Recommendations for credit card readers?

[Orrex]

We participate in several craft shows & genre-specific conventions yearly, enjoying modest success so far. We took a year off for a number of reasons, but at the end of this month we're going to dive back in.

When we did our last show, fewer than half of the other vendors were able to accept credit card transactions. Now I suspect that the number is somewhere north of 90%, and it seems clear that we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot unless we get on board.

We have a Samsung Infuse. Any recommendations on a good plug-in card reader and app?


I could Google, of course, but I'm interested to hear other DUers' experiences first.



Thanks for your input!

[In_The_Wind]

1. My photography business never got that far. I was talking it over with the bank.

Sorry, that's no real help.

[NV Whino]

2. I encountered this one from my local Apple guy.

https://squareup.com/?gclid=CPzzvOPA_7YCFUHe4AodmDoAhw

Don't know what's involved from the user end, but it's certainly convenient.

[Orrex]

3. Thank you--I think that's the one that a friend recommended

I'll look into it.

[Orrex]

4. Quick follow up:

We're very happy with the Square reader. Operation is incredibly simple and close to idiot-proof. We did a small local Arts Fest over this past weekend and logged half of our sales on the reader. Previously we've only been able to accept cash or checks, so that's a big chunk of revenue that we simply would have missed without the reader.

Thanks again for the tip!

[csziggy]

5. You might want to review the terms

I don't know all the specifics, but I was talking to my veterinarian last week. She's begun taking credit cards with a swiper thing. I asked her about the Square and she had looked at it but she got better terms from her bank with a version they gave her.

Apparently the Square charges their percentage on every transaction, effectively reducing what she gets for every time she swipes a card . Her bank charges on the total swiped per month. Part of the problem was that the way the Square rounded off, it increased the charges. Her bank charges for the total that is swiped for the period, in increments without rounding off each transaction.

The other part which would not affect your type of transaction is that the way the Square took their cut messed up her accounting for her clients - the total charged to their cards did not match what she received so if the client was paying only part of a bill it made it hard for her office to keep track.

It might be worth it for you to talk to your bank or credit union and see what they ahve to offer - you might get a better deal.

[Orrex]

6. Good suggestion--we were worried about that initially.

You can either run it as a flat $275 fee per month or 2.75% on each transaction. Given our extremely small sales volume, the per-swipe fee is a better deal for us.

As far as tracking individual payments, the app sends us an email with a breakdown of each transaction. It tells us that we'll be receiving $97.25 for that $100 sale, with $2.75 deducted as a fee. Again, for our volume of business, it's close to ideal.

I appreciate your suggestion, though. If our sales increase, we might need to seek other options. But we use it for just a few conventions/shows per years, so the fees at this level are easy enough to manage.


Thanks!

[csziggy]

8. I jsut wanted to mention the possibility

Of course, the vet's needs are completely different than yours. It does sound as though the Square is a good deal for you at your volume.

What kind of crafts do you sell?

[NV Whino]

7. Glad it worked out for you

I thought it was pretty slick.

[Demo_Chris]

9. We use the Square.

Fantastic devise.