Merchant Account vs. Paypal

[newage1952]

I'm getting pressure to obtain a merchant account for my business. My website is not up yet. I thought it would be just fine to use Paypal. As a consumer I have purchased online and used my Visa to make a payment via Paypal. So, why are people trying to convince me to open a merchant account that is going to cost me more money. As an initial business, I'm trying to spend the least amount that I can since I don't have a big financial resource. Seems like people don't see Paypal as being able to pay using their credit card. Can someone shep a little light on this for me?

Thanks,

newage1133

[gailcav]

Some merchant accounts have lower fees than PayPal. It would also be a good idea to investigate the security of the transactions for your customer's sake. What happens if you have questions about the account and how will you insure you get quick answers to your questions? Is there 24 hour tech support?

If you are using QuickBooks, Pay Pal does not integrate with this program and your transactions have to be manually entered into Quick Books. It is a good idea to investigate the programs.

[frdsmth9]

We use our regular merchant account for customers who want to pay with their credit cards. We use paypal as another option for customers who want o make use of funds that are stagnant at paypal. We give our customers the option to choose whichever is convenient for them. So far, it is working well for us.

[nimroid]

The main difference is the minimum sales and rates they charge you. Paypal is usually higher.

[JEccles]

Ahhh...but does'nt Paypal only charge you per transaction? With a merchant account you have the transaction fee along with a monthly processing fee. Business has been so slow on my personal site that I am going to eliminate the merchant account and stick with Google Checkout and Paypal - at least for now.

[tobylee02]

just using paypal allows the customer to use either a credit card or their paypal account. They dont have to have a paypal account to pay by credit card. It was very easy to set up but I expect their commission rates are higher than a merchant account so once volume increases it is probably cheaper to to a merchant account

[Collabora]

It depends how much volume you have. Don't let the debate stall your store deployment. Go with paypal now and then shop for a merchant account after all your other issues are resolved.