In my quest to decide on a merchant account/gateway, found this on the net from a Jan 18th, 2007 report. Should I go with PayPal, Google, Network Solutions, other???
I can't find anything more recent. Since i'm just starting out, sure would be nice to have no fees this year. Anyway, any comments are welcome. If anyone feels really strongly about their merchant & gateway, any info would be helpful!


"JP Morgan has published a report on how Google Checkout did in 2006, and their findings show that Checkout reached 6% of the 1,100 consumers they surveyed, compared to 42% for PayPal, what I call a good, but not massive, start. They also found that:

* Google Checkout users are younger (57% under 35), more likely to be male (penetration rates 2x more for men) and more affluent (34% have incomes over $75,000) than PayPal.
* Only 19% of Google Checkout users reported it as Good or Very Good, abysmal compared with 44% of PayPal users and 65% of credit card users. Indeed, most Google Checkout users probably never would have (and in the future, never will) used it if not for the steep discounts.
* 43% of PayPal users indicated they would continue to prefer it over Google Checkout, while only 2% said they would continue to prefer Checkout over PayPal. In other words, Checkout has established virtually no brand loyalty at all.
* 56% had no familiarity with Google Checkout.

So, Checkout has had a rocky start, one that suggests the only reason anyone has used it is because of discounts, discounts which will not continue in the future, and that most Checkout users would prefer not using it at all."

Interesing, thanks for sharing.

Don't you think that Google Checkout starting out in July of 07 is at a tremendous disadvantage for this type of report? I mean, Paypal has been around for years, while Google Checkout has been out for months, of course more people are going to be using Paypal vs Google checkout. As well, Paypal, since of its age is implemented on more sites. Its just a bit of a stretch to have a fair comparison.

Six percent of the customers that this report referenced of usinge Google checkout is 10 percent (66) of the customers that one company(MacFriends) had from Google Checkout as of Jan 2007. I mean to get poll 1100 people, how accurate is that?

Do appreciate the info, but it isn't to accurate if they base all of these statistics off of 1100 web users!

I would also like to add a comment about an article I read about Google's Checkout. If I can find the link, I will post it later. The article stated that if you are using Checkout and a person finds your site through a Google Adword campaign, then this will allow Google to raise the bid amount for the keywords people are using to purchase, not just find your site.

Yes, I know we already have Google analytics and Google sees the traffic on our site, but they never match my Sawmill stats, so I am not sure how accurate they are. I know that for example, my other sites, even thought G is showing my Google Base is loaded and I have active items, when you go to G Base, they are not there!!

When all the major retailers (Sears, Home Depot, Macy's, etc) start accepting Paypal and G Checkout then I may follow suit...

To me using G Checkout is like letting the fox in the hen house.....

Do you really believe this? come on, the bid amount in Adwords is raised due to the irrelavance of a keyword to a websites landing page, the CTR or the ad copy, not the performance from a purchase on some website. If google was basing things like this, they would of been broke a long time ago.



The fox doesn't need to be in the hen house. He can get all the chicken he wants outside of the hen house.

Wacky, be careful the Google Gods have access to this forum, and sure enough will index this and rank your comments.

Google Checkout seems to still be US only as well, right? I guess if you don't plan on doing international sales, then that's okay, but wondering if they have plans to move into that market?

What percentage of your sales are international? I'd like to be able to ship to Canada, at least.

Bamacat,

If you want to be considered as a serious site you should first offer people to pay via VISA master Discovery and Amex. Get a merchant account and than you can add (if you wish) Paypal or Google

My 2 cents,

Nuriel

I think a good indication of Checkout's success is its penetration with the large online shopping sites, which is very low. Also, if Google Checkout were such a superior product, merchants and customers would be scrambling to implement it, which they aren't. Finally, Google had to take the unprecedented step to offer $10 discounts to all new users. In my opinion this is the single largest indicator that the Checkout system wasn't doing what Google was hoping it would, and they therefore launched and extended (at least twice) the discount program.

In Google's favor - their track history. Everything Google has done has started out slow, building a user base and improving their technology at their own pace. I can still remember when AdWords was the new kid and no one used it, but now it's considered the granddaddy of all CPC systems.

All good advice, I'm going with Cardservices International. Want to look as professional as possible. Don't think I feel comfortable with Google at this point, and all the stuff I've read about PayPal (sucks dot com, for instance) doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy either. Thanks for the help!

Ive seen this on other forums as well. I tried Checkout and for some strange reason words I was paying .05 jumped to .60!! You tell me what is going on? This was on one of my most popular keywords....

After that I removed my Checkout. Maybe this was just a fluke..but I used that key phrase for years!!

Credit Card Processing Services..... What a Tricky Topic!

Here is my 2 cents

I have been working with all of the above and they all have their uses, however I do like the fact when I have a question I can call my service agent directly at BankCard Central and she takes care of me right away.....

I also have a Google Checkout Account and a Paypal Account but when I call I get stuck in a queue and never speak to the same person.

I feel that having Paypal & Google Checkout can be a great extra feature to add to your store just in-case clients want to use that payment but using a merchant account provider will allow you to get more control for your business.

Another main bonus of getting a merchant account to us a gateway such as Authorize.net, Verepay, Paymentech, PlugNPay allows a business owner to get customized credit card processing rates.....

Most ISO's will also take your current processing statements and compare your fees to tailor a customized account to best fit your business needs. When you go with Google Checkout or Paypal you are stuck with set rates they give you.

Also depending upon on the type of products you sell will depend on the classification you will be put into. "Some Business are not Accepted"