hey, is there some way i can let people use checks on my site? i'm thinking that i could get more sales that way. can it be done instantly over the internet?- isobel
Full Version: using checks
hey, is there some way i can let people use checks on my site? i'm thinking that i could get more sales that way. can it be done instantly over the internet?- isobel
Isobel,
You can accept e-checks through your online store. Call
's tech support at 800.353.6582 and they will explain!
You can accept e-checks through your online store. Call
's tech support at 800.353.6582 and they will explain!
We have a retail store and are set up to electronically verify checks. We are thinking of letting people pay by personal check, even though this could delay shipping for a few days to a week. (We would get the check, run it through our verification system, and then send the product out.)
Anything I should know about?
Anything I should know about?
The only way you can use a check is to make it a Custom Payment Method. It will not work in real time, and the customer will have to mail the check to you. You can set up any type of payment using the Custom Payment Method. All it does is collect whatever information you place in there, and stores it in your admin panel. You have to determine if the information given is correct or not. Once they send you your check, you can then process their order. It takes a little longer, but if you want to accept checks, it is the only way to go.
That's what I've done. I set up a custom payment option for checks and one for money orders and then asked the date that they were to mail the check and what bank it's drawn on. It has come in handy, especially for Canadian customers who seem to have trouble getting a credit card to verify correctly with their Canadian addresses.
It does delay shipping but fortunately, I haven't had any trouble with it. I'd like to know if anyone is going to utilize Authorize.net's echeck capability as well. I have the application but am holding off on filling it out until I can get some feedback.
It does delay shipping but fortunately, I haven't had any trouble with it. I'd like to know if anyone is going to utilize Authorize.net's echeck capability as well. I have the application but am holding off on filling it out until I can get some feedback.
I would like to hear other stores' experiences with accepting personal checks. Has fraud been a problem for you? Do people come through and send the check?
Also, when a person pays using a custom payment method does the inventory of the store come down to reflect the purchase?
Also, when a person pays using a custom payment method does the inventory of the store come down to reflect the purchase?
I thought you couldnt have custom and online payments at the same time?
Did I miss something here?
I tried sometime in the past to get rid of PayPal and create a custom PayPal that just basically tells the person to go to the site and send me the total... but I could not get custom payments to work with the other ones
Did I miss something here?
I tried sometime in the past to get rid of PayPal and create a custom PayPal that just basically tells the person to go to the site and send me the total... but I could not get custom payments to work with the other ones
| QUOTE (robert @ Feb 2 2004, 05:52 PM) |
| I would like to hear other stores' experiences with accepting personal checks. Has fraud been a problem for you? Do people come through and send the check? |
Just be careful. Always let personal checks clear, and even if it is a bank check I would take it to the bank for verification before sending out the product. One time I received a large certified bank check from a first-time customer (about $600), and even though the check looked 100% authentic to my eyes, my spidey-senses started tingling (mostly because it was a large amount ~ if it had been under $100 I would have gotten burned). So I took it to the bank that day and asked the manager to authenticate it for me, and it turned out to be fake. This thing had watermarks, microprint, the works, and the bank it was drawn upon was real, but the numbers at the bottom were fake. The manager said she had never seen such a realistic fake before.
When people order by check/MO on my site, I tell them that I will hold the items for 10 days, which should give them enough time to get the payment to me. Unfortunately, in my experience, people actually follow through only about 50% of the time, maybe less. Once a week, I have to go through my "holds" and return stuff to the shelf that has been on hold more that two weeks. Such a waste of time.
But, there are many, many people who do not have or cannot get credit cards for whatever reason, so I still believe it is essential to accept checks and MOs. My biggest regular customer who has been with me for several years and spends almost $1000 per month always pays by check. If I hadn't accepted checks at the time, he probably would never have ordered from me to begin with, and now he accounts for $10k per year in sales for me (that's alot, when you consider I only do about $80k per year in website sales).
Plus, you get to keep that 2% that would have gone to the credit card company!
I accept checks from my U.S. customers. Have never had a problem, although my products are low-priced and not exactly what someone committing fraud is looking for. I did have one check returned for insufficient funds and looked into companies that will collect on these bad checks. Found one that will collect for free, charging the customer for the collection fee. But, I just resubmitted the one bad check and it went through the second time so I never followed through. If I did see an increase in bad checks, I would look closer at this collection company.
Checks that are forgeries, however, is another story. CD definitely has a product that you need to watch out for fraud. Robert, only you can answer the question whether or not your products have a high incidence of fraud.
Checks that are forgeries, however, is another story. CD definitely has a product that you need to watch out for fraud. Robert, only you can answer the question whether or not your products have a high incidence of fraud.
I use the custom payment option to accept checks and then do verification/deposit manually through my processor's web interface. We've never had a problem with a bad check doing this way, but it accounts for less than 5% of orders. We have saved ourselves a couple of return check fees by having the processor turn down checks on accounts that had known problems.
I've also noticed that some people will have their cc declined and then enter a check payment instead. We've probably picked up a few sales that might otherwise have been lost that way.
I've also noticed that some people will have their cc declined and then enter a check payment instead. We've probably picked up a few sales that might otherwise have been lost that way.
What processor do you use to check on your checks, turtle?
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.