Anyone know any good alternatives to PayPal as a means of accepting payments as an online retailer?
I'm thinking of systems for direct bank-to-bank transfer; or credit-card ordering systems that are easy and inexpensive to set up.
I admit it would be good to say goodbye to PayPal's fees and wonky ethics, but it would have to be a pretty easy and cost-effective system to replace PayPal's simplicity.
PayPal alternatives.
As much as people complain about Paypal, it is a familiar brand. I'm much more likely to pay via Paypal than send my bank or cc information to an unknown site.
That said, Google Checkout is a known brand. They have a similar fee structure to Paypal.
Have you considered selling your magazine via Amazon?
That said, Google Checkout is a known brand. They have a similar fee structure to Paypal.
Have you considered selling your magazine via Amazon?
Thanks for the advice, guys. This forum really is a brilliant crowd-sourcing resource.
After some thought, I have decided to stick with PayPal for the following reasons:
- Revolution Money Exchange looks brilliant but I am prohibited from using it as I'm not based in the US.
- Google Checkout's fees are comparable (exactly the same in most cases) to those of PayPal so it's not particularly worth the effort of converting to them.
- There is an element of consumer trust with PayPal. As @Chris suggests, I bet a lot of people prefer the PayPal brand to an unbranded credit card payment system.
- There are difficulties in getting a product listed on Amazon and their commission is huge. That said, it would raise awareness of my product. I feel, however, this would mostly be a promotional effort rather than the main way of doing business.
I am left at Square One because PayPal have basically cornered the online money transfers market. This has been a useful discussion though: it is always good to reassess things.
After some thought, I have decided to stick with PayPal for the following reasons:
- Revolution Money Exchange looks brilliant but I am prohibited from using it as I'm not based in the US.
- Google Checkout's fees are comparable (exactly the same in most cases) to those of PayPal so it's not particularly worth the effort of converting to them.
- There is an element of consumer trust with PayPal. As @Chris suggests, I bet a lot of people prefer the PayPal brand to an unbranded credit card payment system.
- There are difficulties in getting a product listed on Amazon and their commission is huge. That said, it would raise awareness of my product. I feel, however, this would mostly be a promotional effort rather than the main way of doing business.
I am left at Square One because PayPal have basically cornered the online money transfers market. This has been a useful discussion though: it is always good to reassess things.