I've got two questions about paypal's shopping cart: 1- If buyers don't have a paypal account, and they want to pay via cc, are they required to CREATE A NEW paypal account first? Or can they just pay via cc without the need to create a new paypal account? Basically, does using the paypal buy now button and shopping cart, cover majority of payment options available to even non-paypal members? 2- Is there a way to make the price/amount automatically change after a certain number of purchases? Maybe a third party tool to automatically alter that based on how many purchases occur?
Paypal Shopping Cart functions with the Website Payments Standard and Pro, so you should be able to accept non-Paypal payments as well. They will not have to create a Paypal payment. You can't automatically change your Paypal buttons after a certain number of purchases. You can do quantity discounts in Mals, 1ShoppingCart and Volusion.
Yeah, but what I'm asking is not about them having to pay via paypal, but to actually HAVE a paypal account to be able to purchase if even with cc. Do they necessarily need to create paypal accounts to be able to pay with cc, when using the paypal shopping cart? Thanks for your help. UPDATE: Just found the answer on the page you posted. They don't need to have a paypal account. Ignore my reply. Thanks a lot.
They will not have to create a Paypal account, according to what I have read. That's actually what I meant to say above, but typed the wrong word. Sorry about that! lol
Ok, another question. About 2checkout.com this time... I keep hearing good things about 2checkout... but: What advantage does it have over the regular Paypal's ("Buy Now" button) shopping cart? Paypal's shopping cart accepts paypal payments as well as cc... even when buyers aren't paypal members. Ain't it sufficient to use?
I used 2Checkout back when Paypal wouldn't allow clients to make payments without having an account. It allowed me to accept credit card payments from people who didn't like Paypal before I got a merchant account. So, if you're just starting out, I recommend you stick with Paypal. If you are earning more than $1,000 a month, or when you do, then I recommend getting an actual merchant account and using something like Authorize.net to process non-Paypal payments. Personally, I didn't like using 2checkout because I had too many cases where someone would download a digital product, then call 2checkout and claim their credit card had been lost. I had no say in the matter whatsoever and no way to investigate on my own. Paypal, in my experience, as least gives me a say and I've never had a payment from a client returned by Paypal (since in all cases, I'd delivered exactly what the customer had ordered and had my terms publically available). So, to answer your question, Paypal should be sufficient.
Thanks Michelle! Yeah, I noticed on the 2checkout's website, it is mentioned that they initially have to contact every customer to make sure you are doing legit biz. They also give the impression that the verification process would be kindda pain in the a** Though my question seems to be coming from a newbie, but I'm not totally newbie. I'm making over $6k a month as an affiliate. I've been a merchant for a short while a coupla times long time ago and I only used paypal back then. For this new project, and as a merchant, I'm expecting to make thousands per month as well. So basically what you're saying is that I need an actual merchant account and using Authorize.net or something like that? May you explain why and does paypal have limits that forces you to go merchant? I don't really recall if mine is upgraded to a merchant or not (excuse my memory), but I'm getting thousands via paypal every month, no problem. Thanks...
Paypal doesn't have limits that force you to go to a merchant account -- but Paypal does end up getting more expensive between $1,000 and $5,000 per month. That said, after $10,000 per month, Paypal ends up being less expensive, but then you have to consider the downside. By this point, you most likely have your own attorneys on hand -- and if you don't they're very affordable via Pre-Paid Legal. With your own merchant account, you have access to all the information you need to handle your own complaints. With Paypal, you are leaving all the dispute resolution up to them. That's fine, unless you end up with several thousands of dollars frozen in your Paypal account pending a resolution. I've seen this happen a few times over the years and it's not pretty if you're needing that money to pay your bills. Even though you may be completely honest and above-board, you still can't access your money until it's released by Paypal. That said, if someone attempts a chargeback and you processed the card via your merchant account, you'll receive notification in the mail. You'll have a certain amount of time to respond, at which point you can produce your documentation to show why that chargeback should be denied. I've had someone try this twice with my company and in both cases, the chargeback was denied. So, while Paypal's merchant account may end up being cheaper, I'd rather have a regular merchant account when I'm bring in lots of money. Additionally, once a client pays you via Paypal, the money goes to your Paypal account immediately. However, it takes 3-4 business days to get the money to your bank account -- after you login and withdraw it. With a non-Paypal merchant account, the money is automatically sent, as it arrives, to your bank account within 1-2 business days. Much faster, less hassle! Hope this helps!
Thanks.. it helped very much. My account is apparently the basic one, since I wait the 3-4 biz days for the money to go to my bank account. I've been lucky enough not to have much probs with paypal's chargebacks and customers abusing it, but it seems, since I'm about to scale it up more, I need to take my precautions regarding this. Will take your advice.. thanks!