense.

Someone on another forum wrote that people sell on eBay more because they are addicted to it than because of profit. He is right!

I hope to get away from all of that headache soon!!
As I stated in my other post, there are so many web hosts, it is overwhelming!

DC

Try the HostQuote feature for WHT:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/request.php

PayPal can be risky to use, as I have recently learned, but I guess that is just how it is with anything.

Paypal is fine as long as you don't breach their T & C. There are thousands, maybe millions of Paypal users who have never had a problem.


I have been looking at ecommerce sites, and it seems as though the fees are too high for someone just starting out with small inventory. When I look at the fees, it seems like a lot - but if I put it into perspective, it is no where near what eBay charges! With eBay, though - there is the traffic, so I would expect to pay much less for a web host so that there is money left for the advertising that I will no longer have because of no longer being on eBay. Hope that makes sense.

Every startup business will have costs and payment processing is just one of them - did you iclude these costs in your business plan?


As I stated in my other post, there are so many web hosts, it is overwhelming!

Yep. Whichever host you go for there are a few useful tips to follow in case things go wrong:

1. Always host your domain with a separate company so you can switch host quickly

2. Always keep a full backup of your site in case you need to move hosts. A daily backup is idea, weekly is ok, monthly as last ditch resort!

I had a Buyer from eBay pay for an item via Paypal, and I shipped out the item. A week later I get a message from PayPal saying the buyer issued a dispute on their account stating that possibly someone else used it. PayPal froze all of their transactions - including taking the money paid to me back out of my account. This is the kind of thing that makes PayPal risky to me.

As far as my budget - this is how I see it. I pay eBay 15.00mo for a store and I feature 3 items a week (60.00wk). I pay inkfrog 10.00mo for photos and saving listing templates. Then eBay charges FVFs for ever item sold. That comes to more than $275mo. I figure I can do much better than that and have money left over for the advertising I will need to make up for the amount of traffic I will lose by not being on eBay. -Right?

Someone told me that until I figure out which host to use, I could use ecrater.com for a store and take my time deciding. This way I have a store up and running and I don't feel pressured to pick a web host that isn't right for me. Not a bad plan, I guess.


DC

Hello,
I am very new to all of this and I have so many questions! Some were answered in another thread - but I am still confused.

Is there a difference between an ecommerce account and a Merchant account, or is this the same?

To receive payments by credit card.....Is there a web hosting site that does not cost a fortune that handles credit card payments. What is the best route here? I am starting small and I am afraid to pay a lot to accept credit cards when I am not sure what I am doing yet. I have gone to a lot of web hosting websites to find prices, but it seems that most of them say ecommerce included, but that does not include credit card processing, only carts.

Volution and I think the name is Webmonster(?) claim to be full service with no hidden costs, is this the way to go for someone like me?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have
DC

A Merchant Account is underwritten by a bank. Some hosting companies can help you get a merchant account. You will also need a gateway (like Authorize.net, Linkpoint, etc) that processes the payments for you. Typically, the merchant provider will have a monthly fee and a per transaction fee. If your volume is below $1,000 a month, then it might make sense to stick with Paypal... although, if you only take Paypal, you probably are losing some business.

It sounds like you need a managed hosting solution... someone who can help you get a web store set up and help you apply for a merchant account.

I had a Buyer from eBay pay for an item via Paypal, and I shipped out the item. A week later I get a message from PayPal saying the buyer issued a dispute on their account stating that possibly someone else used it. PayPal froze all of their transactions - including taking the money paid to me back out of my account. This is the kind of thing that makes PayPal risky to me.

You can get these sort of disputes whatever payment processor you use, not just with Paypal. Wherever you do business using credit cards for payment there will always be the risk of fraudulent transactions.