After reading several of the postings on this site, it seems that MANY offer customers to purchase by credit card. I can't yet afford the investment in the monthly fee and card machine because this is my first time, but will customers be turned away by cash only? There's an ATM literally just across the street.
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Find a way to accept credit cards or don't bother with selling is the advice I would give myself. It is easy for customers to purchase with a cc but handing the cash over is more difficult. One of my last big cc sales was almost $800.00 the customer never even asked how much it was until after the transaction was completed and he singed the slip. As he was leaving my booth he turned and asked "By the way how much did I just spend?" Would he, have walked to the bank ATM and pull out $800.00 and place it in my hand as easy? I do not know. Another customer a lady by herself with two babies walks in and within 30 seconds decided on 3 $300.00 photos pays with cc I cannot imagine her going to an ATM taking out $900.00 and coming back. I know it is hard starting out last year was my second year, my wife is totally disabled and I had a stroke in June. I pressured the doctors to let me out of the hospital early so I would not miss a show. The doctor even contacted the show to arrange for them to do my set up and take down. If you are serious about selling your art you may need to make temporary sacrifices to achieve some long term goals. Think of little things you spend money on during the month, how many of those little things would you give up to help a dream come true?
The bottom line IS the bottom line. Why wouldn't you want to make it as easy as possible to make a sale? Why wouldn't you take credit cards. When we started taking cards our sales went up 30% or more...
Yikes.....going to go look at the cash I made yesterday at the 5th Annual Chic's Beach Show.........thanks for the warning Pauline!
Pauline Ross said:
Found majority of sales by customers using Credit Cards. Watch out for cash sales! THey just put a warning out here in Hampton Roads, VA of counterfeit bills being circulated. So credit cards are most welcome. : ) Set it up asap. Your sales will be so much better.
Found majority of sales by customers using Credit Cards. Watch out for cash sales! THey just put a warning out here in Hampton Roads, VA of counterfeit bills being circulated. So credit cards are most welcome. : ) Set it up asap. Your sales will be so much better.
I too let my customers take the work ,and send a check; if neither cash or check is in hand; We have not taken cards for the past 15t years & never gotten burned/knock knock/30t years of glass/ We do have the customer give us all info // plus signing & dating a simple sentence that says" I owe Bill $400 for one piece of glass" // A legal contract// seems many artists use this advanced business model called TRUST//really impresses the customer// I can't see that taking cards would increase business as the sale and price have usually been completed before we even speak of payment//I can see the card as a advantage in other media such as jewelry. And You wanted to know where all the old artists have gone?? We are all still here doing what we love/ and proud doing the best of creating ; as we always have. We see the big picture, and realize there is more than just being the best artist that you can be. Happy Birthday; and thanks for your big picture additions. Fair Winds,,Bill
Connie Mettler said:
I am going to reiterate -- there are two merchant services out there who bend over backwards to make the credit card process work for artists. In this business, as in most others, customer service is most important. These two companies are Teamac run by Guy MacDonald and 1nbCard.com, Mike DiGiovanni. If you polled the artists on this site I'd bet that 80% have their business with one of these two companies.
Another idea -- if by chance you don't want to do credit cards -- my friend Sonny Dalton, a fabulously successful sculptor (prices $75 to $7500) never took a credit card, but he would take IOU's! Over 30 years I think he only got stiffed once. He'd just say, "take it home and send me a check on Monday." Anyone up for Sonny's ploy?
I am using Merhcant Warehouse and their Blackberry app as well, starting in June.
Angela R. Sasser said:
I've been researching this topic myself recently, as I'm still prepping for my first fair, with this dilemma being my main one. I'm pretty sure I will need to take credit cards to make art fairs even worth it. With booth fees being in the hundreds, it's not worth it to sell little cheap things unless you're sure you can sell a butt load of those little things to recoop costs. Seems like it's more effective to think big.
My research so far has led me to the conclusion that most artists use Propay for its low yearly fees, though there are lots of incidental fees included that might make it a pain if you have issues imo. Another service I've been recommended to is Merchant Warehouse, who will let you waive a monthly fee if you aren't doing a show and who seem relatively low cost.
I'm personally going to start off using an Iphone and Merchant Warehouse's cell phone processing app till I can afford one of the wireless terminals.
I did it weekend before last. Lady came into the booth, she lived in the neighborhood of the venue, she left her home with no intention of buying, stopped in my booth and decided she couldn't live without one of my pendants but she hadn't brought any form of payment. I packed it up and told her she could send me a check or call with her credit card info. She called about a half hour later. I think she decided to buy it because I told her she could take it with her and I'd
trust her for payment.
Connie Mettler said:
I am going to reiterate -- there are two merchant services out there who bend over backwards to make the credit card process work for artists. In this business, as in most others, customer service is most important. These two companies are Teamac run by Guy MacDonald and 1nbCard.com, Mike DiGiovanni. If you polled the artists on this site I'd bet that 80% have their business with one of these two companies.
Another idea -- if by chance you don't want to do credit cards -- my friend Sonny Dalton, a fabulously successful sculptor (prices $75 to $7500) never took a credit card, but he would take IOU's! Over 30 years I think he only got stiffed once. He'd just say, "take it home and send me a check on Monday." Anyone up for Sonny's ploy?
I have just started toaking credit cards, this past weekend as a matter of fact. I searched through these boards and others in an attempt to find the best merchant service for my needs. It can get very confusing, overwhelming even. After gathering what felt like too much information, I ultimately had to take the plunge. Went with http://www.bancardpayment.com/ and found them excellent in every way. In fact, while lugging our equipment in late Sunday night after driving an hour back from the show site, my phone rang. I groaned... until I picked it up and found my Bancard guy on the other end, checking up to make sure we had a good show and no problems with the equipment!! I found this absolutely astounding.... although I shouldn't have, after all the help and great sercice I had been experiencing with them already. Rates are good, service good, people totally helpful, I can't say enough good about them. Ask for Marcello, soon to be your new best friend!
I would be out of business if I couldn't take charges. The way I see it, you can't afford "not" to take credit cards. If you make just one decent sale at a show that you would not have made because you take cash only, it will be economically worth it. Also, there is the security issue. I feel safe and secure running a charge at your booth, knowing the money is going right into my account, at the time of the sale. I have taken a number of checks that I deposit when I get home only to find that the account had insufficient funds, or worse yet, the account was closed and I got burned on a sale. If you use a cash box or envelope to store your cash and checks, it can be easily stolen. It happened to the person across from me at a show last September. In my opinion, this is a necessary expense, a no-brainer.
Replies
The bottom line IS the bottom line. Why wouldn't you want to make it as easy as possible to make a sale? Why wouldn't you take credit cards. When we started taking cards our sales went up 30% or more...
Visit this post and read what is going on there: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/the-newest-options-for
There are so many options - make it easy for your customer! You'll never look back.
Pauline Ross said:
Connie Mettler said:
Angela R. Sasser said:
trust her for payment.
Connie Mettler said:
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