From: ralphc@techbook.com (Ralph Carpenter)
Newsgroups: misc.entrepreneurs
Subject: Re: Taking Credit Cards w/o a Store Front
Date: 25 Jul 92 18:00:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: techbook.1992Jul25.180025.17550
Distribution: misc.entrepreneurs
Organization: TECHbooks --- Public Access UNIX --- (503) 644-8135

In article <2079@tivoli.UUCP> dfavor@logan.tivoli.com (David Favor) writes:
>In article <70206@apple.Apple.COM>, spud@Apple.COM (Dave "Spud" Kalin) writes:
>|> I too have started a company that deals mostly in non-storefront business
>|> (mainly mail-order and trade-show sales), and here's what I found out:
>|> 
>|> Most conventional banks will not accept merchant accounts if you don't
>|> have a storefront.
>|> 
	[text deleted]
>|> If you look hard enough, you may find a real bank that will accept non-
>|> storefront businesses.  Their rates may be lower, but they may make you 
>|> deposit a multi-thousand-dollar CD in their bank to make sure you don't
>|> run off next week.
	[text deleted]
>my wife works out of our home and sells products at craft shows. on my
>recommendation she called the bank that she had held a credit care with
>for many years. she located the individual in charge of issuing credit
>cards then traveled to the city where this woman had her office. she
>took with her samples of her product and a 10 year business plan. she
>was granted credit card priviliges on the spot without even having a
>commercial account with this bank.
>my point here is that successful people do whatever it takes. she got
>a rock bottom rate 2.9% - 4%. if you find the actual person in charge
>of making the decision you can probably cut an interesting deal. if you
>show that you are serious you better your bargining position. 

I just went through the process of getting accepted by the bank as a
M/C & Visa merchant.  Two points..
	1. Go to the bank where you have your commercial account, take
	your business license, etc. Talk to them face to face

	2. They won't be very easy to deal with if you want to do mail
	order or phone order business.  I told them I would do virtually
	all of my business face to face, which is true.  The agreement
	is that if I want to take a phone or mail order that it might
	be alright if it's a very small percentage of the orders, but
	that they will monitor the percentage and raise my rate if I
	arbitrarily increase the percentage

My business is two months old, I have no storefront, just an office in
my home (which they had to personally verify with an onsite inspection,)
and I didn't choose the electronic option (costs too much) of inputting
the orders to the bank.  My little card machine is leased for $5/year,
there was an additional $20 setup fee, and $15/month minimum fee. Had I
chosen the electronic terminal, the monthly minimum would have been
higher (don't remember how much) but the rate would've been about 2%
instead of 5%.  If my volume picks up, I'll try the electronic route.
Interestingly enough, they have never thought of letting someone with a
modem input the data from the computer, and they claim they don't make
any money from lease of their electronic terminal.

All in all, it wasn't nearly as difficult as many of my associates
thought it would be, not 1% of what some of the net traffic implies, and
the U.S.Bank personnel here in Oregon seem to be very oriented towards
small businesses *who want to be forthright*.

Ralph Carpenter

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