You need a gift but not sure what you want, or where to go to find this gift?
Why not shop online?
Shopping online has many benefits. You can look for a specific item or view hundreds of items from the comfort of your home.
You have a much better selection online than in the malls and the prices are usually lower than they are in these stores.
If you are trying to locate a hard to find item, you chances of finding it are much higher searching online, than it is running from one store to the next looking without any guarantee that you will find what you want.
There is no traffic to fight, no crowds to contend with, and shopping online line is now as safe as using your credit cards in the stores if not safer.
Where do you shop? Not only are the big mall stores now online, but you have individual smaller shops and sellers that can offer you a larger selection of toys and gifts.
Smaller sites have to compete with the larger stores and in most cases can cut you a better deal.
Never hesitate to contact one of the smaller stores if you are going to make a bulk purchase or if the item you are wanting is expensive. Many times this will pay off. This is something that the larger store won't even consider.
Can't you just see the expression on the sales clerk's face at Sears, or JC Penny's if you were to ask them to cut you a deal. I bet you don't get very far at all.
For those that are skeptical using a credit card online, there are several options that you can consider.
Prepaid credit cards that you can add just the amount needed to make your purchase. I have a friend that uses this method of payment. She shops for what she wants, then purchases a prepaid credit card in the amount needed. Goes back to where she found the product, uses the credit card.
She feels if something is amiss with the site she uses the card at, then they will only have the credit card number. The card will have a 0 balance so she is safe. If she wants to use it again then she repeats her steps the same way. Even if someone has the card number, they would have to know when she adds funds and since she is using it immediately they don't have a chance to hit the card up before she does.
Using one of the payment methods online like Google or Paypal is about as safe as one can get when making payments online.
- ACH payments are electronic credit and debit transfers, allowing customers to make payments from their bank accounts for utilities, mortgage loans, and other types of bills. ACH stands for Automated Clearing House and most payment processors offer ACH payment options to their customers, especially for monthly- and subscription-based transactions. Most payment solutions use ACH to send money (minus fees) to their customers.
- A merchant account is a bank account that allows a customer to receive payments through credit or debit cards. Merchant providers are required to obey regulations established by card associations. Many processors (such as the ones listed below) act as both the merchant account as well as the payment gateway.
- A payment gateway allows merchants to securely pass credit card information between the customer and the merchant and also between merchant and the payment processor. The payment gateway is the middleman between the merchant and their sponsoring bank.
- A payment processor is the company that a merchant uses to handle credit card transactions. Payment processors implement anti-fraud measures to ensure that both the front-facing customer and the merchant are protected.
- PCI compliance is when a merchant or payment gateway sets their payment environment up in a way that meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS standard was created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to increase security of cardholder data and to reduce fraud.
1. Authorize.Net Authorize.Net is the Internet’s most widely used payment gateway. With a user base of over 300,000 merchants, Authorize.Net has been the go-to method for e-commerce sitesthat need a gateway to accepting payments. Widely used e-commerce platforms such as Magento, Volusion and X-Cart are designed to accept payments using Authorize.Net easier.
Pricing: Authorize.Net has a $99 setup fee, costs $20 per month and takes a $0.10 per-transaction fee. Source: Authorize.Net pricing
2. PayPal PayPal is the world’s most widely used payment acquirer, processing over $4 billion in payments in 2011. PayPal payments are made using a user’s existing account or with a credit card. Money can be sent directly to an email address, thus prompting the users to sign up for a new PayPal account. In addition to taking payments, PayPal also allows its users to send money through the service, which is a feature that only a few payment solutions provide.
Pricing: PayPal takes 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and has no setup or monthly fees. Source: PayPal merchant fees
3. Google Checkout Google Checkout is Google’s answer to PayPal. Google Checkout allows users to pay for goods and services through an account connected to their Google profile. The major benefit that Google Checkout has over the competition is that millions of Internet users use Google for other services, making a purchase through Checkout a simpler process.
Pricing: Google Checkout fees start at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for sales less than $3,000. The percentage they take goes down depending on monthly sales volume. Source: Google Checkout fees
4. Amazon Payments Amazon Payments allows its users to receive money using its API (and to send money out via ACH). Popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter uses Amazon Payments.
Pricing: Amazon Payments fees start at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for payments over $10 (the percentage they take is less for larger transactions). For payments under $10, the fee is 5.0% + $0.05 per transaction. Source: Amazon Payments fees
third-party payments space, the company is processing over $1 million per day.
Setting up Dwolla payments is similar to PayPal, although Dwolla doesn’t have the
same name recognition as their competition.
Pricing: There are no fees for transactions less than $10. For transactions over $10, Dwolla charges $0.25 per transaction. Source: Dwolla fees
6. Stripe Stripe provides an excellent payment solution for web developers who would like to integrate a payment system into their projects using Stripe’s robust API. By bypassing the traditional sign up process, Stripe acts as a merchant account for its providers, handling all PCI compliance and merchant approvals.
Pricing: Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction with no setup or monthly fees. Source: Stripe: pricing
7. Braintree Braintree is an online payment gateway and merchant account solution known for working with popular tech startups such as Airbnb and LivingSocial.
Pricing: Braintree has a $35 monthly fee (with a $75 monthly minimum). Transaction fees start at 2.29% + $0.30 per transaction for qualified cards. Source: Pricing – Braintree
8. Samurai by FeeFighters Samurai is a payment gateway and merchant account solution. The company’s main product, FeeFighters, is a tool to help merchants compare rates for merchant accounts. Samurai was developed as a direct competitor to Braintree and other gateway/merchant solutions and offers customers a payment gateway or a gateway/merchant account package.
Pricing: For their gateway/merchant solution, Samurai takes 2.3% of all sales volume, costs $25 per month and charges a $0.30 fee per transaction. Source: Samurai by FeeFighters pricing
9. WePay WePay is a payment processor that allows Internet merchants to accept credit cards and bank account payments online. WePay seems to be focused on the individual user, and has recently added e-store pages to their service to help their customers conveniently take in payments (e.g. event tickets, products, donations and so forth) through their service.
Pricing: WePay charges a 3.5% transaction fee (with a $0.50 minimum) for credit card transactions and $0.50 for bank payments, with no setup or monthly costs. Source:WePay fees
10. 2Checkout 2Checkout is another payment processor that combines a merchant account and payment gateway into one, allowing customers to receive credit card payments as well as PayPal payments. The company offers international payments, shopping cart stores as well as a recurring billing feature.
Pricing: 3.99% (if you apply by May 1, 2012), a $0.45 transaction fee and $10.99 monthly service fee. Pricing and fees – 2Checkout
Other Noteworthy Payment Systems
Here are other online payment systems I think you should also check out:
- Serve (by American Express)
- V.me (by Visa)
- clearXchange (by Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo)
While you are out shopping be sure and check out our online store.
http://www.KidsToysNGifts.com
We offer the ultimate selection for toys and gifts for kids of all ages.
Bedding, clothing, dolls, X-treme scooters, skateboards, Melissa and Doug Toys, educational toys, X-box 360, Nintendo, laptop computers, RC toys and much more.
We created our store with a sense of humor. Added receipes and handy tips as well.
We accept PayPal only since they are the safest method online.
We are a brand new store but have ratings on Ebay under our company name. Okies Deals
Hope to see you there soon.
