Public Beta $$ :(

[Socrates]

Originally posted by Jim Sachs
Things may have changed in the 2 1/2 years since I checked PayPal's requirements, but if the vendor only paid the normal credit card fee, then PayPal wouldn't make anything on the sale, since their underwriting card service would charge them the same amount.

Sounds about right.

Just like using any bank debit card.

[Jim Sachs]

I don't see any incentive for PayPal to do this.

[Socrates]

I don't either, but I do take advantage of it from time to time.

I accept online payments from customers once in a while (and I add a fee to cover the commission). It takes 4 days for it to get into my account. Another 4 days if I want to transfer it to the bank. But if I use the debit card I can go to the grocery store or whatever and just use up the bulk of the money whenever I want.

It's convenient.

[Reichart]

Sitting on money for 4 days or more can add up, but that alone is not a business model.

We are researching PayPal again (we do about every 6 months). If it makes sense, we will offer it.

[BigScreen]

Originally posted by Jim Sachs
PayPal takes a huge cut of the profits. I couldn't afford them when I was selling the Aquarium, and apparently Prolific can't either.

Hmmm....

PayPal's current fees are:

Merchant Rate: 2.2% + $.30
Standard Rate: 2.9% + $.30

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...eiving-outside

So, on a $20 purchase, these would be the fees:

Merchant Rate: $0.74
Standard Rate: $0.88

Granted, there are additional fees for international payments, but can 4.4% (standard rate fee) transaction fee be considered a huge cut of the profits? From what I remember of discussions here, the retail package incurred a much higher cost of sale.

Maybe their fees were higher previous to a year ago when I started using them to accept payments for our VIP Service, but I find PayPal to be an acceptable route to receiving payments, especially when compared with taking paper checks and/or money orders.

I had thought that processing credit cards directly might be a good next step for my site, but based on the frustration here with the various idiosyncrasies of that method, perhaps I'll put that off for a while...

Honestly, I'm hesitant to hand out my credit card information to every web site offering products. I'd much rather pay for things via PayPal, but that's probably because I already have an account set up.

I read somewhere that it is in a merchant's best interest to remove as many of the obstacles to the sale as possible, giving the buyer few reasons to abandon the sale before completion. That's why I accept money orders via USPS, even though I don't want to hassle with bank deposits, incorrect information, etc. PayPal payments are maybe something for Prolific to consider to widen the choice of payment methods for its customers.

[ESHIREY]

Any idea when they will be taking Discover ? I just tried to buy it again and it still won't take my card .

[Reichart]

It is very annoying for us to. It is not like we are ignoring anyone. We signed up for Discover, we paid them, they simply have a LOT of red tape. Very annoying.
It was meant to go live days after everything else went live.

They break my #1 rule of business “Never make it difficult to take someone’s money.”

If I could design the whole process it would work like this:
1. You would fill out all your Credit information once on your computer (for each card), and this would be done through your browser. It would be stored with PGP.
2. You would click on a single button on a website for a given product.
3. By clicking on this “one button” the program would put the software in the CORRECT place on your system. There would be no “installation process” “directories to pick” etc. It would simply “BE” on your computer, ready to run at your willing.
4. If you didn’t own it at that point, it would run in demo mode, and if you clicked on “own it” it (not the web) would simply bring up a requester, you pick the card you want to use, enter your password, and BAM, you now own it. They keycode, and that whole process would be invisible, it would take care of the whole thing for you.


So, as a recap, from your point of view, you click on an product on the web, and it takes care of the whole process for you.

There are some other things going on I didn’t mention, like authentication, etc. And this whole thing assumes your system is secured (which M$ is not), and that your connected to the web (which almost everyone will be, and if your not, just bring your pocket sized ship to a dealer in the future, and they will do this same thing there).

[ESHIREY]

I know what you mean . I'm just stuck with Discover because we got rid of all our charge cards . I guess I just got to keep trying until they finally take it . I hope it's not to long . I got the demo but hate that nag screen .

[Socrates]

Do you have a bank card? I don't have credit cards anymore. I just use the bank card for online stuff.

[feldon34]

Reichart,

There are several programs which do EXACTLY what you describe. They sit in the system tray and when you visit a page that matches enough words in the commerce catcher, it offers to fill in all the credit card, billing, etc. fields with any of the credit cards your PC is aware of.

The one that seems the most common is http://qwallet.com/


Or you can use MS's sell-your-info-to-anyone "Microsoft Wallet".

[BigScreen]

Originally posted by Socrates
Do you have a bank card? I don't have credit cards anymore. I just use the bank card for online stuff.

My bank converted my ATM card into a debit card, and I didn't mind until I realized that someone that got hold of that card could literally empty by bank account until the card was reported stolen.

With a credit card, at least I have the $50 fraud limit, and purchases on it don't drain my checking account immediately.

I had them replace the debit card with the plain vanilla ATM card, and I now feel a little less exposed...

Since I haven't looked into them lately, have the policies regarding debit cards changed so that your bank account isn't at risk from fraud?

[Reichart]

Yes, I’m aware of QWallet. But this has to be the whole enchilada. And this needs to be integrated, and it needs to be a standard supported feature the OS (not a product).

Let me give you a real world example. On the Mac, a person downloads an SIT, which get automatically (because Apple finally built StuffIt into the Browser) decompressed, and the file folder gets stuck on your desktop. All you have to do is drag it into your Screen Effects dir, and you’re done.


This is better (not perfect). If you clicked on the icon on the browser, and the Mac brought up a requester which said “Would you like to try this Screen Saver Demo?” and you could just click [YES], and after it was done downloading it it took care of EVERTYTHING for you, in the background, and then left a message for you like “Ok, click here to try out” then we are much closer.

Next, after your done with it, it asks you “Would you like to buy this, play with it s a little longer, or shall I throw it away?’

Now the computer is treating you like a person, not another computer!

There are Geeks, Nerds, and Dorks. A Geek knows how to make money while having fun. A Nerd knows a lot, but not what to do with it, a dork looks and acts like a nerd, but has no talent.

Most software is made by nerds and dorks.

[feldon34]

Yes, I’m aware of QWallet. But this has to be the whole enchilada. And this needs to be integrated, and it needs to be a standard supported by the OS (not a product)

You trust Microsoft a lot further than I can throw them.

Microsoft has Microsoft Wallet built into the OS since Windows ME. But do you know anyone using it? Wallet has had many security concerns and comments on their disturbing Terms of Service.

Let me give you a real world example. On the Mac, a person downloads an SIT, which get automatically (because Apple finally built StuffIt into the Browser) recompressed, and the file fold gets stuck on your desktop. All you have to do is drag it into your Screen Effects dir, and you’re done.

I'm sorry you have had trouble reproducing this behavior in Windows. The OS is not involved, a few "OK/Cancel?" boxes have simply been set to "OK" for .hqx and .sit files matching the correct MIME type by the Stuffit installer. This is cake to recreate on Windows.

I'll set up your PC to do this tomorrow when I visit if you wish.


Everything you describe can be simulated in various ways in XP. The problem is, XP has taken all the keys away from the average user to be able to do what they want. They tried to do what you want, but went way beyond all reason and used all this automation to further their marketing and business cause.

If Microsoft had been split up into 3 companies and their OS division could not get directives or requests from their browser and office divisions, then they could not abuse the new functionality they are adding to their OSes.

Windows 2000 is wonderfully stable and nearly perfect (in my opinion). It has some promotional/automatic stuff, but it gets out of your way at one button press.

Windows XP, it is like trying to use my PC through glass with mittens on.

[Reichart]

You’re really missing my point here.

This is all about the two greatest words in the English language, “default”*

* Homer Simpson.

[feldon34]

Remove the prefix, and that pretty much describes Microsoft's implementation of your hopes and dreams of a smarter OS.

[Socrates]

Originally posted by BigScreen
My bank converted my ATM card into a debit card, and I didn't mind until I realized that someone that got hold of that card could literally empty by bank account until the card was reported stolen.

With a credit card, at least I have the $50 fraud limit, and purchases on it don't drain my checking account immediately.

I had them replace the debit card with the plain vanilla ATM card, and I now feel a little less exposed...

Since I haven't looked into them lately, have the policies regarding debit cards changed so that your bank account isn't at risk from fraud?

Well my bank assures me that it's the same complaint process as a credit card (I'll believe it when I have to try it)... the difference is that you are trying to get your money BACK not keep from paying it in the first place.

However, I only keep an exact ampount of money in my checking account with the debit card attached. Just enough to cover the checks I write and some expendable "spending money". Everything else is kept isolated.

[feldon34]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,58787,00.html

Microsoft says it has fixed a flaw in its Internet Passport service after a Pakistani computer researcher disclosed details of it on the Internet. The breach left 200 million customers vulnerable to hackers and thieves for months and could result in a hefty fine from regulators.