Accept Credit Card Payments Online

Having your own online business saves a lot on your start up and operational costs as compared to business with a physical location. Most businesses these days accept credit cards online to expand customer base and increase sales volume. Businesses that accept credit card payments online have sales that are 50-400% more than businesses that do not accept credit card payments.

In case you decide to accept credit card payments online, you'll have a choice to apply for a traditional merchant account at any of the local bank and get accepted or you can use one of the numerous credit card processing companies that operate online and are looking for online businesses. Many of the card processing providers you can use online allow you to set up your website for accepting credit cards with no set up fees.

When you just start an online business, you are probably not ready to get any credit card processing provider that requires you process a minimum number of transactions each month. It is better to pay a slightly higher per-transaction fee than to pay a higher monthly fee in exchange for a lower per-transaction fee based on a minimum number of cards processed each month.

Benefits that you will get when you accept credit card payments online:

* Sales will increase: Credit card customers buy 2.5 times more merchandise than customers who pay cash.
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* To attract the impulse buyer: Credit cards give the customers freedom to spend for previously unplanned merchandise.

* To move expensive merchandise: Credit card customers are often less conscious of slight price differences, and will seek out the businesses that offer credit rather than the discounter or wholesaler who does not offer credit purchases.

* Larger volume: Offering Credit Cards helps you achieve higher unit sales and extra orders.

* Steadier sales: Offering Credit cards can help smooth out the business 'ups and downs', cash shoppers tend to buy heavier only on paydays and just before holidays; credit customers buy whenever the need arises.

* Credit card issues: Of around 280 million North Americans, 150 million have Visa, 95 million have MasterCard, 40 million have Discover and 25 million have American Express. 80% of all Credit Cards are Visa and MasterCard.

Zed Miller, an expert business writer, regularly contributes his articles to various websites just to help merchants, small businesses and retail houses to expand their market base by accepting the prevailing mode of payments.

Existing Home Sales Drop

he sales of existing homes decreased in May with the median price of homes leveling out to a relatively normal rate.

Total existing home sales were down slightly by 1.2% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.67 million units in May, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The sales were 6.6% lower than May of 2005, when sales were at the 7.14 million-unit level.

The national median price of an existing home was up by 6.0% to $230,000. Last May, the median was at $127,000.

The surplus levels of existing homes on the market increased by 5.5% to 3.60 million homes for sale. The number represents a 6.5 month supply at the current sales rate.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales grew 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 852,000 units in May. Condo and coop sales remain 6.6% under the unit pace of May 2005, when sales hit 912,000.

The median price of an existing condominium was up 1.9% at $229,300 in May, when compared to one year ago.

Single-family home sales were down 1.5% when compared to April sales, and 6.6% lower than May of 2005.

The price of the median existing single-family home was up 6.4% to $229,700 when compared to May of 2005.

Sales declined in both the Northeast and Midwest, but increased slightly in the South and West regions of the nation.