business..craft shows and online

[jenrfailla]

I am looking to put my products on a website to sell. I'll also be selling at craft shows. Do any of you have your own websites? If so- was is difficult to be able to accept credit card payments? I'm trying to avoid paypal if possible.

Also- I used to sell jewelry at craft shows, but I'm unsure of how much product (soaps, candles, and gift baskets containing both) to take to a show. Any 'rules of thumb'?

Thanks!!!!

[ah-soy]

Can only answer one of your questions...if you avoid PayPal you could be eliminating a good percent of your payment possiblitities.

[MissMary]

Can only answer one of your questions...if you avoid PayPal you could be eliminating a good percent of your payment possiblitities.

I agree with that. Solely because that's the preferred method of payment for almost everyone I know, including me that buys off 'unknown' sites (I.E. Not Amazon, or Sears or the sort).

Additionally, if you choose to accept paypal, you can list some items on eBay and have them directed right to your website. eBay *seems* flooded at times, but the majority of people, with good products always find a buyer and if you are selling replenishments, they'll come back for more.

[Cindys]

You should accept paypal for on line purchases. Credit cards are good for craft shows. You have to pay a monthly fee for credit cards. Also some companys charge a precent of your sales, in addition to the monthly fee. I have found that doing craft shows alot of people will charge .So it is worth it. I would set a price, like no charges under 20.00. It depends on who you set the credit card up with.Then you need to buy a knuckle buster. Credit slips, etc. You also have to pay at craft shows for phone lines.I do not do this type, I call them in when I get home. I have had no problems.Be careful with trying to sell on line. Some people like your price, but when it comes to shipping, thats another story. Hope I helped somewhat.

[KJay_23]

Personally (and this is just my two cents worth lol) I would keep PayPal as a payment option, simply because it IS very popular, but explore alternatives to the shopping cart. (PayPal tends to be way too limited with shipping options, no coupon processing, etc.)

There are several free shopping carts out there that are very good, however you can run into processing fees which can get expensive.

Currently, I'm looking into a shopping cart that will work with PayPal as a payment gateway. I don't really know anything about it yet, but do know a few people who use it and really like it. Here's a link in case you want to take a look at it. http://www.moxie-enter-prises.com/cartmanager.html

HTH.

Kellie

[Crafty1_AJ]

I use Mals for my shopping cart but with PP for my gateway too. Nothing is perfect, but I like the fact that credit cards can be processed thru PP and the customer doesn't even need to have a PP account to pay on my site with a cc. I do also offer money orders as a payment option, but customers seldom use that.

[SoapDiva]

The only way I could see you avoiding PP is to set up a CC biz account and having people fax their CC info, and sig to you.

The one major reason I do not take CC orders (even though I have an account) is that if I do not have a signature on file for that cardholder, then I'm out that money.

I think that PP is a little more secure in that regard.

[SherriLynn]

I accept the 4 major credit cards... I've never had anyone ask me at shows or on my website if I accept Paypal... *S*

[dpowell]

I'm using ZenCart with Paypal IPN as a payment option (which allows me to accept PayPal payments as well as credit cards for people who don't have PayPal accounts. The nice part is that I never see any of the credit card info as PayPal handles it all for me.

I also accept checks / money orders for payment, but I will not ship out an order payed by check until a week or so after payment is received to make sure the check clears. This is stated clearly on my site so that people understand that paying by check will slow their order down quite a bit.

[daddybird812]

As far as your question regarding inventory to take to a craft show, I can offer this (I do container candles): For a one day show I'll take about 20 cases (240 candles). Naturally, I don't sell that many, but I feel I have to offer enough variety in jar size and scent. Also, my inventory for a show includes about twice as many of my least expensive candles as compared to the higher priced ones. Good Luck in your show endeavor!!

[Candybee]

I had Paypal on my site as another option to cc. Then I dropped them cause nobody paid that way-- they just used a cc.

[candlemandave]

I highly recommend not abandoning paypal. They are so easy to use and there are so many people using them, and you will be hard pressed to find a better rate than them.

why use paypal=

1. very low transaction fees in comparison to others

2. no start up and no closing fee- I was charged $250 when I finally ended my relationship with the corporate greedy scum that was processing my cards when I first went online.

3. paypal has developer tools for internet sites that make it much easier on you. you can just add their buttons and when people add stuff to carts or go to check out, then they are taken to paypals website. This means you do not have to pay for a SSL certificate or worry about security as much since people will be typing the vital stuff on paypal's site.

4. As far as security goes, I would have to put my trust more in the vast pockets of the ebay corp. than a lot of other gateways out there.

5. Don't make the same mistake I made when starting out. Use paypal because it is free to get going. You only pay if you make money. Most companies will charge you money up front and some have a required montly amount of fees that you have to pay regardless of sales. If your website doesn't make any or enough money, then your not stuck in a year term paying fees, and, you can spend the money you save advertising your site.

goodluck to you