Obviously I've researched quite a bit on this one. I'm really not sure about a few things. Could someone recommend any gateways/banks/merchant tools? I do wish to get a low per month/transaction rate, but I understand the investment and that you get what you pay for most of the time.
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance...

Sign up for modern gigabyte's modern authorize service. That will give you a bluepay merchant account that you can process credit cards through with minimal charges.

I suggest getting an account with a configuration close to this:

- Authorize.net: $79/set up and $7.5/month max.

- Merchant account: Set up $0, discount rate for visa and mastercard not more than 2.2%, monthly statement fee not more than $5

And then ofcourse do not forget the SSL Cert.

You might want to add some security layer such as fraud detection tool to prevent yourself from very possible chargebacks.

You might want to add some security layer such as fraud detection tool to prevent yourself from very possible chargebacks.

and/or harden your CC account setting to have full AVS matching

FYI, AVS works only for US and some parts of Canada and UK. In addition this system is not 100% accurate. Limiting your orders to strict AVS match would seriously hit your sales.
As a tip, we do not decline "AVS not match" orders if transaction is protected with either Verified by Visa or Mastercard Secure Code.

Obviously I've researched quite a bit on this one. I'm really not sure about a few things. Could someone recommend any gateways/banks/merchant tools? I do wish to get a low per month/transaction rate, but I understand the investment and that you get what you pay for most of the time.
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance...

Contact the guys over at http://cdgcommerce.com, they'll set you up with an Authorize.net gateway and your own merchant account in no time. Their rates are fair, and we've been very happy with their service.

FYI, AVS works only for US and some parts of Canada and UK. In addition this system is not 100% accurate. Limiting your orders to strict AVS match would seriously hit your sales.
As a tip, we do not decline "AVS not match" orders if transaction is protected with either Verified by Visa or Mastercard Secure Code.


something to look into, we been getting hit last month with fraud orders.
any advise ?

CDG Commerce if you are in the US for a Merchant account.

$0.00 setup fees for both Authorize.net and the merchant account.