Mobile credit card machines. Why shouldn't I get this?

Jean-Claude · 02-24-09, 03:16

I am a firm believer in if it's too good to be true....

I can see the way this company may benefit in the long run keeping a customer. But with everyone else charging $600 for this unit plus the monthly fees, I don't see why they give it away.

I am going to be offering cc payment. But I don't like the idea of spending $600+ on something like this if I don't have to.

Can any of you help me out with the catch here?

Free GPRS Wireless Terminal Nurit 8000

jdoria · 02-24-09, 03:18

The company that moved me into my house used it.
If your business will benefit from it financially, go for it.

Jakerooni · 02-24-09, 04:28

I owned a towing company and we made all the drivers carry one because when it's 2:00am in the dead of winter and your stuck in the ditch it's nice to know that you can pay right on the spot and not worry about it.

However... In the world of detailing. I have a set location building for my business and I do take CC's. I have contemplated getting a mobile machine for mobile detailing. But you have to ask. are the extra fee's worth it? Most merchants will give you the machine for free if you sign a deal with them. But always watch your fine print Merchant services are a very very scroupulus bunch. There are fly by night companies popping up by the hour. Very few are truely on the up and up and most will have hidden fees that can easily eat away any profits you'll gain by having the machine. Remember cash and checks have no fees assoiciated to you by using them ALL CC transactions will cost you money to take them. If the cost is minimal by all means go for it. But they have a "per transaction" fee then a monthly charge, a statement fee and some if you have to "rent" the machine will have that added in as well. And the last fee I've seen widely used is a fee for not meeting the minimum per month in transactions. (like they want to see at least $2000/mth in transactions and you only do $1500 on the Machine so they charge you $25 for not making the minimum amount) After a few months of this and your accounts start to dwindle.

That's just the devils advocate side of taking CC's in general. I personally like knowing my clients have all options available to pay. Don't want to turn people away because they only carry the plastic in the wallet anymore.

mshu7 · 02-24-09, 05:33

Jake-

What company do you use for CC's? I'm getting ready to move into a shop so accepting CC's is something I want to look into possibly. I've also thought about using PayPal, but I don't know how good/bad they are with stuff like that.

Jakerooni · 02-24-09, 06:04

Paypal is not a good choice for a shop setup. It makes paying a bit more difficult to the customer which you don't want. I used to use Merchant Warehouse. They were pretty good. I switched last year to a local company that matched them but they are local so any issues they are there on the spot.

mshu7 · 02-24-09, 06:12

Thanks for the heads up on PayPal Jake. I'll look into Merchant Warehouse.

WCD · 02-24-09, 09:47

I have a friend, who also owns a very successful detail shop, that owns a credit card processing company. I'll buy my mobile unit through him soon. He gave me lots of information about how they "get" you signed.

They will project higher than avg. sales and then charge you more per transaction and take higher percentages of sales when you don't meet those numbers. He charges a set price and monthly charge is less than most.

I have used Nova and Authorize.net for years on my online store, but will get the Nurit 8020 soon for detailing and know that I am dealing with an honest and reliable person.

His detail shop is: Spokane Auto Detailing & Spokane Window Tinting Bob is his name. Great guy with years of experience in cc business.

Hope that helps... Rob Regan

Danase · 02-25-09, 05:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakerooni

Paypal is not a good choice for a shop setup. It makes paying a bit more difficult to the customer which you don't want. I used to use Merchant Warehouse. They were pretty good. I switched last year to a local company that matched them but they are local so any issues they are there on the spot.

I think paypal now has terminals. I could be wrong though but I thought I read that somewhere.

Danase · 02-25-09, 05:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean-Claude

I am a firm believer in if it's too good to be true....

I can see the way this company may benefit in the long run keeping a customer. But with everyone else charging $600 for this unit plus the monthly fees, I don't see why they give it away.

I am going to be offering cc payment. But I don't like the idea of spending $600+ on something like this if I don't have to.

Can any of you help me out with the catch here?

Free GPRS Wireless Terminal Nurit 8000

They probably give it away for free because they are going to make their most money off of transaction fees.

salpac · 02-25-09, 05:52

PayPal does in fact offer terminal services. I had it for a while but canceled it because their fees were a bit high.

Jakerooni · 02-25-09, 09:08

Yea it's always the fees that will kill off a company using it. Always keep that in mind when shopping around for processing. When they start offering you all these great rates for "Qualified" swipes and only ok rates for "unqualified" swipes walk away. 99% of cards out there now are unqualified. The difference is qualified is a visa credit card straight from visa themselves an unqualified card is a bank card using the visa logo. you want your unqualified rate to be as low as possible because that's where most of your swipes will come from.