Having the ability to take a credit card when selling your items in person is a must today! Here are some examples of why this is a must.
We were working a popular show the first weekend of December. The booth behind us was selling beautifully made wood Christmas trees with lights in several sizes. Several times they lost sales since they only took cash and ended up taking items home. Lost sales could have been avoided if they took credit cards.
My husband is a wood artist (The Lathe Junkie) and his work retails between $15 and $250+, depending on the piece. I certainly don’t carry that kind of cash around with me to a show and I expect others don’t either. The ability to take credit cards is important to making sales.
Many times we have had the customer who can’t decide between two items. Having the ability to take a credit card has enabled us to sell a second item or a make a bigger sale.
Impulse purchases can be a big part of your show sales. My Scrubbies and Scrubby 2’s are impulse purchases. I frequently have customers who use their cards for these small purchases. Generally, this leads to a bigger sale so the customer doesn’t have to put a very small amount on their card.
Your ability to take cards includes debit cards as well as credit cards. Many people use their debit cards to track what they purchase. Debit cards that can’t be run are another lost sales opportunity.
How can you take credit cards and what will it cost you?
Taking a debit or credit card is easy today. All you need is a cellular device such as a phone or a tablet and an account with an online card service. The two that I see used most are PayPal Here and Square. Either service can provide you with a card reader or you can enter a number by hand. Here is a look at each service:
PayPal Here: This service requires you to have a PayPal Business account which can also be helpful to you when selling online. The account is free. A bank account is required. You can also use
your account to make purchases on numerous websites. A phone or tablet app allows you to run cards at any time using a reader that attaches by your headphone jack or by Bluetooth. Your funds are available in your PayPal account immediately. You can get a business debit card to access your funds or transfer to your attached bank account in 3-5 business days. Numerous report options are also available to help you track your sales.
DEVICES: PayPal offers a Mobile Reader for $14.99 and a Chip and Swipe Reader for $24.99 along with two other options.
FEES: PayPal charges 2.7% of the purchase price to swipe a card or 2.9% if you hand key the information.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Square: This service is used by numerous small businesses everywhere. A dashboard that is designed for small business is included with your free account. Here you can easily track your sales and your items. You can even set it up to track sales
by an employee if needed. Money is sent to your bank account the next business day. Square has an app for your phone or tablet to help you take payments on the go or other options for small business.
DEVICES: Square offers a Magstripe Reader for FREE or a chip card reader for $49.00 in addition to other options.
FEES: Square charges 2.75% of the purchase price to swipe a card or 3.5% plus $.15 per transaction to hand key the information.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Do your research and choose the option that works best for you. The small fee that is being charged is well worth it. At 2.75% that is only $2.75 on a $100 sale. Better than NO SALE because you can’t take a card.
