Should we take credit cards?
- Thread starter Great North Guns
- Start date
Hopefully doesn’t sound mean,
But welcome to the 2020s man! We’re in 2024 now but that shouldn’t matter to you.
- Location
- West Central Alberta
Same here
johnny the boy
CGN Regular
- Location
- Parts Unknown
Yup credit card or pay pal only.
Great North Guns: Let's be honest here, regardless of what everyone else is saying.
The advantage to taking credit cards is you are going to get a lot more mail order business, that is without saying. I am another person who doesn't carry a debit card, only a cc and a bit of cash. My banking has high security on it and I use a CC for everything I don't use cash for, including bills and utilities, and then make one debit payment to my CC each month to pay it off.
The disadvantages are something you MUST take into consideration:
1. You gotta pay the credit card fees. I am seeing more and more places that have raised their prices by 3% but also provide a 3% discount for Interac EMT and cash sales. A few places have big signs saying that the exact credit card fees will be applied for credit card transactions after the total including taxes: the buyer is paying the transaction fee.
2. It open you up to more fraud. Stolen CC numbers are common, and Canadian gun stores are often targeted for high-end scopes and shooting accessories. The business is 100% RESPONSIBLE for that fraud. The cc company does NOT eat ANY of it. I know because I got to see the situation from the inside: I had my card stolen, then those thieves used it at a business I know, and then watched Visa not only force the business to pay for the charges but also charged them for denying their claim it was Visa's fault. (The merchandise was gone too).
3. You open up to more charge-back fraud. Again, you will be on the hook if the customer (who is always right in the matters of taste, not just always right as they think) decides you didn't settle something with them correctly and charges it back to you. We have seen it here on CGN: someone comes on at 5pm Friday saying that XYZ Gun Shop didn't help them and at least 10-20% of the replies are "CHARGE BACK!!!!"... to find out on Monday when XYZ Gun Shop replies that the customer who did the charge back on Saturday is 100% in the wrong (and XYZ provides proof). Even if the cc company sides with you, the funds are locked up for awhile AND you just paid for someone to deal with it (either your staff or you).
4. You open up to more b!tching, pissing & moaning by your customers:
- Raise your prices to cover the cc fees because the customers want you to take cc, and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
- Charge CC buyers the cc fees or provide discount to cash/Interac to cover the cc fees because the customers want you to take cc, and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
- Start asking for ID or a PAL or even just a 12 day shipper waiting period on high-end scopes to prevent fraud, and they complain. (as seen on CGN).
- You have to take time from selling or replying to customers to deal with, or just have to institute a rule to prevent, charge-back fraud... and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
I am not telling you NOT to take credit cards.
I am saying: you have to weight the benefit of that much more business with the costs that will be increased to deal with cc fees, fraud, charge-back fraud, and time dealing with the b!tching, pissing and moaning.
I would expect your entire store to raise in price 5-7.5% accordingly.
The advantage to taking credit cards is you are going to get a lot more mail order business, that is without saying. I am another person who doesn't carry a debit card, only a cc and a bit of cash. My banking has high security on it and I use a CC for everything I don't use cash for, including bills and utilities, and then make one debit payment to my CC each month to pay it off.
The disadvantages are something you MUST take into consideration:
1. You gotta pay the credit card fees. I am seeing more and more places that have raised their prices by 3% but also provide a 3% discount for Interac EMT and cash sales. A few places have big signs saying that the exact credit card fees will be applied for credit card transactions after the total including taxes: the buyer is paying the transaction fee.
2. It open you up to more fraud. Stolen CC numbers are common, and Canadian gun stores are often targeted for high-end scopes and shooting accessories. The business is 100% RESPONSIBLE for that fraud. The cc company does NOT eat ANY of it. I know because I got to see the situation from the inside: I had my card stolen, then those thieves used it at a business I know, and then watched Visa not only force the business to pay for the charges but also charged them for denying their claim it was Visa's fault. (The merchandise was gone too).
3. You open up to more charge-back fraud. Again, you will be on the hook if the customer (who is always right in the matters of taste, not just always right as they think) decides you didn't settle something with them correctly and charges it back to you. We have seen it here on CGN: someone comes on at 5pm Friday saying that XYZ Gun Shop didn't help them and at least 10-20% of the replies are "CHARGE BACK!!!!"... to find out on Monday when XYZ Gun Shop replies that the customer who did the charge back on Saturday is 100% in the wrong (and XYZ provides proof). Even if the cc company sides with you, the funds are locked up for awhile AND you just paid for someone to deal with it (either your staff or you).
4. You open up to more b!tching, pissing & moaning by your customers:
- Raise your prices to cover the cc fees because the customers want you to take cc, and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
- Charge CC buyers the cc fees or provide discount to cash/Interac to cover the cc fees because the customers want you to take cc, and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
- Start asking for ID or a PAL or even just a 12 day shipper waiting period on high-end scopes to prevent fraud, and they complain. (as seen on CGN).
- You have to take time from selling or replying to customers to deal with, or just have to institute a rule to prevent, charge-back fraud... and they complain. (as seen on CGN)
I am not telling you NOT to take credit cards.
I am saying: you have to weight the benefit of that much more business with the costs that will be increased to deal with cc fees, fraud, charge-back fraud, and time dealing with the b!tching, pissing and moaning.
I would expect your entire store to raise in price 5-7.5% accordingly.
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In this day and age - WHO doesen't accept CC paymeant - it only makes PERFECT business sense to accept them .! JMO RJ
Been a couple of sales lately I would have taken advantage of if you had of allowed CC. Way I see it if you don’t want my business I’ll shop elsewhere.
I would never order anything online without using my credit card. The claim that you have to raise prices in order to cover the fees is not true since a higher sales number will compensate for that easily. You gotta figure out which your cc processing company what security measures are required to avoid fraud.
