Newbie here!

Hi, I've been reading some of your posts and the articles and think its great that I found a place that is friendly and that you all help each other, etc. Lots of great articles and suggestions for someone like me just getting my feet wet.

I am a nature painter. I live in Ontario, Canada, and I am (impatiently lol) waiting to hear if I have been accepted at my first art fair show.

I have a question for those of you who have attended shows that don't provide electicity to the grounds.What is the best way (if there is any way) to accept debit and credit cards from clients who don't have enough cash to buy an article? Do any of you use Pay Pal by phone, or do you use one of those portable card machines? I've looked into the price of them and they are quite costly, but worth it if you do shows all season. I am only doing one show this summer,that is, if I get accepted, so that really wouldn't be financially feasable for me for a one time show.

Also, do any of you accept personal checks or is it stupid to even consider it?

Thanks again for providing such a great site!

Ann

Replies

Ann April 25, 2010 at 7:52am

Thank you so much Lexi. I find it mind boggling trying to understand some of these web pages that offer remote devices for credit card or ATM services. lol I appreciate you explaining how yours works and will look into it. Thanks again, Ann
Lexi Erickson April 19, 2010 at 11:05am

Hi Ann, I've been doing shows for 20+ years, and hassling credit card machines for that long. What a pain. Last year I got an app for my Iphone. There are several out there, I use Authorize.net, and I love it. It's easy, the money appears within a day or two in my account, and I email my customer a receipt. It's wonderful. No more bulky machines. Check it out. Good luck,
Lexi Erickson
Eric Kirkland April 19, 2010 at 10:46am

Has anyone tried using paypal through a cell phone?
Michelle Sholund April 2, 2010 at 10:21pm

I have said this on other posts, but don't mind retelling it for you. I use a credit card machine - a Nurit - the standard one most artists use, which can run off of electric or battery. It is the best thing ever - easy to use, quick, etc. And I have to say accepting credit cards is the best thing artists can do because patrons use credit cards - it is not passe to carry loads of cash when you can budget and use a simple plastic card to pay. I use it as a store and batch when I get home/hotel. I haven't had problems with it - getting bad cards, but I do feel I am due for a bad card. But it happens even with brick and mortar stores. It is the nature of the beast when you open yourself to the public. But through all this doom and gloom I have to say it is RARE!!! Most of the time it happens without the person knowing the other occasions is if a person stole a card and just charges charges charges - anything valuable and anything they can quickly re-sell. You have to keep in mind that the pros far out weigh the cons especially if you look at it from the stand point of possibly having 100's or 1,000's of good sales with the possibility of having one declined card. Having a machine will increase your profits at least 30% especially if what you make and sell is starts at $30 or more. You also find that patrons will buy more knowing you accept credit cards.

So, to sum up there are machines out there that are both electric and have a battery. You can save on the battery by turning the machine off when not in use. There are wireless terminals, but you are also at the mercy of hoping there is a good wireless service where you will be or you will be forced to do store and batch processing. I do accept checks. Make sure to get their drivers license number as this helps the bank find these people if a check bounces. And if all else fails, know where the nearest ATM is from your booth and point it out to patrons. I had to do this when my cc machine ran out of juice - and people were thankful and came back and bought.

Good luck!
Michelle
www.bythebaybotanicals.com
www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com
Ann March 30, 2010 at 6:10am

Thank you so much for your reply Pat. I will look into the information you have given me. Ann

Pat Finney said:
You have to accept credit cards these days. I haven't been doing shows that long (this is my 6th year) but I learned quickly. I've been accepting credit cards for 4 years. I use First National Processing. The first 2 years I called them in. Not bad but can take some time if you are busy. Then I did the store and forward machine (looks like a wireless machine but you upload the sales at the end of the day when you get back to your hotel over a phone line). It worked fine until I got taken twice in one show. You don't know it until the day is over. So last year I upgraded to a wireless machine. I got to trade in my store and forward machine so it wasn't too expensive. To make a long story short, you will miss sales without taking cards, especially if your art isn't "cheap". I accept personal checks and have never had one returned. Been lucky I guess.
Pat Finney March 29, 2010 at 10:48am

You have to accept credit cards these days. I haven't been doing shows that long (this is my 6th year) but I learned quickly. I've been accepting credit cards for 4 years. I use First National Processing. The first 2 years I called them in. Not bad but can take some time if you are busy. Then I did the store and forward machine (looks like a wireless machine but you upload the sales at the end of the day when you get back to your hotel over a phone line). It worked fine until I got taken twice in one show. You don't know it until the day is over. So last year I upgraded to a wireless machine. I got to trade in my store and forward machine so it wasn't too expensive. To make a long story short, you will miss sales without taking cards, especially if your art isn't "cheap". I accept personal checks and have never had one returned. Been lucky I guess.
Ann March 29, 2010 at 8:24am

Hmm, I didn't realize my questions were so hard to answer that no one would reply.