http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com When I was growing up I remember watching my folks go through the catalogues looking for things we needed. They’d fill out an order form, write a check and mail it in, then wait at least three weeks for their merchandise to arrive. Back then there w... http://www.articlealley.com/article_603071_3.html 18th August 2008 If you are wondering if there is any part of the retail sector that might be safe to get into these days you might consider opening an online business. While fluctuating gas prices and other factors have hammered the real-world retail sector online bu... http://www.articlealley.com/article_601774_3.html 17th August 2008 It may be hard to fathom but there are a number of college kids and young professionals who have never balanced their checkbooks. Some might not have ever even written their first check. This isn’t because they don’t know how -- but that they track... http://www.articlealley.com/article_600556_3.html 15th August 2008 There are a number of online business owners who have taken a casual look at adding credit card processing services to their sites, seen that there will be monthly fees and charges and stopped looking at that point. Why give the credit card companies thei... http://www.articlealley.com/article_596178_3.html 13th August 2008 Every business owner keeps their eyes cast in two directions. One is keeping a watch on what is happening to their business now. The other is focused on the future – what’s coming down the road that might be good for that business. And the online b... http://www.articlealley.com/article_593817_3.html 29th July 2008 For the owner of an online business, every decision about that business is a major one if it affects how customers will be able to connect. There should be no decisions arrived at capriciously because every choice made is going to have a bearing on pro... http://www.articlealley.com/article_585962_3.html 23rd July 2008 Before relations with China were normalized in the early part of the 70s there was very little business being done between our country and the Chinese. But several businesses were chomping at the bit for that country to open up. The hundreds of millions o... http://www.articlealley.com/article_570770_3.html 07th July 2008 I got a great piece of advice from a retired businessman who has become my mentor and is helping me get my online business going. He told me that many businesses fail because while the impetus may be the owner’s passion, they still have to make their... http://www.articlealley.com/article_565107_3.html 27th June 2008 There are some people who have an online business and have heard what a great asset being able to accept credit cards can be. And there are several good reasons to do so, and they will be spelled out briefly later in this post, but the overarching reason ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_555117_3.html 11th June 2008 In many ways the world of online shopping is not that different from shopping at the mall or your local strip shopping center. Most of the time when we leave home to shop we know what we want, we have a pretty idea of what we’re prepared to spend for it... http://www.articlealley.com/article_550578_3.html 04th June 2008 For anyone who has ever worked in retail – even an online retailer -- they have no doubt heard the phrase: “The customer is always right.” That is a short way of saying that having one’s own store tacitly says you are interested in delivering good... http://www.articlealley.com/article_549784_3.html 02nd June 2008 There are people operating online businesses that have not added credit card processing but when I think of them the image of a dinosaur comes to mind. Especially those that could not adapt to the changes in the world and simply faded into the background ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_546538_3.html 25th May 2008 The other day I saw something that I haven’t seen in quite a while, and I’m not talking about black and television. I found a new online shopping site and their checkout page had directions on how to send in a check for payment. I had two immediat... http://www.articlealley.com/article_541943_3.html 20th May 2008 Having an online business is relatively easy compared to those in the real world. You pay for a domain name and hosting but that pales compared to monthly rent and inventory, not to mention utilities, etc. Indeed, the economy and ease of setting up a ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_528149_3.html 01st May 2008 If you own a business online and you’re looking to make the leap into credit card processing there will be several factors to consider. Among them are how much experience the merchant accounts provider has with businesses like yours, what their pricing ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_526458_3.html 30th April 2008 Assumptions can be a dangerous thing – and in the world of business they can be costly. That includes assumptions made in tandem with facts. Indeed, when assumptions are mixed with facts it’s like trying to blend oil and water with outcome about as... http://www.articlealley.com/article_525759_3.html 29th April 2008 By Jim Osterman The decision on whether or not to add credit card processing services to an online business’ site is driven by several factors, one way to make the decision is by playing the “what if” game. As in: “What if I (the Internet ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_523065_3.html 25th April 2008 By Jim Osterman Though the numbers may vary from study to study, consumers are acutely aware of credit card fraud and identity theft. They read the same stories that you do, and they know that some people can struggle for months to clear a bogus charge... http://www.articlealley.com/article_519773_3.html 18th April 2008 By Jim Osterman There are two sides to the rationale for adding credit card online processing to your Internet-based business, and which side you see depends on how you think about the business. One view stems from being a business owner. You’ve r... http://www.articlealley.com/article_519738_3.html 18th April 2008 By Jim Osterman It’s an irony of the business world that the more successful a person is, the less likely they are to reach out and ask for help when comes to an area of commerce they have no experience in. And there is no area where this is mor... http://www.articlealley.com/article_514110_3.html 09th April 2008 By Jim Osterman It makes no difference whether you have a store in the neighborhood strip shopping center, or in the virtual shopping community, if you can give your customers what they want you will never know a hungry day. And the great thing abo... http://www.articlealley.com/article_514106_81.html 09th April 2008 By Jim Osterman It can be tempting for a business owner to consider keeping all their financial resources in one place – usually their bank. The bank has their checking account, may have provided a loan to get the business going and has probably offer... http://www.articlealley.com/article_511602_3.html 07th April 2008 To have an online business presence these days is easy. Anyone can set up a free Web site and start selling. But not all businesses are created equally. To have a flourishing online business presence takes the willingness to accept payment online, and... http://www.articlealley.com/article_503024_3.html 01st April 2008 There are costs associated with credit card processing online , but if you’re a business owner who operates primarily from a Web site, processing plastic is going to be a vital link between you and your consumers. Virtually everyone who shops online ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_503019_81.html 01st April 2008 There is no denying that credit-card processing has become an effective e-commerce business-building tool. Studies have shown that having the ability to accept credit cards as payment off of your Web site will increase sales and profits, plus drive additi... http://www.articlealley.com/article_500705_81.html 30th March 2008 For as long as there have been entrepreneurs there has been someone lurking in the background murmuring: “To make money you have to spend money.” A better way to turn that phrase so it truly gets its meaning across is: “To make money you have to ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_500704_3.html 30th March 2008 By Jim Osterman There are people with Web-based business that want to add credit card processing but are intimidated by the process. They have looked through some of the merchant accounts provider’s Web sites and it seems like there is a whole ne... http://www.articlealley.com/article_494577_3.html 25th March 2008 There is a temptation for any business person who reaches a certain level of success to not want to change anything. What they did allowed them a certain level of achievement and, understandably, they feel like the formula for ongoing success will be to n... http://www.articlealley.com/article_489165_3.html 11th March 2008 By Jim Osterman For an online business that is trying to grow, the notion of adding credit card processing is no longer just a matter of choosing to get a benefit or standing pat. And the reason for this can be traced to modern consumer attitudes. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_487401_3.html 10th March 2008 Though there are some fees that are associated with the addition of credit card processing to your Web site, they should not deter you from making the move. With all the benefits that go with merchant account services, the cost of having card processing i... http://www.articlealley.com/article_481862_3.html 26th February 2008 By Jim Osterman If you’ve made the decision that credit card processing is the smart way to go for your e-business, a few more well-thought-out choices will make the call more productive and cost-effective. You already know that the addition of me... http://www.articlealley.com/article_480654_3.html 25th February 2008 By Jim Osterman A combination of recent e-retailing studies and consumer Web spending habits are making a strong case for anyone doing business on the internet to make sure that credit card online processing is a large part of their business plan. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_478271_81.html 21st February 2008 By Jim Osterman For some e-business people the idea of navigating the process of adding credit card processing seems as byzantine as divining the mystery of the Egyptian pyramids. In reality, however, the learning curve is very short, the process itse... http://www.articlealley.com/article_478270_3.html 21st February 2008 The final numbers have not been crunched yet, however, according to retail-shopping estimates, more than three-quarters of all shoppers over the age of 18 did their shopping last year over the Web. Window shopping has moved to the personal computer and... http://www.articlealley.com/article_478158_3.html 21st February 2008 By Jim Osterman With the increasing influence of retail shopping by personal computer, the discussion for any Web-based business person should not be if they will add credit card processing services to their site, but when. Today’s consumer votes ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_477505_3.html 20th February 2008 There are several trends that mean great news for e-businesses that have credit card processing, and should prod those sites that aren’t processing plastic yet. First, consumers are embracing the ease and convenien... http://www.articlealley.com/article_475714_3.html 17th February 2008 Many Web-based business owners are hesitant to make the move to accept credit cards because they are afraid the fees and the process can seem intimidating. And while fees certainly have to be considered, they are... http://www.articlealley.com/article_474299_3.html 13th February 2008 By Jim Osterman If you’re a Web business person that is new to the credit card processing world, it can seem too complicated to be worth pursuing. But with the explosion of credit-card use for internet shopping, e-... http://www.articlealley.com/article_472807_81.html 11th February 2008 By Jim Osterman There’s been a shift in consumer buying patterns over the last several months when it comes to internet shopping. Several e-retailers are beginning to see people shopping online for more “everyday” items – this as opposed to the... http://www.articlealley.com/article_466760_81.html 02nd February 2008 By Jim Osterman If you’re in business for yourself on the internet you’ve probably been told that to make money you have to spend money. A more accurate way to think about it would be to make money you have to invest money -- as in investing back i... http://www.articlealley.com/article_465851_3.html 01st February 2008 Want to Accept Credit Cards? Here’s Your Bill of Rights By Jim Osterman Whether a business is a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment or a Web-based retailer – or both – its unlikely any merchant can thrive in today’s economy without th... http://www.articlealley.com/article_461884_3.html 25th January 2008 According to a recent study, well in excess of 80% purchases made on the Internet are being made via credit card, good news for e-retailers who have card processing abilities. The remaining purchases are made using snail-mailed checks or other payment ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_460139_3.html 24th January 2008 By Jim Osterman There were two pieces of good news for e-shopkeepers in the last 90 days: • During the final two months of 2007 Americans spent close to $30 billion online, setting a new record for Internet shopping. • There was also a small bu... http://www.articlealley.com/article_457688_3.html 22nd January 2008