Sick of PayPal? Check out these e-commerce solutions for business owners.
By Emily Maltby
Set up and grow
Digital River
Digital River, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., has worked with 40,000 online stores to build e-commerce functionality, starting with basic shopping cart features. Understanding that each business has different needs, Digital River can implement new features as its clients grow, such as multi-currency support for overseas expansion or integrating "try before you buy" options. Best selling point: Digital River does not hold sellers' money and will take the hit if a product needs to be returned.
"Digital River understands that small business owners need that cash immediately," explains David Heath, CEO of Matrix Games, a computer game company that has worked with Digital River for three years.
Digital River has no up-front cost and won't charge until the first sale. Then, its fee is based on performance, beginning at 2.9% plus a $1.00 transaction fee.
"Our cost analysis shows that it would be foolish for us to try alone what Digital River does," Heath says.
Credit card heaven
2Checkout.com
"I knew I had to start accepting credit cards on my online site or my company wouldn't grow," says Troy Godshall, owner of APlusTemplates.com. "I had poor credit at the time and knew I wouldn't get a merchant account, but 2Checkout.com allowed me to accept credit cards without all the paperwork."
2Checkout.com processes credit cards and checks while monitoring for fraud and ensuring data security. The site has about 50,000 active vendors and signs up 1,500 new clients every month. For each transaction, there's a 5% rolling reserve for 90 days. Vendors with an existing shopping cart system can integrate their platform with 2Checkout.com or chose to use 2Checkout's own shopping cart.
2Checkout.com has a one-time setup fee of $49.00 and takes a 5.5% commission plus $0.45 for each sale. "My product is about $30," says Godshall. "So the commission isn't bad, considering the headache I avoid, not having to deal with fraud issues."
Payment processor
AlertPay
AlertPay founder Firoz Patel saw a problem: PayPal and other payment processing companies catered well to mainstream merchants, but fell behind when it came to less serviceable markets.
"We saw this particularly with multi-level marketing," he says. "Some clients simply need more time and attention when it comes to payments."In 2004, Patel launched Montreal-based AlertPay to make online payments easier. AlertPay.com simplifies bank transfers, bank wires, direct deposits and other payment methods - everything except cash. AlertPay's team of 25 works to ensure extra security for all transactions. Back-end flagging services alert banks to security breaches, and automated fraud-tracking tools lock down accounts when activity is abnormal.The introductory rate for AlertPay is 2.5% per transaction. But if your company is off the beaten path and requires more service, be prepared to pay 3.9%.
Uniting users
TrialPay
TrialPay is a particularly unorthodox payment option. It pairs merchants with advertises to boost sales for both and offer consumers a chance to get products they're looking at for free.
Here's how it works: Merchants enlisted with TrialPay give away their products for free when a shopper completes an offer from one of TrialPay's client advertisers, who then pays the merchant a bounty that equals or exceeds the product price. The system works best for software and online services vendors that can offer instantaneous digital delivery.
TrialPay has worked with more than 2,500 merchants. You can see it in action at WinZip and Skype. Vendors can use TrialPay's shopping cart system or integrate it with any other existing shopping cart.
"Once you get the set-up done, it's all hands off," says Rick Trefzger, vice president of sales at Boynton Beach, Fla.-based iS3, which sells StopZilla anti-spyware software. "TrialPay's reporting is great -- you get a link that tracks each campaign and TrialPay will track it in real time."
Shopping Cart options
E-junkie
Tucson-based E-junkie is one of many shopping cart providers, but it distinguishes itself in the market by automating delivery. The shopping cart is an integral part of an e-commerce site experience; choosing the right one for your business takes time and research, but will make purchasing an easier experience for the customer. E-junkie particularly well-suited for do-it-yourself artists and creative freelancers. For tangible goods, its system can automatically determine what size and shape packaging works best for each product in a vendor's inventory. For digital products, it streamlines file storage and instantaneous delivery. Prices vary depending on the services selected, but start at $5 per month for 10 products.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
5 PayPal alternatives
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