Free Merchant Account: Debunking the Misconceptions

If you’re an ecommerce site owner, or somebody who does business on the Internet, you’d know that in order to accept credit card payments, you’d need a merchant account. For some business-owners, getting a merchant account through a broker or a bank is easy, especially if the business is as steady as a rock.

However for some merchants with start up businesses, getting their own merchant account proves difficult. A mom and pop business applying for a merchant account through a bank can get rejected for the following reasons:

1. Nature of the business is too risky

2. Too early in the business to apply for a merchant account

3. Processing volume is too low

There are a lot of reasons to get rejected by banks or brokers. However, hope isn’t lost as there are other ways to get a merchant account. Get a free merchant account.

Free merchant account providers flood the Internet. They offer so many freebies, you can just imagine where they get their profit. However, contrary to popular belief, a free merchant account isn’t free.

No it’s not. It never was, it never will be.

Can you imagine anyone having a business of processing credit card transactions not making money? That’s called charity, and what they do is far from not gaining any profit.

This is where the problem starts, the misconception people have on free  merchant accounts.

Misconception #1: Everything’s for free with these merchant accounts

Sorry to say but they also have overhead expenses, employee salaries, and other related expenses. There is no business in the world that isn’t out to make money. For free merchant account providers, although they do give out freebies, they still get a fee from the transactions they process for your business. They do provide free setup, free terminals, and free software to invite start up businesses to sign up with them.

Misconception #2: Free terminals are guaranteed new.

Indeed, free merchant account providers offer free terminals – however, not all terminals are created equal. Some terminals process credit cards only, others are appropriate for wireless merchants, while others process echeck payments. Some providers give out terminals that aren’t as appropriate as you’d like for your business. Other free merchant account providers dupe merchants into thinking it’s all new – when in fact, their terminals are refurbished or completely out of date. However, there are always 2 sides to a coin. There are still a lot of free merchant account providers who give out top of the line equipment to their subscribers.

Misconception #3 Free merchant account is the secret to ecommerce success

People believe there’s always a magic pill to success. Wake up bucko, there isn’t. There’s no such thing as instant success, more so in business. Okay, admittedly there are some who are LUCKY in business, but let’s make this clear – they worked hard for it. Although a free merchant account can help you process credit card payments, it’s not enough to have it. You have to market your product or service successfully, and make sure your goods are in demand. A business demands a lot, and a free merchant account is just one of them.

A free merchant account is indeed a helpful tool in creating the empire you want in the Internet marketplace, however, one should be wary of scammers who prey on innocent merchants who do search for information, not just the right one. Getting the right information can reduce the misconception, and prepare you for what to expect from the services of a free merchant account provider.

What a Free Merchant Account can do for your Life Coaching Business

Once in our lives, we’ve made a trip to the shrink(since our friends would be too tired to listen to us rant) or hired the services of a life coach. Some may shirk away from the idea of having somebody coach our lives, or listen to us rant about things private to us. However, this “i have an appointment with my shrink” has also translated itself to the ecommerce market. Let’s just say they’ve gone bigtime and have been offering to online consumers as well.

If you’re a life coach, you can double your revenue, possibly make it more convenient for your patients to benefit from your products and services. How? Through a free merchant account.

Here are ways to maximize the capabilities of your free merchant account:

1. Offer to other countries

   Having a website alone isn’t enough. Offering your services online to your countrymen as well as to other interested customers outside of your borders can prove rewarding financially and work-wise. You get to tackle the different situations of different customers located in different parts of the world. A free merchant account can accept their credit card payments for your services.

2. Recurring billing

   Ever heard of recurring billing? Like most life coaches, you send out different newsletters, and a host of products and services to your customers. They can opt to pay at their convenience with recurring billing. Recurring billing automatically charges your customers’ accounts for fees to products or services they’ve subscribed to. They don’t have to stop by your clinic, or miss a monthly payment. Your free merchant account can deal with that for you.

3. Sell your ebooks online

   Selling your books has never been easier with a free merchant account. Simply promote your books on your site and your customers can make purchases with their credit cards. No more waiting for check payments and you don’t have to deal with fraudulent characters who make purchases and run.

4. Audio

   As much as life coaches are great in giving advice, sometimes the written word cannot compensate for the spoken word, hence the rise of podcasts and audio recordings. You can offer audio recordings of stress-relieving meditations easily. Send to their emails and receive payments by offering credit card processing on your site using a free merchant account.

5. Real time consultations over the net

   This one’s pretty new. Offer one on one webcam consultations over the net for your customers who aren’t in your area (or if they don’t feel like getting off the couch). Charge by the minute or by the hour. They can simply pay via your free merchant account, and you get their payments in your bank account.

6. Pre booking of seminars

   You’ve got a seminar in Denver, or a bootcamp in Chicago and you’ve still got a couple of people from other parts of the globe clamoring for you to have seminars in their area. It’s a big risk for you to just go there, and not have anyone fix the seminar details for you. However, if you have pre booking of seminars on your site, it can be easier for your team to finalize locations, and other details for your seminar. Case in point: If you only have 3 people who have pre-booked a seminar in a certain place, you can cancel the seminar or make necessary changes to it easily. By paying for the seminar fees via your free merchant account, they are already signifying their intent to attend your seminar – and whether they show up or not, you’ve already been paid. Reduced level of risk for you.

Life coaches deal with different situations. And they deal with people in different locations. Having a website can allow you to widen your network, gain more revenue, and help more people in the process.

Free Merchant Account Tip: Prepare for the holiday shoppers

Christmas season is associated with traffic, shopping, and of course, the birth of someone special to the Christian community.

Christmas notwithstanding, the holiday season is fast approaching. September is just a  whistle away, and this has prompted the good shoppers of the world to start their holiday shopping – online. Reports have shown an increase in online spending as early as the month of August. For free merchant account holders, this is your chance to break even. But your normal selling techniques, the way you market your products as well as your website should be even more inviting to shoppers in the world.

In other words: enhance your website for the holidays, and they maybe prompted to buy.

Here are some tips to prepare your site for holiday shopping:

1. Decorate
Remember when you used to go with your parents to pick out the best pine tree there is in the lot? Well, it’s pretty much similar to online shopping. Merchants should prepare their sites for the holidays with decorations (graphics – something google would do to their search engine logo) and effects to bolster the holiday cheer even more. The scrawniest tree is left on the lot long after the holidays have gone, and it could happen to your site too. Be careful though on over-decorating – loading time can be a drag and prompt customers to go elsewhere.

2. Customer reviews
Amazon did it. Other ecommerce sites have done it too. Invite customers to post reviews of their purchased items and see an improvement on your revenue and customer relations. People depend on other people’s opinions of certain things – especially things they’d like to buy. If people make positive reviews of your product then well and good, if not, then maybe merchants can take the comment as well as the product reviewed and see what improvements you can make. Customer reviews account for an increase in buying from customers.

3. Invest in better looking photos
Shopping online can be a risk other customers aren’t willing to take – especially if they can’t see your product, and more so if they can’t view your pictures clearly. Optimized pictures are favored, and if possible, add more than just 2 or 3. Other sites add zooming capabilities to their photos, and descriptions are very much minute.

4. Ship to my lou my darling
Not all shipping companies are created equal  – some don’t deliver to PO boxes, others don’t deliver direct to homes. Customers would appreciate it if you revealed the shipping providers you are partners with and gave them options. Knowing the shipping providers allows them to choose where to have their purchases delivered.

5. The power of the plastic
If you still haven’t heard the news, most shoppers online use credit cards to complete transactions. Get a merchant account(free or through a broker or bank), and offer credit card processing. Some free merchant account providers also offer check services. The more payment options you have, the bigger and better your customer base will be.

The holidays are upon us yet again. And for merchants, this accounts for a big percentage of their yearly revenues. Leverage the holidays, and prepare for the shoppers. They come in tribes, dressed plainly in their pajamas in the comforts of their homes, and brandishing the mighty plastic card.

Free Merchant Account Tip: Include Customer Reviews on Your Ecommerce Site

“Thanks to this company I saved 43% of my payment processing cost! I must say I signed up for a company that is indeed concerned about their clients’ business. More power”

“A-1 Customer service! I couldn’t ask for a friendlier or more helpful customer support staff. Thank you”

“Jack and Jill Water filtration company has assured the cleanliness of our water supply. We no longer have to worry about the health of our children”

As a merchant how can you benefit from testimonials/customer reviews?

Whether you believe it or not, in the Internet market, testimonials, customer feedback, or reviews still affects the decision of a browser into a customer.

Testimonials are written for or against a certain product or service. It can convince customers to buy – a last nudge, or pivot for them to finally decide to purchase from you. This bit of information has been tapped by various online ecommerce sites, and they’ve found that indeed, customers value other reviews by others. How could a single(or a group) review affect the decision of a customer to purchase?

The grass is greener on the other side of the lawn – because they use product X!

Nobody says it better than another person who isn’t the owner of the store and who isn’t bound to benefit from the sale of a product. Let’s say Customer A wants to avail of a free merchant account. Customer A sees a slightly disparaging comment or review from Customer B about this certain free merchant account provider, this can more likely discourage Customer A from buying OR it can establish the authenticity of your business (means you’re not a scam after all – unless the review claims you are!).

Of course not all reviews you get from your customer are positive or negative. Positive reviews are good – especially if:

• You didn’t write it yourself – if you can’t help it (customer can sniff scripted reviews like a hound dog)

• It addresses a certain issue that other customers can relate to

• The approach isn’t that patronizing. It should be sham-proof.

Now don’t go frowning on negative reviews. Negative reviews can help you in more ways than you can fathom:

• A combination of negative and positive reviews can make your product more real. Customer know what to expect and you won’t have to deal with more negative responses from buyers who only viewed the positive reviews.

• There’s always room for improvement – a cliché perhaps, but negative reviews can definitely help you improve whatever shortcomings your product or service may have. A free merchant account provider can get bad reviews for its busy customer support hotlines and although this can hurt business, they can allocate a portion of their capital towards improving their customer support. Effort well spent.

• A bad review makes obvious the flaws of your product. If you have a product that is faulty, a customer review can help you asses whether you’d like to continue production of that item or not – saves you time and effort and more importantly, saves you a lot of money.

Worry not about bad reviews – they can help you improve your business and according to studies, people are more likely to write positive customer reviews than negative ones(unless you make a really bad product). In addition, customer reviews can help you determine what to alter in your product or service to make it more worthwhile for your customers to buy from you. Turn the negative into something positive.

Free merchant Account Tip: Game the Players and Earn Big Bucks!

I can see your wallets smiling!

In the next few years, we should be expecting a huge boost in online shopping – billions and billions of dollars spent on online purchases – and there are no signs of slowdown. That means for every merchant there is – erase every, and insert legit – for legit merchants out there, this could be the next successful 5 years of your business.

For everyone who hasn’t exactly transitioned to ecommerce, it’s never too late. In fact, if you’re in a quandary on what business to venture in, the stars are smiling at you today.

If you’re a budding merchant, here’s a free tip for you: the gaming industry accounts for the recent boost in online shopping.

Ecommerce has been so succesful in promoting different businesses (clothes retail, travel, etc) and this includes the gaming industry. The gaming industry is so huge – there’s online gaming (world of warcraft where the stakes are high), there’s online gambling, and there’s the retail gaming community.

When we talk about retail gaming, we’re talking video games, consoles, and accessories for them. It includes the recent success of Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and the games accompanying them. As an entrepreneur, how can you successfully start your own retail gaming site?

A few tips:

1. Get legitimate games

   You’ve seen it on Digg. Yes, there are countries who specialize in selling bootleg copies of console games – some work, but most of them don’t. If you sell only legitimate games, you don’t get any complaints from customers, and you get good reviews from your sources. In fact, don’t stop on just selling games…

2. Sell Accessories

   Selling accessories – such as remote controls, 3d glasses, etc can add value to the customer experience – and add money to your bank account too. Same as above, get legitimate or original items.

3. Video killed the radio star

   Youtube is your friend. Uploading video samples of the games you sell, and redirecting them to your site can increase traffic as well as conversion.

4. Credit Card Processing

   Get a free merchant account (whether you’re start up merchant or not, they can handle different transaction volumes) and provide credit card processing on your site. A free merchant account can allow you to reach customers you might not otherwise reach, process in multiple currencies, and ease your transition from physical to an online store.

5. Create a mini empire on your site – customer reviews, rants, everything and anything you sell on your site to enhance customer loyalty.

   User generated content is so powerful it has spawned thousands (millions perhaps?) of sites dedicated to hearing the voice (and reading the word) of the customer. In fact, this trend is currently being leveraged by different game console creators and they know for a fact that a word or two about a game can easily break down the product. It also enhances customer loyalty – crucial to business. Imagine if people relied on the reviews of the beta version of the soon to be released Halo 3- they wouldn’t be getting a million pre-orders now would they? And what better way to enhance customer loyalty than by getting them to participate in your endeavors? In case of a media debacle, your customers should defend you – not you defending yourself – that’s customer loyalty.

The retail gaming industry is growing and there’s no better way to earn money online, than to tap this resource. It’s not enough to plop down money to start an ecommerce site – you should be smarter than the rest and offer what no other gaming ecommerce site can offer. Enhance customer experience and you enhance your revenue. So play their game, and you might be playing with money soon.

Free Merchant Account Tip: Tweak Your Photo Merchant Site

A feel good vibe emanates from someone who’s just seen his or her photo used for something – a brochure, a site, a magazine. The pride, the glory – all those feel good emotions just run through you and just makes you want to become a better photographer.

Given that your picture was sold directly off your brand-spanking new website, the feel good vibes reach exponential levels.

Having your own website to showcase your photos can do wonders for your bank account. Especially if you handle stock photographs. Stock photos are photographs sold for licensing purposes (the company is paying for the right to use your photos – but not exactly to buy the photos themselves). There are many uses for stock photos – in business, advertising, print, marketing material both offline and online. If you’re just starting out, here are some things you need to know:

1. Copyright is already a given. Under the constitution, anything that is made tangible (an idea through art, photo, lyric sheet, etc) has been given automatic copyright and the owner of such items can exercise such rights.
2. Determine what niche you’re trying to fill – and if it’s feasible. If you want to sell fast, make sure your photos are commercially in demand. It’s like selling meat to vegetarians – if there isn’t any demand for it, so your photos remain untouched, unbrowsed, and unbought.

Despite the success of any photo ecommerce site, one should never rest on what one has achieved – continue huffing and puffing to blow the competition away.

1. Get a Photo Storefront software system. The Internet is littered with photo storefront software systems that allows merchants to upload pictures directly to the site. Look for one that protects your photos (automatically resizes images and provides watermarks, copyright protection marks, etc). The software system should be easy to integrate with your site.
2. Optimize Pictures. If you have a license for a photo storefront software system, it should automatically resize pictures for better optimization and faster loading time. If you don’t, then it’s advisable to upload smaller-sized images. Viewers won’t have the patience for your photo to load – much more a whole gallery.
3. Be more of a person, than a business. A bit of personal information can help you attract more customers. They may be coming for your photos, but knowing the person behind the camera can enhance customer loyalty and increase repeat visits. Now, don’t put your whole autobiography for the world to see – a resume, a short bio, and a bit of trivia on photography and you will do your reputation good.
4. Provide credit card processing (get a merchant account, free or otherwise).It’s a fact of life – the plastic card gives people the power to shop, and satisfy their impulses. Make it easier for them to purchase your photos, and faster for you to reconcile your accounts.
5. Customer reviews and ratings. This one doesn’t just apply to photopreneurs, it applies to anyone who has an an ecommerce site or a business. Allow your customers to rate or review your pictures. Customers are more trusting of other customers who make reviews – in fact, a big percentage of shoppers’ decision depend on those reviews.

It doesn’t matter what you sell – if you sell yarn balls for cats, or landscape photos, or you do business to business transactions, constantly improving your services, products and your ecommerce site is crucial to your survival in the business world.

After all, there’s always room for improvement.

Sell that photo! Make Money with a Photography eCommerce Site

So you’ve got your camera, and a couple of years studying in an Art school for your photography degree. Or maybe you’re a hobbyist who’s had years of experience shooting frames since childhood and would like to set out into the big, lucrative world of selling photographs.

Luckily for you, the Internet has made it easier for  photopreneurs to sell their photos and services.  Customers can pick out the photo they want in an instant and you get fast money no matter the location it came from.

There are 2 major ways for photographers to sell photos online:

1. sign up for a photo database and sell your photos
2. get a website up and running and sell your photos

Signing up for a photo database is easy – just look for one and upload your photos, and they’ll do all the necessary security measures so your photos won’t get stolen(or worse, resold without your permission) – in return for a certain percentage of the sale.

For the more adventurous ones, settling for a photo database is not an option. A website is the way to go.

Sell stock photos on your website
Companies have always loved stock photos – it rids them the hassle of arranging for photo sessions for their photo requirements. Stock photos are photographs bought or licensed for  agreed-upon conditions.
Whether it’s for a website or a company brochure, photographers have made money from stock photos.

Consider these tips when selling stock photos online:

1. Consider your market – what do your customers want? In fact, who are your customers? Get to know them and always consider their potential requirements so you can sell photos easier and faster.
2. Pricing is crucial – It’s a cut-throat market out there and pricing is important. However, this shouldn’t make you tag your services at poor prices. Your photos should be worth their prices, and if you can’t help it, please don’t discount your photos.
3. Portfolio – aside from your website, you should have a separate website to showcase your other works outside of stock photography. You’ll never know who’s looking at your site or what word-of-mouse can do to your business.
4. Develop your specialty – stock photography isn’t limited to landscape, or business photos. It encompasses travel, architecture, people, portrait, etc.
5. Secure your photos – It has happened more than once – photos ripped from the photographer’s site, and claimed by someone else. Protect your works of art with watermarks, uploading just thumbnails (and providing ways to legit customers to view the whole photo without compromising security)

Like all ecommerce sites, you should also provide credit card processing via a merchant account (free or otherwise). Providing payment options for your customers can increase revenue, and commit customers to come back for more photos.

Don’t feel blue when your photos don’t sell – it requires a great deal to sell your photos online, and we’ve just started tackling this issue. There are still a lot you can do to your website to engage your customers to purchase. In the meantime, you might want to start practicing and reviewing the photos you’d like to sell. In fact, try to visit other sites to get an idea on what they’re doing right and assimilate those ideas when you start your own site.

Lights, Camera, Sales: Tips to Better Photos for your Ecommerce Site

Describe cotton to a man born blind.

Difficult eh? Without the sense of sight, it would be pretty difficult to describe something with just your words. Because sometimes, words just aren’t enough. For ecommerce sites, words are never enough(although they can be powerful). You can’t sell something and not have your customers complaining because don’t see any photos. It’s like a man groping in the dark.

Having photos on your site is a good way to increase the attraction factor of your products. What a person can’t see (or even imagine) can’t be bought. Now don’t start getting your camera phones and get trigger happy – read these tips to better photos and see how much orders you’ll be getting!

Composition
Composition is basically, what the picture is composed of: a bag, a shoe or a nice set of china plates you’d like to sell online. Your products should be free of clutter. Merchants are guilty of adding unnecessary objects in the frame(the photo) that they get customer comments like, “so what is it really you’re selling?”. Believe you me, this will account for low order volume despite the flowery descriptions attached to the photo. Simple is always good. Start with a solid color background – no flowery wallpapers, the focus shifts to the background rather than the product.

Action Shots
Sometimes people can’t fathom their reasons for buying a product. However, when you try to put a photo of the product in action – say a woman wearing the garment instead of just a pasty cold mannequin – then they can imagine themselves wearing the garment. Or imagine a nice set of china plates set on a welcoming table – does wonders for sales.

Lighting
The attraction factor increases big time when lighting is good – no, Great! Look at the models on your magazines – effective lighting transforms them from drab dolls to good looking people – and helps skin tone too. In any case, harsh, unthought of lighting produces ugly photos and ugly products. If you don’t have the dough to get lighting equipment, shoot your photos outside(natural lighting) during the early hours and the last few hours of the day. During these hours, lighting is soft and warm.

Close up
Never put up photos taken from afar – unless they’re action shots vital to the product at hand. Close ups of the different parts of the product (close up of the china pattern, or a handle on a bag), are appreciated by customers very very much.

Points of View
Aside from the close ups, try to add different angles of the product. Shoot from the right, or the left, but don’t try to shoot from radical angles often perpetuated by other ecommerce sites. If it’s for art’s sake, fine, but this is ecommerce, and you want your customers to buy and use your product – not stare at it.

User Generated photos
Encourage your customers to submit photos of their newly-bought items and you not only enhance customer loyalty, you also make your products more REAL. A real merchant who ships products and has actual customers.

It’s easy to set aside photos as a means to increase sales, but as the saying goes, pictures speak a thousand words. You don’t have to hire professional photographers to shoot the products – you can do so yourself. It may sound overwhelming, but with a few tweaks, tricks and useful tips, you can have amazing photos for your ecommerce site.

Free Merchant Account Requirement: A Solid Return Policy Part 2

“No Sale is Ever Final”

I’ve seen quite a few receipts come my way with that exact statement. For consumers around the world, seeing this statement is a testament to the good return policy of the merchant store – however, for merchants, this statement is not always to their benefit. Movies have depicted women buying clothes from stores and returning the garments the next day with the tag carefully intact even after wearing the garments. Too bad for merchants, good for abusive consumers.

This is precisely the reason not all return policies are created equal – and not all products are available for refund. There are also certain kinds of product exceptions. Included are the following:

• Perishable items such as food, plants, flowers (cmon, would you return a flower a day after you bought it?)

• Products marked as “as is”, “clearance item sales are final”, etc.

• If the product has already been used or damaged after purchase.

• Customized products received as described, and as ordered

• Products returned in an altered state

• Products which can no longer be resold due to health considerations (think syringes, or spoiled food)

For these products, all sales are final. If you have a product included in the list, then it’s exempted from the return policy.

In line with this, if your return policy does not warrant a money/product return or exchange, then the law stipulates that your return policy be posted prominently throughout the store. This serves as a reminder to customers that your products cannot be returned nor exchanged. It’s the same as posting a no return no exchange sign. Although it can certainly affect revenue, it will protect you from malicious-minded customers.

Post your refund policy at the following spots:

• Signs at the cashier and check out counter for physical stores

• Prominent text signs on your site prior to check out

• At the Entrance of the store (or the landing page of your site)

• Price Tags are a good place to put a short reminder of your return policy

• Fitting rooms

• Order forms

Since not all return policies are created equal (in fact the law allows certain liberties provided you post your refund policy as a reminder), there are various kinds of return policies. It’s up to the merchant whether his or her return policy is fair to the customer and can help grow the business. Just a reminder that all return policies should be concise, clear, and state the time duration and related conditions.

No return, exchange only
Customers can have the product exchanged for another product in the store. The product should be in such a condition to be resold, and not damaged unless received as such.

Refunds
Customers can return the item and have their money back (even credit card payments).

All sales are final
This normally appears for sale items and perishable items. All items are sold as is (as described, photographed, etc) without any chance of return or exchange.

Store Credit
Customer returns item, and instead of getting a certain product, it is charged as store credit in the name of the customer that can be spent in the store.

Free merchant Account providers require a good solid return policy posted on your site or presented on paper. If you don’t have one, then by all means, get a legal eagle to write it down. It’s not just about protecting yourself. A good return policy should be able to protect you against unnecessary expenses of return and exchanges, but also mirror the confidence you have in your products – which then reflects an increase in customer purchases(and eventually a decrease in returns & exchanges).

Free Merchant Account Requirement: A Solid Return Policy Part 1

“What’s your return policy?”

Every successful business has one thing in common: a good and solid return policy. It may come as a surprise to many, but return policies are one of the most important deciding factors for shoppers. Supposing you have a physical retail store or an online one, a return policy can either encourage or discourage a visitor to become a customer.

When applying for a free merchant account, a return policy is also required.

What is a Return Policy?
Check out the sales receipt from the store next door – a return policy is always printed at the bottom. A return policy is a policy indicating what kind of action customers can make in the event a certain product or service is not in the condition stated or described. It also indicates whether returns will be in cash, store credit, or exchange, as well as if the return will be in full amount(of the returned product), time period (i.e. within 7 days of receipt), and what kinds of products are under the return policy.

Every store has to have a return policy. If you have a retail store, it’s important for your customer to know that he or she can return the product given an instance of dissatisfaction. A return policy also signifies the store’s faith in its product – if it doesn’t work, give it back and we’ll give back your money. A return policy can also increase customer confidence and subsequently, earn you more customers in the long run. Authors who sell ebooks online almost always say, “you have 30 days to give me back my ebook, and for me to return your money – given that you aren’t fully satisfied with my product”. A belief is then perpetuated by the author – or the store that indeed its product is working, fully refundable within the given time period.

A solid return policy is much more important these days to online stores. It’s vital to the customer that in the event of damage, or any dissatisfaction on their part, they can return the product. Remember, online shoppers cannot physically hold or see the product – they are just basing their purchase on the essential information given by the merchant – through pictures and other descriptions provided.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has a civil code section dedicated to return policies (which means it’s imperative you have one for your business). Here are the basic rules of Return Policies as condensed from the Civil Code section 1724 from the Deparment Of Consumers Affairs.

• Each store can create its own set of return policies (return and exchange). Remember that liberal return policies can attract more customers for keeps.

• Whatever way the consumer pays – cash, check or credit card – nonsale items can be exchanged. And some of them will give out cash or credit returns.

• Note that sale items, although not all, are nonrefundable and nonexchangeable.

• In the event the item to be exchanged has a higher value than the one it is exchanged for, stores may require you to spend the remaining value in the store.

• Return policies with stipulations other than the ones written above must post their return policies conspicuously throughout the store, or on the site so as to notify the customer before any purchase is made(and to cut back on all the hassles of returning nonreturnable and nonexchangeable items)

Free Merchant Account Providers know the importance of a Good Return Policy. Although it’s required, not all return policies reflect the same conditions as the one next door. Choose what conditions you want and clearly define them, to protect you – and of course, your customers.