Archive for February, 2008
If you’re going to run any type of online business then the ability to accept payments via credit card, or through a merchant account, is critical. Why? Because people just don’t use money anymore. We live in a plastic society, as evidenced by the mounting credit card debt in the United States alone. We are a people of the philosophy, “give it to me now, I’ll pay for it later.” It is doubtful that is going to change anytime soon.
So just how do you go about getting a merchant account and what are the things you should know and look out for when doing so?
For starters, there are 3 ways to get a merchant account.
1. Get one from the bank you already deal with.
2. Use a broker or intermediary to gain your own merchant account.
3. Use a third party service.
The easiest way of course is to get one through the bank you already deal with. The problem, however, is that most large banks are reluctant to give merchant accounts to new small businesses. Many banks require up to 12 months of audited accounts of your business. If you’re just starting up, this of course, is not possible. Because of the greater risk of fraud, since the card does not have to be swiped and signed for, banks are very reluctant to give merchant accounts to new businesses. Banks are starting to come around slowly but given the economic climate of today it would probably be a better choice to get a merchant account through the second method mentioned above, and that is through a broker or intermediary.
These brokers or companies form what they call a defense between you and the bank. They will pitch your business for you and put you in the best possible light. In other words, they will try their absolute hardest to get that account for you. The best way to get approved through this method is to minimize the risk of your business as much as possible. If a broker can convince a bank that this is a good investment for them there is a much better chance of you getting the account. The best way to minimize this risk is to start off by selling low priced items, say around the $10 range. This is much less risky than trying to sell an item that goes for several thousand or even hundred dollars. Another way to show minimal risk is to show that you’re financially solvent, that you don’t have a lot of debt, that your mortgage is paid, etc. This will make you very attractive to a bank. Also, including guarantees with your products is another way to make you look more attractive to a bank. With all of the above, if you do get accepted, you will also find that you get a much better rate.
The third way to get a merchant account is to use a third party service. In this case you don’t actually get your own merchant ID but use the merchant account of another company. This is actually the easiest of the 3 methods as it usually takes only minutes and is many times free or can be gotten for a small fee, but there is a negative side to going this route.
Where with getting your own merchant account you are paid in 24 to 48 hours, with third party accounts it can take up to 28 days to get paid depending on what company you are dealing with. Clickbank for example pays every 15 days or twice a month.
Another negative, and this is a big one, is that the fees charged by third party companies are much higher than fees charged by banks. For example, Clickbank charges around 12.5% for each transaction on average. Most banks charge around 5%. This can really eat into your profits.
Also there is the problem that when dealing with a third party company you are sending visitors to THEIR web site and therefore are not as much in control of things as with your own bank. This makes you look less professional in the eyes of your customer.
Because of all of the above it is recommended that you use a third party company as a last resort.
Yes, getting a merchant account is great for doing business online. But as you can see getting one is not as easy as it looks. So spend considerable time on this part of setting up your business. It could mean the difference between making a profit and not.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Merchant Accounts
Tags: merchant accounts
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To those people who do not wish to pop pills to kill pain, this is a good and effective method to consider when a headache comes on.
The fingers of our hands and toes of our feet are mapped to our head by meridians running through the body. The right hand and its fingers are associated with the right half including the neck and head. Similarly the left hand and fingers are associated with the left half of the body including the neck and head. The same applies to the feet.
If the fingers of the hand were placed in front of the face with the palm facing away from the face, you can determine the relationship between each finger with each of the 10 zones or meridians on the head. The thumbs associate with the center of the head. The index fingers a little distance away to the left and the right, over the inside of the eyes. The middle fingers toward the center/outer edge of the eyes. The ring fingers near the temples. And the baby fingers associate with the left and right edges of the head and ears.
When we have a headache one effective technique is to use the clothes peg, preferably the wooden ones, if they can still be found. Alternatively, if you can find some kind of clip that doesn’t apply too much pressure that it blocks the blood flow, you can use that too.
Knowing the association between the fingers and the zones or meridians on the head, you can use the pegs on specific fingers to deal with the ache in a specific location of the head. If the headache is on the right side of the body, over the eye or behind the eye, place the clothes peg on the index and middle fingers of the right hand and leave it on for as long as possible. The continuous pressure has a sedative effect and would eventually block the pain.
If it is a diffused headache on one side of the head, use the pegs on all the fingers of the same side, i.e. for right half of the head, place pegs on the fingers of the right hand, and for the left half, on the fingers of the left hand.
Take a short nap and by the time you rise, you’ll find that the headache is gone! A few years back, the mother of a colleague had a headache for several days, which started with the flu but did not go away when the flu left. I suggested this method. She used the pegs on all the fingers of one hand at first and took a nap. When she woke up, she found that one side of her head was no longer painful. Then she placed the pegs on the other hand, took another short rest and a few hours later found that she was finally head-ache-free!
Azizah A R has a great thirst for knowledge, particularly in Alternative Therapies and loves to share her findings and tips in this fascinating world of Natural Medicine. If you would like to benefit from this generous sharing of information, visit http://www.pathtonaturalhealing.com and sign up for her newsletter.
Tags: Headache, Headache Cure, Diffused Headache
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Having headache is annoying and sometimes it is difficult for us to avoid. Mostly when we are under pressure, headache appeared automatically. If it gets worse, we might faint due to the pain we felt.
A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head. It can also attack at our upper back or neck. There are different types of headache, but most of the time headache brought on by stress, too long in front of computer, noise and others.
One of the main causes of headache is tension in the muscles of the neck, scalp and jaw. We usually deal with it by taking some sleep or consume over-the counter aspirin to release our pain. However, can we do this at any place?
Obviously, we cannot sleep at the office or at the mall. In addition, we might run of aspirin when headache strike us.
Do not worry! The easiest way to handle headache and we can do it everywhere is through massage. Massage is the practice of applying pressure or vibration to the soft tissues of the body, to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, improve circulation and relieve tension.
When we suffer from headache, we can help ourselves with self-massage. Simple and everybody can do it, either at work or home.
Here are four easy ways in massage to heal our headache.
1. Eyes Area Massage — Close your eyes. Place your middle fingers to your eyes that are above cheekbones. Massage that area gently but firmly in circular motion for 1 minute.
2. Eyes to Nose Massage - Using thumb, go along the underside of eyebrows (along the bone on top of eye socket). Feel where this bone meets the bridge of your nose and eyes and find a point where there is a small indentation. Very gentle pressure, press your thumbs into the points. You can do it four times by holding and press that area for 10 seconds in each press.
3. Neck Massage — Massage a point where you can feel it by moving the middle fingers of your hands to the back of your head and feel the base of your skull. Specially, at the tops of your neck that meets the base of your skull. Massage for a minutes using finger tips gentle in circular movement.
4. Scalp Massage - Let your palms of your hands massage your scalp on the top of your skull for a minute gently.
Once you have done all those massages, start taking a deep breath. Lift your shoulders towards your ears for five to 10 seconds to relief remaining pain, and then let them drop back down into their natural position.
You are going to feel better when you can do that for a couple of times. Your massage will relief your headache and your head will feel less weighty.
About the author: Riana D. Lance writes about health in some publications. Twice a week she informs her health tips and knowledge in a newsletter. Subscribe to get your free twice a week newsletters so you can stay healthy for the rest of your life from http://www.heathifica.com.
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