Blog

I applied by accident meannint to apply to madisons show of the same name. I did notice and apply to madison but i got in to this lake forest one and Iam not sure to accept or not as the reviews i could find seem very old from 2013 and 2011 a friend sent me two others that where not great but had no date on it. If you have done or know if this show any more recent advice would help. thanks so much! I do 2D mixed media with lots of color btw.thanks again

Looking to convert my credit card terminal and move strictly to square and researched this add-on (Miura device) that can swipe and read chip cards. It has a key pad and runs off blue tooth. Just wondering how well it works.

MONDAY - NOVEMBER 4 - 4 PM ET

There have been recent problems with artist's processing throughout the country. We'll find out why and answer the following questions:

Free credit card processing? What does free mean?

• 24/7 live customer support?
• immediate deposit of funds into your account? 
• reception/connectivity you can rely on?
• merchant services dedicated to you as a mobile merchant?

Maybe, maybe not. Somewhere, someone needs to pay. Credit card processing policies and options are changing rapidly. I chose my credit card processor years ago because of his good reputation taking care of artists needs. Life is too short to be chasing the cheapest fees.

Listen in as Steven Ballan, Vice President of 1st National Payment Solutions explains the latest technology changes, alternative processing systems and the risk/reward of opting for free processing. 

1st National Payment Solutions will answer your questions in advance:  877-964-1622

Will you be listening? 

Can you call in? Here's the #805-243-1338

Do you have questions we should ask Steven? If so, please put them in the comments below and we will cover them.

Over the years I have always looked for upgrades, better service, better pricing, etc re: credit cards. AND no, this is not an advertisement for either, it's an FYI.

I was part of the test for Paypal's similar program to the Square before they introduced it to everyone. (yes I had the SAIL too...but that proved to be way too limiting and according to Verifone they did that on purpose to get you hooked so you would purchase into a larger program with them, per the phone conversation I had with them..ugh canceled THAT).

Always on a quest for better, easier record management, processing time you name it.

I now have both Paypal Here (Paypal) and Square.

I use Paypal first and foremost and these are the reasons:

1. Better percentage: 2.7% Paypal / 2.75% Square

2. Paypal: 1% back on the associated debit card purchases. So, I can actually "add" more funds to my paypal account, use the card for purchases like gas for the barge and what have you, and make back 1% of what I pay in the initial credit card processing fees. That means, my percentage is lowered to 1.7% if I am diligent about using the card.

3. Square does have a program where you pay a flat fee per month (by the month) that is beneficial if your sales are over X amount.

4. Funds availability. Square for me is 2-3 days in my account. Paypal is 2-3 minutes. Paypal has free transfer of funds into my regular bank account.

5. Square has a POS attached to Ipad devices, Paypal has one that I haven't had the opportunity to try since I don't have an Ipad yet but allows limited information entry if using a smartphone just like the Square does.

6. When I wish to look up a transaction - in my regular Paypal online account all transactions are listed with the purchasers name.

7. Paypal is attached to my online shop. It makes it very easy for me to compare between the two to see my crossover repeat customers, it's all in one place.

8. Paypal accounts can be attached to Outright - a "gathering" online service that gathers information from various accounts and gives you a weekly update as to how your business is doing, categorizes transactions and what have you. I haven't looked into the Square since it dumps directly into my bank account and sometimes it's just too much information out there for big brother.

9. A biggie - connectivity. Many of you may have experienced what I call the Saturday 10-2 "blackout" as I have with the Square. It's a real pain waiting to get the transaction to process,because everyone and their brother is doing the same at shows across the nation. When I have a line trailing out my booth with cash/cards in hand this can be difficult at best. Paypal, I have only had 1 experience to date at one show that simply had poor connectivity regardless of either device.

10. There is much more that I can get into, Square by far has had Starbucks dump a fortune into their service, so the possibility of creating coupons/cents off, what have you is in place along with the customer being able to pull up what businesses in the area are using the same service so they can easily shop there and what have you. So, there is the possibility of a loyalty program that I wish Paypal would have, but with the development of the POS that may be in the future. And, paypal does have POS 3rd parties that can be used, but at a fee, that I don't agree with, so I am waiting as this develops to see where they go.

11. I keep both just in case, as when I do have poor connectivity, it's a matter of one working better than the other.

12. Both will send out additional swipe thru devices free of charge, usually with a period of time between each request. I always have 2 back-ups of each as I never know when one may get wonky.

13. Trick if a card is simply not being read and you don't wish to pay the additional fee for typing in the information. Take a piece of saran wrap, cover the card on both sides and hold it taunt, swipe it thru. It has worked every time for me, and others when this occurs.

14. While I realize there are still people with the belief that credit cards are a scourge or the fees are too much, etc. Here are the facts, credit card purchases on average make up 66% of my sales. The relief on my potential customers faces when they start shopping is - great I am just about out of money, I used up my checks and now I don't have to worry about having to choose between purchasing from you and lunch. We are fast becoming a cashless society, and I barely carry on me more than $50 when I can use my cards instead, have it all recorded and be done with it.

So, what do you think?

The following may have been covered in previous posts and, if so, I apologize for wasting everyone's time. However, I'm stuck on a couple of things and hope someone can help.
I recently began using the Square and I love it. But, I'm disappointed that I've been able to find very little in the way of tech support or instruction on how to use the system to its full capability. Can anyone direct me to a website or other source of instructional material? Can someone tell me how to process a transaction manually I.e. the card isn't available as with a telephone order. It's in areas like this where I've been unable to find anything in writing. Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

You may think that I have it out for Madison “On the Square.”  I don’t, and it may only look that way.  I have always loved that show. However, they keep making these decisions that are questionable at best and are at worst are illegal.

Now, the latest decision is they have made is to charge an additional fee on top of the booth fee if an accepted artist wants to pay by credit card.  The fee is $20 for a double booth and $10 for a single booth.  I am not a lawyer but I am somewhat familiar with credit card fees.  As I understand this, it may not be illegal to charge the fee, but all the major credit card companies have clauses in their contracts that do not allow for this fee to be charged.  They have that fee so that people will use credit cards instead of paying cash or using personal checks.   This sounds to be like an illegal practice.  And that is only my opinion.  In addition, they could get away with it, if they told artists that they would give them a $10 or $20 discount is they paid in cash, but the Madison “Art Fair on the Square” is making it a penalty to pay by credit card.

I hope that artists will question this practice and put a stop to this.

I am going to forward this to Annik Dupaty, the Madison, AFOS, Director of Events and see what her response is.

I do come up with the same conclusion that I did for the jury blog I posted earlier in the week.  JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD. And I’m not even sure that it applies if it is an illegal fee.  And again it appears as if Annik is more concerned with the bottom line than the ethical running of an organization.