THE SIX DEADLY E-COMMERCE SINS

Written by Thomas Harpointner


Continued from page 1

4.Insufficient processing limit on merchant account The majority of banks that accept Internet merchants only allow a certain volume to be processed on a monthly basis. The limit for newer businesses typically ranges from $5,000 to $17,000 per month. Furthermore, as part ofrepparttar fine print in their merchant service agreement, some banks prohibit you from obtaining a second merchant account. Businesses that breach their merchant service agreement are subject to immediate termination of their merchant privileges. As your business grows, you can find yourself in quite a bind. To avoid this type of trouble, be sure thatrepparttar 109092 merchant service provider you choose to work with can help you establish a relationship with a bank that can offer you higher processing limits and is flexible enough to grow with you.

5.Higher processing and transaction fees due to credit history Some merchant service providers will penalize you with higher processing and transaction fees if you have less than perfect credit. They may want you to believe thatrepparttar 109093 bank passes on these fees. The reality is that processing fees have nothing to do with your credit. It's simply a way for them to make more money from your account. Your discount rate should be no higher than 2.5% (unless you have a high-risk product such as an adult site) andrepparttar 109094 transaction fee should be no higher than $0.50 per transaction. The only area where your personal credit plays a factor is inrepparttar 109095 rate you receive when you are leasing processing equipment.

Don't get taken for a ride! Be sure that you work with a merchant service provider that's honest with you and will takerepparttar 109096 time to answer all of your questions. The rates you receive today will have a long-term affect onrepparttar 109097 profitability of your business.

6.Up front cash reserves required Often, a new or home-based business is required to pay thousands of dollars up front to get their merchant account approved. Banks require reserves from "high-risk" merchants to protect themselves against potential losses that they may incur. For example, if a merchant processes $20,000 in one month and then disappears,repparttar 109098 bank would incur all losses due to chargebacks.

If you plan on processing a high volume, have high priced items, or high-risk products, be sure to select a merchant service provider that has enough experience to negotiate reasonable terms withrepparttar 109099 bank for you. It's to your advantage ifrepparttar 109100 bank will agree to take just a small percentage from each sale to build uprepparttar 109101 reserve as opposed to asking for cash up front.

AIS Media was founded in 1997 withrepparttar 109102 goal to be a one-source solutions provider for companies wanting to do business onrepparttar 109103 Internet. Today, AIS Media offers:

·Lightning-fast and reliable web hosting services ·Complete credit card and online check processing solutions ·Integrated shopping carts and easy Internet storefront builders

Contact one of AIS Media's knowledgeable and friendly e-commerce Account Executives today for a FREE, no-obligation consultation at (800) 784-0919 or (678) 382-2247 in Atlanta.

Or visit us onrepparttar 109104 web to get fast answers torepparttar 109105 most frequently asked questions and COMPLETE A FREE ONLINE NO-OBLIGATION APPLICATION TODAY AT http://www.aismedia.com/home/merchant_services/index.htm?co1866xsmartbiz.

Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media 3541 Habersham at Northlake, Building E Tucker, GA 30084 800-784-0919 www.aismedia.com




Credit Card Snafus! Tons of Dog Food! What's Going On Online?

Written by B.L.Ochman


Continued from page 1

An email to Petopia went unanswered. The first phone call netted no result. Finally someone emailed to say thatrepparttar remaining three bags in their order have been placed on hold until April first. But that's April Fool's Day andrepparttar 109091 outcome remains to be seen.

Failure to plan for success What's going on? It would seem that drugemporium.com has a problem with its secure server and petopia.com has a problem with its shipping procedures. Actually it's a good bet is that they both hadrepparttar 109092 same problem - they skimped onrepparttar 109093 back ends of their sites in a rush to get online. My company and many others do a good trade in re-doing web sites that were skimped onrepparttar 109094 first time around.

Companies that sell online need to seek outrepparttar 109095 expertise of ecommerce integrators to design and implement an intelligent infrastructure for their sites. The days of having a brother-in-law who "knows a lot aboutrepparttar 109096 net" design a site have gonerepparttar 109097 way ofrepparttar 109098 dinosaur. The ecommerce stakes get higher every day and budgets must follow.

Instead of planning for success, a lot of companies throw up a site and figure they will beef uprepparttar 109099 back end oncerepparttar 109100 money starts rolling in. And sometimes that happens a lot faster than anyone planned.

We are likely to continue to live with a variety of snafus caused by poor planning. The way your site can avoid these problems? Plan for success. Build a system set to grow with your business. Or payrepparttar 109101 price later. Like poor Ester in Kentucky. And Duncan in New York City.

B.L.Ochman.What's Next Online ? Building global traffic and sales for Internet businesses Subscribe to our biweekly marketing techniques newsletter http://www.whatsnextonline.com mailto:BLOchman@whatsnextonline.com 212.385.2200


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