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Welcome to the CART GUIDE!
To begin, you need to know the terminology and different technology that is used to produce an internet shopping cart. Like your business in the real world, your virtual store on the web contains many elements that contribute to its success. In the real world, your business needs the real estate to house a store, shopping carts for the customers and, of course, a cash register. When setting up your e-commerce store, you need many of the same elements: a server location for your online store; a way for customers to collect the items they wish to purchase; and the ability to take credit card payments over the Internet. As parts of an e-commerce website these are called:
Even if you are designing your site with a developer, you have a lot of decisions to make about what you need from these elements so they work best for your site. The following articles will introduce you to web hosting services, shopping carts and merchant accounts, and should help you make more informed decisions when you are discussing your site with your developer. How to find the BEST Host The web-hosting service you choose for your e-commerce site is just as important as the site itself. It acts like the building housing your business in the real world, and many of the same criteria for selecting a location apply: what kind of services does the building offer and how much will it let your business expand. Check out the web hosting guide for more information. Carting the Goods Shopping carts are as essential in virtual stores as they are in real ones. In virtual stores, though, as customers click on items they wish to purchase, the shopping cart software keeps track of the items customers until they have everything they want. Then the software calculates and displays the final charge for the customer. Check out the Cart Page for more information. Cold, Hard Credit Card If you take credit cards payments through your business, you are probably already familiar with the idea of a merchant account -- the agreement you have with a credit card company to process payments made on credit cards. Being accepted for an on-line merchant account involves a more thorough check of your business and site to asses whether they are both secure. Check out our Merchant Accounts and Payment Services for more information. Facts About Accepting Credit Cards OnlineBefore you can accept credit cards (either online or offline), you must have a Merchant Account, which is a special arrangement with a banking institution. Small and home businesses often experience difficulties qualifying for a merchant account, and Web based businesses run into even more problems.The situation is this: Online transactions don’t take place at the point of sale (POS). They are considered to be "non-face-to-face" transactions. Since there is no way of ascertaining the customer’s identification, there is no way to be sure that the customer is the legitimate card holder. Therefore, financial institutions are leery about the high potential for fraud. Moreover, the major credit card companies offer their card holders the right to contest charges on their statements that may be the result of theft, fraud or error. A contested charge is referred to as a chargeback. When a chargeback occurs, merchant will end up paying the charge to the issuing bank, in addition to a chargeback fee that can be as high as $30 or more. For example, if you sell a book for $20 through a credit card transaction, and the cardholder later contests the sale, you will end up paying your bank the $20 PLUS a chargeback fee of $10 to $30 dollars. Consequently, many banks require a reserve fee when issuing merchant status. Typically, face to face sales have a chargeback rate of 1% of all sales. The potential for chargebacks is greater when it is an online sale, so the risk to both bank and merchant increases. To minimize their risks, most banks have stringent requirements that a business must meet to establish eligibility for merchant status. Factors considered include cash reserves, length of time in business, tax returns, credit history, debt load, refund policies, volume of business, cost of item being sold, and other sources of income. High Risk Processors are merchant acquirers that specialize in high risk business. They offset their risks by charging you higher transaction fees and higher rates. In the US, the Electronic Card Systems Inc. and Card Service International are two of the better known examples. Merchants living outside the US will be required to find a service that works with their own banking institutions.
Other Associated ExpensesThe chargeback expense is the first and foremost concern for a merchant hoping to acquire a merchant account. Chargebacks can result in serious financial loss to the would-be merchant. Also, merchants who encounter too many chargebacks are at risk of losing their merchant account.However, there are other charges and expenses to factor into the budget as well. Merchants will need to investigate hidden equipment costs, setup fees, line charges, bank transactions fees, holdbacks, and discount rates, etc. These vary considerably among service providers, so compare, compare, compare! Click here to go to the comparison page.
What Do I Need to Get Started? If you are interested in accepting credit cards online, you'll need to put four (4) simple pieces in place:
EZ-POWERCART can help you with all this and so much more!! Click here to go to the shopping cart page.
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