Online Credit Card Processing

for your jewelry website

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Online credit card processing is a must if you really want to sell your jewelry from your website. If your site doesn’t permit customers to pay with credit cards, you’ll net far fewer sales, because people who shop online expect that they’ll be able to buy immediately and pay easily online.

(For information on accepting credit cards in person at shows and home parties, please see Accepting Credit Cards.)

It’s very easy to get started with online credit card processing. Check several providers of this service, to compare features. Look especially at the monthly or annual fees they charge you, and the percentage they take from your sales; these figures can really vary, so it pays to take the time to shop around here.

• Sign-up fees.

• Monthly and annual fees.

• Percentage the provider takes from your sales (transaction fee).

• Whether the provider works with small businesses, or is geared mainly for large businesses.

• SSL (secure sockets layer) technology for online credit card processing security.

• State-of-the-art encryption of transaction data.

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

• Credit card fraud prevention measures.

• Compatibility with your website’s shopping cart or other software, or whether they offer an all-in-one shopping cart and online credit card processing service.

• Ease of setting up and integrating online credit card processing into your website.

• Which credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) the provider processes (the more different cards you can accept, the more online sales you are likely to have).

• How soon you get your money after the transaction.

One excellent system for online credit card processing is 2checkout. It's reliable and easy to use, and comes with its own shopping cart feature. You can also use it with many other shopping carts. 2checkout has no monthly fee; just a reasonable transaction fee.

Another easy way to accept credit cards on your website is by using a seamless, all-in-one online store setup. This solution gives you credit card processing and a catalog inventory system for your jewelry as part of your webhosting package. However, beware of the fee structure and investigate the fees carefully before signing up for an online store solution - often there's a hidden, separate monthly fee for the credit card merchant that costs more than the advertised webhosting part of the deal.

In addition to getting set up with online credit card processing, you should also offer your website customers the option of paying with PayPal, a popular and secure form of online transaction which permits payment via email. Many online shoppers prefer to pay via PayPal, and you wouldn’t want to lose these sales by not offering PayPal as a payment option.

However, not all your customers are signed up for PayPal (or want to take the time to sign up for it). Many online shoppers prefer to whip out a credit card, and you’ll definitely lose a lot of online business if you don’t offer them online credit card processing too.

In addition, accepting credit cards can increase your sales by making your website and jewelry business appear more “professional”. And don’t forget that customers who pay via credit card often purchase more items (or more expensive items) because they don’t have to actually fork out the cash right away.

If you offer online credit card processing, your site should have a statement about the security and privacy of the electronic transactions that are conducted on your website. Some people are still leery about the safety of submitting their credit card information over the Internet, and a few words from you can reassure these customers. Consider offering them offline forms of payment as well.

Here’s a statement I've used on my own jewelry website, regarding the security of my online credit card processing. You’re welcome to adapt it for your own use:

"All transactions on my website are guarded by a secure server with the latest encryption technology. This secure server codes all of your information, including your credit card number, so that it cannot be read or used by any party other than the credit card billing company. Even I can't read it, or access your credit card number in any way!

However, if you still aren't comfortable with entering your credit card number, please e-mail or call me to arrange to pay using a check or money order, or to submit your credit card number to me over the phone. You can also opt to pay using PayPal, a state-of-the-art secure form of transaction that protects us both."

The bottom line is that the more payment options you offer your customers, the more sales you will make! Give people lots of ways to pay, and be sure to offer online credit card processing.

Let’s take a look at the other steps involved in building your own successful website:

Jewelry Business Website Tips for Success

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