Ignorance and lack of knowledge has a lot to do with PayPal's growth. Many merchants are not aware of potential problems they can encounter depending solely on PayPal for their online payment processing. That is, until they encounter potential customers that won't use PayPal to purchase their products or services. Or worse, they have their PayPal merchant account suspended and funds frozen without notice, effectively shutting down their business.

If you really want to get some idea as to depth of PayPal's unpopularity, you need only to do a search on Google. Type in "PayPal Complaints" and click enter and see what happens. Over 335,000 results and still counting. No other online merchant processor comes close to having this many dissatisfied customers.

'Phishing' is another reason many customers and potential customers are steering clear of PayPal. Not that PayPal is doing 'Phishing', but they are certainly not making a big enough effort to stop it. And why should they? They are not 'Phishing' and they are not losing money. Only customer is. Virtually 100% of online 'Phishing' associated with merchant accounts is done using PayPal name. And even seasoned web users are being scammed by this technique.

Customers can eliminate most, if not all, of 'Phishing' associated with online purchasing by simply using a different service. It is that simple! And there are plenty of good alternatives to PayPal out there that are hungry for your business. None are as big as PayPal and few have been around as long as PayPal. But they are reputable and offer a wide variety of services. And you most likely will never receive any 'Phishing' messages using their names.

So make change now, before it is too late. Our advice is to avoid PayPal if at all possible. And we also would advise you to offer two different online payment options, with at least one providing you with ability to accept payments by check.

Following, you will find most complete listing relating to online payment options. Brief outlines are meant only to give you an idea of what they have to offer. We would suggest taking time to visit each site. Your customers will thank you. And you will most likely eliminate a lot of headaches in process.

2CheckOut 2CheckOut has been offering its services since 1999. 2CheckOut charges $49.00 to open an account with transaction fees of 5.5% plus 45 cents. It does not charge an application fee nor does it impose any monthly or statement fees. http://www.2CheckOut.com

BidPay BidPay has been in business since 1999 and offers services intended for those that buy and sell at online auctions. Sellers receive payments directly to their bank or via Western Union® branded money orders. http://www.BidPay.com

BitPass No set-up or maintenance fees for self-installed product. Fees for BitPass Professional range from 15% for items priced $0.01-$5.00 up to 5% + $0.50 for items priced $5.00 and higher. BitPass provides a platform for digital content commerce that bundles authentication, payment, and access control. BitPass enables a la carte and subscription-based purchases at any price point, starting at just one cent. Digital content can be Downloads - Music files, stock photography, games, software, movies, mobile content, crafts; Website Access - Premium website content, Interactive games, subscription sites, online comics, blogs, interactive panoramic photography; Streaming Media - internet radio, concerts, webisodes, movies; and Services - premium database searches, web hosting services, webinars, premium customer support, interactive learning and testing. https://www.bitpass.com

CCNow CCNow is perfect low cost solution to selling your products online. With CCNow, you'll avoid up-front expense and time required to set up e-commerce software, merchant accounts, customer service and more. CCNow is a shopping cart system that will allow you to take all major credit cards without need of a merchant account. http://www.CCNow.com

ClickBank If you have a unique product or service to sell, and it is deliverable over Internet itself (via web pages, files, or email) then ClickBank is for you. They have 100,000 affiliates ready to promote your product. There is a one-time set-up fee of $50.00. Transactions are $1.00 plus 7.5%. http://www.ClickBank.com

DigiBuy Using DigiBuy's ecommerce service, you can quickly and inexpensively build a secure shopping cart to merchandise your products, take orders online, process payments, and distribute digital products over Internet. Transaction fee is 13.9% with a $3.00 minimum. http://www.DigiBuy.com

Ibill In business since 2002, Ibill is perfect for merchants that sell services and subscriptions. Merchants can accept payments online by credit card, check, and phone. Has numerous fee schedules but most common is for businesses that sell up to $9,999.00 in a billing cycle. That charge is 15.19%. http://www.ibill.com

Ikobo This is a money transfer service that has been providing services since 2001. No application fee or set-up fees and transaction fees range from $1.99 - $2.99 plus 29 cents. Payments that are received are deposited to your Ikobo Visa Debit Card or your bank account. http://www.IKobo.com

Moneybookers Ltd. Moneybookers enables any business or consumer with an email address to securely and cost-effectively send and receive payments online – in real-time! Moneybookers delivers a product ideally suited for small businesses, online merchants, individuals and others currently underserved by traditional payment mechanisms. Does not charge for set-up or applying and has no monthly fee. Transaction fees range from 2% - 8%, depending on how payments are made. http://moneybookers.com

If you don't have a business newsletter yet, have you ever thought of importance of having one?

Why is it so vital to one's healthy business dealings? Let's explore some important factors even if you do have a newsletter.

If you are not yet using a newsletter as a part of your marketing efforts, then you are missing out on new potential and already existing customers becoming valuable long-term buyers.

Communicating with your subscribers as well as customers is vital for their continued involvement. It's hard nowadays for someone to remain interested in your business if they never or rarely hear about it. Hence, a newsletter is best way to keep them involved in your business and show them your appreciation for their subscription.

When you have a customer buy from you, but no newsletter to follow up, then you are virtually handing him or her back to your competitors. On same note, when you have a visitor coming to your website and not capturing his or her name and e-mail address, it's a lost marketing effort. Of course, if service was good and product memorable, they may come back.

But, what if they lose your website address? What if they just forget about you? What if you have a new product that your existing customer may wish to buy and they don't know about it?

A newsletter will prevent these things from happening. It's a good way to connect with people, and eventually they will connect with you and your website.

Having your own opt-in newsletter or loading purchased e-mails in your autoresponder. Which is most effective and less troublesome?

Your own opt-in newsletter is most effective and only choice nowadays. When your visitors give you their name and e-mail address, they're telling you that they agree to receive further e-mails from you. Therefore, if someone forgets that they've subscribed and complains that you've spammed them, you've got a proof that they've voluntarily given you their personal info.

But, when you purchase leads and load them into your autoresponder, you don't know how those e-mails were harvested off Internet. Those poor people might have opted-in somewhere, but certainly not for your newsletter. You're a toast if only one person complains that you've spammed them.

Also, when people personally opt-in to your newsletter, they will be more acceptable to your further e-mailings as opposed to people who haven't gotten a clue how they ended up on your list.

What do I write about? – you might be asking yourself.

What's your business, service or product about? What's your niche?

That's reason why your subscribers gave you their personal info. That's what they want to hear more about. Your job will be to constantly improve on that subject and deliver information that will be both educational and informative to your subscribers.

My newsletter deals with Internet marketing industry. My subscribers are expecting information on that subject. Therefore, for each issue I pick a different topic directly related to it, and I write about it. If I don't have enough knowledge or experience, I improve on it and then deliver info.

And, you don't need a long newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a new service or product can do just as well. Only, don't over do it and misuse it. You would very quickly lose your integrity.

Subscribe to several competitors' newsletters and see how they do it. That will definitely give you some ideas. Don't copy their format, but adapt a format that will be suitable to you.

Keep your newsletter consistent.

It's amazing amount of newsletters that thrive online. Because of this, subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate and which are spam. And people often subscribe to multiple newsletters on top of spam e-mails that they get on a daily basis.

Keep your format consistent at all times so your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. When your subscribers see subject line of your e-mail, they will know immediately that it's your newsletter.