hello everyone,

I have a big problem, im launching a hookah e-commerce web site and im not finding any merchant account.
I live in Lebanon so not all merchant accounts support us and 2checkout ccnow.com and the big channels do not support hookah
so does anyone know any company that can support hookah and Lebanese sellers?


I found a company in Lebanon that process credit cards but they only process visa and master card so will i be missing a lot of customers and sales?
Because they do not support discover, American express and dinners.
My customers age are between 18 and 30 years old.
Is there also a web site that gives a statistic on how many people use each type of credit card?

The lebanese merchant site is really good for our business but im just afraid to miss sales by not accepting amex, discover and dinners.

you won't be missing much.

How much exactly will i be missing? Like 1% or more? Thanks

i can't give such a figure but amex and discover are barely used in the u.s.

visa and mc is where the money is.

maybe you want to wait for more expert opinions.

I agree with Cagoon a majority of your audience will have a MasterCard or Visa. At least that is the United States. I can't comment on other countries. A google search also shopped a majority of the Hookah sellers accepting only MS or Visa.

If you offer VISA/MC you are pretty much covered.

There are a slight increase in sales by offering AMEX but its very little and considering that you usually pay higher rates with AMEX it all evens out.

Why many customers choses to pay with AMEX instead of a VISA/MC are usually the points they get which is much better than with a purchase with a VISA/MC.

However there are not a single one I know that only carries an AMEX card and not a VISA and/or MasterCard.

The same basic pattern goes for the US as well as the EU and the rest of the world.

There might be customers that would buy from another merchant if they sell similar services/goods and that merchant does offer payments with AMEX though solely because of the points that the card holder gets when using the AMEX card instead of a VISA/MC.

It's true, nothing to worry about. Nobody just has an Amex or just a Discover card. From past businesses, I'd say those two might make up 3 percent of sales. Even if you don't offer them, the customer will use their Visa/MC as backup. I like using my Amex One card (1 percent cash of all spending) but it's not a deal breaker if a place didn't accept it.
Many merchants who run on razor thin margins (like computers) won't accept them because of the extra 1 percent merchant fee over Visa/MC. The reason they never took off is the fees to the merchant. Most people like using their card for rewards or points, but for a merchant doing millions a year in sales that extra percentage point adds up.

Thanks a lot for all your help,
And what about paypal should i add it as well do you think?

Thanks a lot for all your help,
And what about paypal should i add it as well do you think?

Hey,

Paypal is a mixed bag. There's always going to be someone who has money in their PayPal account and want to spend with it, but also a lot of consumers who have lost their PayPal password or had problems will see the logo and be put off by it. Even if you have other payment options, if they see the logo, they think they have to have an account to make a purchase. Their first reaction is "oh I don't have a PayPal account".
It's really a double edged sword, the added credibility is nice, but the technically limited visitors won't at first glance see you aren't a PayPal only merchant. The best compromise is to offer it as an option after your normal buy it buttons. "If you'd rather buy with your PayPal account click here" or something so they clearly know it's an option and not mandatory.
When a person is going through the shopping process they have to be led through it. Dan Kennedy calls it the "greased chute" where they are led through a clear path to buy. Don't hang them up on a PayPal logo, but leave it as an option for those who want it.

This is why Saturn doesn't use that "hands off approach" they tried years ago. People need to be guided through the sales process, and it's the reason why now if you go into one of their dealerships the sales people are like any other dealer. It's the same online, to guide them through it, without the newbies getting the impression they have to use PayPal.

Thanks a lot. so in summary everyone pays by visa or mastercard by now right? because on paypal everyone use paypal so i was afraid that its the same thing on the web site.

By is there any other web site than ccnow ,charge.com or 2checkout that accept international sellers? because they do not accept our products.