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  • 12-10-2012 12:46pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 24


    Hi, I'm in the process of setting up an on-line business, don't know which payment options to use, want something that will be very user friendly, any ideas????? Thanks


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,912 ✭✭✭HellFireClub


    I'd go with Realex, Paypal as far as I know take a commission from every sale, not so with Realex, although you will have merchant charges from your bank and Realex is around 30 quid a month.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,776 ✭✭✭Nuttzz


    You will have to pay realex and your merchang bank for charges with paypal it is only one charge.

    That said the checkout pages using realex customisable where as with paypal you get directed to the "ugly" paypal page

    Getting up and running is much easier with paypal though than realex, not because of an issue with realex but more so the hoops the bank will make you jump through


  • Company Representative Posts: 1,740 ✭✭✭TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan


    Paypal is more expensive, but ideally you would have both.


  • Registered Users Posts: 24 vichoro


    Thanks guys thats a great help ;)


  • Registered Users Posts: 106 ✭✭business bloomer


    vichoro wrote: »
    Hi, I'm in the process of setting up an on-line business, don't know which payment options to use, want something that will be very user friendly, any ideas????? Thanks

    Hi, what's the revenue you're going to earn every year from the website? That would help with the decision!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 22 ssimples09


    Paypal is very easy to use. Although they charge commission on transactions there is no monthly fee, it probably depends on how many sales you are making


  • Registered Users Posts: 424 ✭✭TsuDhoNimh


    ssimples09 wrote: »
    Paypal is very easy to use. Although they charge commission on transactions there is no monthly fee, it probably depends on how many sales you are making
    Transaction cost is a major part of it, but it's not the only factor.

    If you do some reading up on it, either here on boards or elsewhere, you'll find that many users have differing views on the various payment processors. Some will outright refuse to use PayPal for personal reasons or previous negative experiences (or simply technical reasons like a laser card not being possible to use via PayPal) while others (especially in the current economic climate) won't have access to a credit card (and in some cases even a debit card) so love being able to use PayPal accounts for online transactions.

    As Ronan already said, in a perfect world you'd provide both options and let the user decide which method they prefer. If that's not an affordable solution (you'd potentially be paying monthly fees for a Realex account and paying high transaction costs on individual PayPal payments) once you crunch the numbers, then you choose the solution that gives you the best result taking into account a guesstimate of how many sales you might lose as a result of limiting the options (you won't be able to get hard data on those numbers, as it will depend on exactly who your market is and will vary from business to business, so at that point you really are just making a 'best guess').


  • Registered Users Posts: 24 vichoro


    Oh i'd love to be able to say what revenue i'll be earning ALOT i hope :) I'm veering towards Realex because most of my potential customers may not ba familiar with Pay Pal and also i think their charges are pretty high considering most of my sales will be over e300. If i'm busy (fingers crossed) the monthly charge with Realex seems to be the way to go.
    Thanks everyone for your advice, now for the big rigmaroll with the bank to set it up :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 22 ssimples09


    vichoro wrote: »
    Oh i'd love to be able to say what revenue i'll be earning ALOT i hope :) I'm veering towards Realex because most of my potential customers may not ba familiar with Pay Pal and also i think their charges are pretty high considering most of my sales will be over e300. If i'm busy (fingers crossed) the monthly charge with Realex seems to be the way to go.
    Thanks everyone for your advice, now for the big rigmaroll with the bank to set it up :(

    Best of luck!


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,893 ✭✭✭allthedoyles


    Paypal seems to be more and more the best when buying / selling on eBay .

    This is obviously because eBay owns Paypal

    So you need to set up many other payment options and look further than Realex and Paypal


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  • Registered Users Posts: 953 ✭✭✭hearny


    It really depends on the monthly sales.

    Realex charge a monthly fee of €29 for up to 250 transactions (I think its 10 cent per transaction after that). On top of the Realex fees you have to pay your merchant fees, if you already have a merchant account you will know what they are but the rates are something like 1.5% for credit cards and 0% for laser / debit cards.

    Paypal do not charge a monthly fee but instead charge 3.4% of each transaction plus 35 cent per transaction. The percentage decreases the more you spend.(https://www.paypal.com/ie/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-xborder-fees-outside&countries=) They do not accept laser.

    So basically if you sell €1000 worth of sales over 10 sales (€100 per sale) with a visa card in a month with realex it would cost you €44. The same transactions through paypal would cost €37.50. If those tranasctions were done with a laser it would be €29 through realex and not possible with laser through paypal.

    Hope this helps.


  • Registered Users Posts: 24 vichoro


    Got me thinking now again!!! I may just switch off and sleep on it. Thanks for the advice ; )


  • Registered Users Posts: 3 thebaldone


    Starting off I think its best to keep your costs to a minimum.

    Therefore my advice is start off with Paypal and as you get established look and providing both options to potential customers.
    A few key things
    Paypal - 3.4% plus 35 cent a transaction until you start doing 2.5k per month or more. Then goes to 2.9% plus 35 cent and I think at 10k goes to 2.4%. Pretty easy to set-up and you can also use the account to sell your items on Ebay. Best of all its no sale no payment!

    Realex (Things to note)
    1: You will have to set-up a merchant account with your bank. A fair bit of paper work and a set up fee of around 150 Euro.
    2: Realex is the easy part about 30 Euro a month plus VAT. Decent enough company to work with.
    3: Merchant service charge is probably going to be in the region of 2.3 - 2.8% on credit card transactions and 20 cent per debit card transaction. (Note they will charge a minimum amount of 30 euro per month anyway no matter what type of turnover you are doing)
    4: There is also now some sort of PCI compliance thingie which costs about 12 Euro per month.
    5: Add your set-up fee, monthly realex fee, minimum bank fee and PCI fee together and your looking at nearly 250 Euro before you sell a thing and a definite 80 Euro a month thereafter (sale or no sale)
    5: Be careful of chargebacks with your merchant bank.
    Lets say John buys a ball from your website for 10 Euro and a few months later is looking through his credit card statement and sees the 10 Euro transaction and can't put his finger on it. John calls his credit card provider to query the transaction. Credit card provider contacts your merchant to say this is not a genuine transaction. Your merchant takes this 10 Euro from your account and advices you about the chargeback.
    You contact John and say " Hey can you remember buying that ball from my site? " John says sorry of course he does he will tell his credit card provider about it. You will still have to send your merchant prove that the transaction took place (if you had access to a signed delivery docket better still)
    A few weeks later (and a lot of admin hassle later) you get the 10 Euro back.
    Problem is the merchant charges a 20 Euro admin fee for there part in getting the money back/
    Bankers rhymes with something beginning with "W" for a reason. Thread carefully with them.
    Whatever issues people have with paypal they really do pale in significance with what banks are currently doing to online merchants.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,380 ✭✭✭daRobot


    ^^^^

    Solid post there. Although Paypal also have their issues with false dispute claims, the chargeback scenario sounds particularly harsh.


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