Accepting New Payment Processors: Response to Sandy

Sara,

I have a question about payments. I currently accept paypal in my shop, but I see other sellers use different things. I’m not really comfortable using check and money orders because I’ve heard of scams. should I try to accept different things or just stick to paypal.


Best,
Sandy



Sandy,

There’s no reason to limit your business to one payment method. Doing so will limit your customer reach, and can prevent users who don’t use PayPal from buying from you. Currently on ArtFire, sellers can choose to accept virtual payment options like Google Checkout and Amazon Checkout. While these processors have a different fee structure than PayPal and add additional accounts for you to manage, they can be worth it for the number of shoppers they open you up too. For example, while less people use Google Checkout than PayPal, the majority of Google Checkout users are male, affluent, and young. That’s a whole new audience for you to reach. Amazon Payments, on the other hand, opens you up all to Amazon’s user base, which consists of over 81 million users.

I understand your apprehension for accept checks and money orders, but there are ways of accepting these payment methods while protecting yourself from scams. Not long ago we published a guide on avoiding scams and frauds which addresses many issues involving checks and money orders. Educating yourself on these issues is the best way to stay safe from online scams, but it’s still your decision whether you want to accept these payment methods.

I hope that helps answer your questions about different payment methods. Remember, it’s up to you to determine which payment methods to add to your account, and it’s important to check out their fee structure first, to avoid any surprises. Let me know if you have additional questions.

Sara
Sell Handmade Crafts Online
Do you have a question for me to answer on this blog? Email me: Sara@ArtFire.com.


Have any addition advice/thoughts on adding different payment processors? Add them in the comments section of this post.