Thoughts on Yahoo Merchant

[busdev99]

Anybody have an opinion on Yahoo merchant from a price, backend flexibility and a marketing perspective? If you dislike Yahoo what do you like?

[Corey Bryant]

Yahoo!® is actually an electronic payment gateway (like LinkPoint, Payflow, Authorize.net/Cybersource). Yahoo!® will also charge you a percentage (.75% - 1.5%) (along with the merchant account provider) on your transactions. Most gateways only charge a monthly fee and some might charge a transaction fee as well.

So you are probably paying a bit more for each transaction. You can use almost any merchant account provider since almost all of them are compatible with the FDMS network. I could not see how much Chase / Paymentech was charging (Chase / Paymentech is also owned in part by First Data)

Usually, if you sell a product, let's say $100.00, the fees charges by another merchant account provider and gateway is about $2.50. With Yahoo!®, the fees charges could be $2.94 to $3.69.

Do a good ROI before choosing them. For some, it might be worth it, for others, it might be too much. Look at what your competitors are charging - can you compete with them? And also look to see what else Yahoo!® might charge. I think they chareg a nickel or dime for some searches as well.

[cometmall]

Yes they charge more than others Corey is right

[merchant40]

Best bet is to shop around.

[Corey Bryant]

Just keep in mind that you are getting a lot more from Yahoo - the hosting, the cart, some search extras, etc. Some gateways have a basic cart that will configure the taxes and shipping costs for you, like the LinkPoint Cart and it is PCI compliant. It is about $30 or so a month, compared to the starting fee of $39.95 a month you pay with Yahoo. Plus Yahoo will charge you a transaction fee, while LinkPoint will only charge a monthly flat fee.