Accepting Credit Cards
for Your Jewelry Business

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Accepting credit cards is a great way to boost your jewelry business. You'll likely sell more, and have higher-dollar sales, if you offer customers the option of paying with "plastic".

At many shows where I sell my jewelry, 75% or more of my sales are paid for with credit cards. In fact, the year I started accepting credit cards, my sales nearly quadrupled!

(For information on accepting credit cards for online purchases from your website, please see Online Credit Card Processing.)

Many people don't carry their checkbook with them, or aren't planning to buy any jewelry till they fall in love with one of your pieces at a show.

They may not have enough cash in their wallet to pay for an impulse jewelry purchase. Without accepting credit cards, you'll lose a lot of sales from these types of customers.

It's important to accept as many types of payment as possible.

Accepting credit cards is easy, and it makes your business seem very professional. But it's important to research carefully before choosing your credit card processing provider.

There are many providers of credit card merchant accounts, and some are much more expensive for you than others.

Merchant Account Provider
Features to Compare

• Application fees.


• Setup fees.


• Monthly or annual fees.


• Percentage the provider takes from your sales.


• Bank fees.


• Equipment cost.


• Chargeback fee (what they charge you if your customer decides not to accept the transaction later).


• Customer service: Do they offer 24/7 support, accessibility to a live person for assistance, quick turnaround reply for email questions from you?


• Fraud protection measures.


• Which credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) the provider processes (the more different cards you can accept, the more customers you can accommodate).


• How soon you get your money after the transaction.

I use ProPay for accepting credit card payments.

I've been satisfied with the convenience, speed, flexibility, and customer support they provide. They don't charge a big monthly fee or add on all sorts of other fees.

They charge just a small annual fee and a reasonable per-transaction fee.

You don't need to buy any credit card processing equipment to use their service.

Let Customers Know You're
Accepting Credit Cards

At shows and parties, be sure your public knows you're accepting credit card payments.

Have visible signs at your booth or table, with colorful picture logos of all the credit cards you accept (these signs are usually available from your credit card merchant account provider).

I've had customers actually come to my booth because they saw my credit card logo signs and knew their plastic would be welcome here!

It's much easier to sell higher-priced jewelry and add-on items to people who pay with credit cards. If they don't actually have to lay out the cash for the extra impulse items right then, they are much more likely to agree to the extras.

Be sure the prices you charge for your jewelry cover your cost of accepting credit cards. Figure out what it costs you to offer this payment method, and add that percentage into your prices across the board.

For maximum sales, accept as many kinds of payment as possible. And don't wait to start accepting credit cards!

Related article:

Reduce Your Chargeback Risk
Three smart ways to reduce your chargeback risk when jewelry customers pay by credit card.