Lady Di Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Just did my first show. Okay for a first-timer, I guess -- 6 x booth fee, and no other show/travel expenses, since it was in town. I had heard that you could lose up to 35% of sales if you did not accept credit cards. So I got set up to accept them. I used a manual credit card swiper thingy (the old fashioned type). Most people paid with cash, but I took 3 credit card sales. When I went to phone them in later, 2 of them were "declined." Each one was for $10.00.I'm guessing that once these deadbeats make a payment on their credit cards, the funds will be there for me to run these through again. Am I correct? Is this a common hazzard, or did I just get lucky? What are my odds of ever seeing this money? I have no clue about this, or what to do about it.An electronic swiper is out of the question for me -- I'm not going to be a regular show person, so it wouldn't pay me to invest in one. AND this particular show was in a big field with no electricity. I'm looking forward to some sage advice from some of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 That sucks and I am sorry. I know when you take that chance on people and that happens its disappointing. Did you get their phone #. If yes then call them and tell them.We use that swipy thing thing to but we have them fill out an receipt type of thing and make them leave their phone number just in case on a declined cc or maybe the swipe isn't clear when you go and punch it in.I hope you get back your money in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootie04 Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 That happend to me once...I just tried once a week till it finally went through after the 1st of the month.Patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prestopotwaxmelter.com Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Yes it can happen when all you use for credit cards is a knuckle buster. It's happened to me a few times. Just be persistent is putting the card through at various times. It simply could be a matter of not enough money in their checking account. So try again on Fridays. I still use a knuckle buster at all of my shows. I ask that if they would provide a phone number, and most are willing to do that. Just recently, I had a lady absolutely refuse to give me her phone number. I even had said, it's not sold to anyone and it's only used in case of a problem with the card. There was no way she was going to give me her phone number. So, I asked if I could see her Drivers License and she willingly gave it to me. So I took it and took down all her info, her license number, hometown, etc. Kinda funny, she wasn't willing to give me something as trivial as a phone number, but she gave up quite readily very personal information such as her drivers license number.... Some people.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC on Maui Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 You may want to double check with your merchant account and see if you will be charged a transaction fee for each time you run this card -- even though you are getting a declination. Most companies count it as a 'transaction', even though it is declined.Ask me how I know. I learned this the hard ways a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EMercier Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Luckily this hasn't happened to me, but I'm looking at getting that PC card for laptops that I can access the net at anywhere. This way I can get automatic approval for the credit cards. On eof my parents has Verizon and I'm trying to see if they can get a second one and I'll pay for that. Almost like a family plan, but with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Di Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 My merchant company told me how to "force" a ticket authorization. I called the customer's credit card company and verified that the charge had been authorized. After about 4 phone calls and a lot of holding on, I finally got my money. That was the hardest $10 I've ever made.The other card was a debit card. According to her bank, this card was denied because she had no funds in her checking account. The bank rep told me to keep calling them to check when a deposit has been made. Once it has, I will run the card through again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debscent Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Was this a debit card or a credit card? If it's a debit, try again on the 15th of the month & the 30th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scntdwik Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Having worked w/ cc machines for the past 8 years...if it was a 'credit' card, you can call the issuing bank and have them force the transaction for you. Yes, it may take a few calls but they can do it. If not, continue to try it every other day. It will eventually go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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