They allow you to block whole continents from trying to buy your product, and that is good. The odds are that a $25 order for an ebook, from a third-world country, is fraudulent.

If an order looks dodgy, it probably is. Contact customer by 'phone or email. If you don't get a satisfactory reply, refund card.

When you're making $1000 a month, get your own merchant account.

MerchantSeek (http://www.merchantseek.com)

A useful collection of affiliate links to merchant account and processing providers. Scroll down their front page to their search tool. You can find an account that suits your needs. This is most helpful to non-U.S. merchants, or those seeking 'international merchant accounts'.

In UK, look for 'merchant services' at:

Barclays bank (http://www.barclaycardmerchantservices.co.uk) NatWest (http://www.natwest.com) Bank Of Scotland (http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk) Royal Bank Of Scotland (http://www.rbs.co.uk) Streamline (http://www.streamline.com)

UK processing services are: Secpay (http://www.secpay.com) Netbanx (http://www.netinvest.co.uk) Protx (http://www.protx.com)

Having one's own merchant account means paying less in processing fees.

IMPORTANT: You should specify up-front that you are looking for an internet merchant account. Internet transactions are viewed as higher risk than those by bricks-and-mortar businesses. The technical term is 'card not present'.

Some things you may need, if applying for an internet merchant account of your own:

Business bank account; Photocopy of a voided cheque for said account; Copy of articles of incorporation of your company; Photocopy of your return policy information; Trade references; Photocopy of your driver's license or passport.

In short, you need to prove that both you and your company are what you say they are. Your account provider is taking a chance on you. You might send them a ton of bogus orders. A bank is a business too, not a community service. Help them to make right decision! The more you can establish that you are bona-fide, lower cost of your account.

Things to avoid, if you can:

a) Expensive credit-card processing software rental or hire-purchase. b) Monthly fees. c) High discounts (the % of your sales they keep). d) Fat fees up front (anything over $500 is a joke). e) Salesmen calling you up with a spiel. f) Getting lumbered with hiring their shopping cart as well.

Things to look out for at sites offering merchant accounts:

If you need to maintain a U.S. presence - full U.S. incorporation, U.S. server, U.S. offices, U.S. bank account - or NOT.

Also if they want a deposit, and size of their application fee. And usual monthly minimums, discounts etc.

Avoid getting into any software purchase or equipment rental. You can sort all that out later, for less money. There are plenty of good payment gateways, like Authorize.net (http://www.authorize.net) just itching for your business.

PS: Don't accept a merchant account from an Eastern European bank. I did, some years ago. The bank went bust. One guy wailed on Usenet that he'd lost $10,000 dollars. Luckily for me, business was bad that year!

He explained, "we all work for a boss, be it bank, shareholders, government, our employees, customers, suppliers, family, if fact, anyone who relies on us for support, service or advice".

He went on to say that if we consider ourselves not answerable to anyone else when we own a business, we are quickly headed for doom or at least a business life of mediocrity.

So who is boss in your business?

Garry is a successful consultant, speaker, mentor & coach in the area of self-development.

Based in Sydney Australia he runs his own business "Minds Alike" and works with small business owners and individuals assisting them to set & achieve their goals.