pay pal vs merchant account

[networkmom]

I am currently using pay pals virtual terminal to process my credit card orders but I do have to do in and manually input the credit card info, name address etc.. before the order gets processed. This is getting very time consuming and wonder what other options I have?
See when I manually add the orders I also add the shippping accordingly depending on what they order since a lot of my items can be heavier and require additional shipping (which I state on the site) So I am even wondering if a real time processor would even be something I could use. Does anyone know about this and could give me some advice?
I need to automate this somehow, processing orders is taking a great deal of my time.


Thank you
Denise

[Jim Guinn]

[geraelindsey]

I would recommend looking into Authorize.net as they allow you to authorize payments (customer enters their own details - unless ordering by phone for example) and then you can edit the final amount to bill (if needed to add on extra shipping) before processing the payment.

You might also consider using a different shopping cart that would allow to you to calculate actual shipping costs from checkout. This way customers could see the actual charge before submitting their order, be charged the correct amount and save you from having to manually manage orders. ZenCart is my favorite cart (it's free) and it works with Authorize.net, PayPal, and many others.

I too love PayPal and use it for almost 95% of sales, but if you are accepting online payments - the virtual terminal is going to be time consuming. It's more of an add-on for merchants also accepting offline payments.

[networkmom]

Jim, I think if I could get the shippng charges added correctly the merchant account would make my life easier in that I would not have to manually input all orders. I did find one that seems to have good prices, but need to look into figuring out my shipping dilemma.

Thanks
Denise