Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Ecommerce Hosting & Discussion : 2checkout..worth it?

[Vox Hosting]

Currently,

Most of my customers are local and just send in checks, money orders or I go to their office and they pay me directly. So, I was wondering since I am in "budget" hosting (plans starting at $9.99/mo) is offering 2checkout really worth it? I've been thinking about just offering paypal and checks/usps money orders as the alternative. Seeing as 2checkout takes out 5.5% and $0.45 per transaction while most of my customers pay the other way, is offering a c/c processor like them really worth it to me? It seems they would take out too much of my profits. What's everyone elses thoughts on this?

[cdgcommerce]

It really depends largely on your monthly processing volume, when all is said and done.

It also depends on whether or not you visit these client for the primary purpose of collecting payment or whether you would be visiting with them anyways. (if it is the former, then you could free up a lot of time by automating your billing... if it is the latter, than the benefit isn't quite as clear cut)

One option you could do which would preserve a lot of the profit that is taken away by 3rd party processors due to their much higher % rate fees is to consider setting up your own merchant account at much lower rates. There are many competitive packages available for this from a number of providers.

In addition, some customers might find it more convenient for you to simply bill them automatically vs. having to worry about making a manual payment to you each month.

Last but not least, if I were you - I would try to determine if there would be any time savings in the event that you setup automated CC billing. I.e. would it save you a few hours a month with respect to not having to generate, print and mail or e-mail invoices? If so, that extra time savings may be worth the small cost of setting up the service in the first place.

On the flip side, if your answers are "no" to all of the above and you don't envision any clear cut benefit or savings (time or money) from setting up CC billing, then maybe your best option is to just keep everything like it is right now - checks & money-orders.

[Vox Hosting]

Yes, I would like to setup automated billing but I would also like to keep a "personal touch" on my business aspect. Customers like to know the face that is handling their online presence. I guess I will have to get feedback from my customers.

[cdgcommerce]

Getting some feedback is a good idea. For instance, maybe e-mail them all a little online survey link to ask them if they prefer to make payments via invoice or via automated billing. (and if the latter, do they have a preference as to what kind of payment)

One other thing to think about is whether or not they might be willing to allow you to ACH them each month. ACH (direct debit) processing is less expensive than credit card processing and is great for B2B applications. The only drawback is that smaller businesses and individuals will probably be less likely to opt for that form of billing and usually prefer credit card billing instead.

[Vox Hosting]

cdgcommerce, good idea, I'll have to try it and see what my clients think of it.

[interglobe]

I have only had good experiences with 2checkout and recomend it to everyone.

[Mark_TVI]

Vox Hosting,
while CDG Commerce can't come right out and say it I can.....

Check out CDG's offerings for Merchant accounts. It is a big improvement over 2Checkout, you get your own Merchant account with your own name on the invoices they are sent. That is the ultimate personal touch. It's not nearly as expensive as you may think and it puts the control of your money into your hands and not someone else's.

If you stick with just PayPal you limit yourself to whatever countries they are located in. That may or may not work for you depending on your niche market. It's my opinion that PayPal is a great secondary acceptance source but should not be your primary.

[kris1351]

Our personal preference is Authorize.net, we did the 2CO thing for quite some time and had problems galore. They have updated a lot of things since we were using them as our merchant solution though and most seem pretty happy with them now. There is also Paysystems you can consider, they offer more in the way of recurring billing I believe. Also, like watcher_tvi said check out CDG.

[Arsalan]

As, cdgcommerce, said, it really depends on your monthly processing volume.

If you have a rather small volume go for 2CO, otherwise try to get your own merchant accounts..

It would cost you more then 2checkout but you would make up for it in the long run..

[bpasternak]

Originally posted by Vox Hosting
Currently, Most of my customers are local and just send in checks, money orders or I go to their office and they pay me directly.

I have the same situation. Most of my clients are local businesses and I invoice them. Isn't that the way most businesses pay their bills anyway?

I have 2Checkout (for now) just for those who wish to pay via credit card and any other client not in the USA. I Only invoice to US customers. Never had any problems or complaints.

[Mark_TVI]

I have the same situation. Most of my clients are local businesses and I invoice them. Isn't that the way most businesses pay their bills anyway?

This is my situation as well. In fact I do little to no internet advertising at all yet I found it much more cost efficient to go with a Merchant account than to use 2Checkout. There % rates per transaction really add up and it doesn't take very many of them to pay for the monthly fee that comes with a Merchant account...