Make it Easy for People to Pay You
Lets say you have just polished up your latest publication, have pdf’d it, designed a great eCover and have crafted a nifty sales page.
Have you thought about how people are going to pay you?
Sometimes keeping it simple (you know, the KISS principle) gets the job done.
That’s why I’m a big fan of PayPal for just the basic sales (obviously if you have affiliates involved you’re onto another level … and another post). Why go to all the trouble, and expense, of setting up a complicated e-commerce system when there’s something out there that gets the job done, is by far the market leader and most people feel comfortable with.
Let’s use me as a sample case. Last year I had 3 ePublications (I also consulted and ghosted on a few others) out there and made I think, 238 sales. Guess how many were completed by PayPal? 238. Guess how many chargebacks I had? Zero.
Now, I understand that there’s this love/hate relationship with PayPal (a few PayPal Sucks sites are doing the rounds) but settle back and take a look at it through pure business eyes.
The numbers speak for themselves and taking on credit card payments (as one MUST do these days) almost guarantees your share of scammers and those out for a freebie will eventually cross your path - doesn’t matter if you’re online or in a bricks and mortor outlet.
Yes, you will come up against chargebacks and possible fraudulent behavior and yes, we may snicker about the fees - but anybody who has had a traditional merchant account would know - that’s just part of doing business.
Personally, I feel PayPal’s fees are quite reasonable - others may disagree (and please do so in the comments).
But making the customer feel as comfortable as possible about paying you (the ultimate priority in closing a virtual sale) and you’re most of the way there to another successful sale.
I would love to hear of your experiences - good and bad - with PayPal.
7 Responses to “Make it Easy for People to Pay You”
By Melonie K. Murray (SmallBizMentor.com) on Jun 7, 2006 | Reply
I used to think PayPal was just for folks using eBay (this was also back when I had juuuust heard of blogging!). Since I am neither a buyer nor a seller on eBay, I felt like I was one of the few folks left on Earth that didn’t have a PayPal account. I finally started one, because I had to have it in order to be a member of AssociatedContent (they paid only by PayPal at the time; this may have changed since). I have used the account one time thus far, to receive an e-check from a client for a marketing consultation. That experience was surprisingly easy. I’m looking forward to finding out if the system is all it’s cracked up to be by the folks who’ve told me so many times that I “must” have PayPal. We’ll see!
By Martin Neumann on Jun 7, 2006 | Reply
Melonie,
Actually PayPal (started in 1998) was around before eBay. eBay purchased PayPal I think in Oct 2002.
I can’t say anything bad about them because I’ve never had a bad experience with them. I know others have though.
The reason for my liking them is because they’ve become the de-facto standard - they have some 100 million accounts holders and they have a very high brand recognition.
And when you’re selling information products everything (trust, credibility) helps in closing the sale.
Would love to hear the experiences of others - I’m not interested in the eBay aspect though.
By maxon on Jun 8, 2006 | Reply
PayPal is the only way to pay for pro account at Flickr. But i can’t do it cause i live in Ukraine. And PayPal doesn’t operate here in UA and doesn’tsupport Visa cards from Ukrainian banks. Actually PayPal supports payments only in near 30 countries. So the rest of the world is out of the play and can’t buy ur products if u’r using PP.
By Liz Strauss on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
What a great article, Martin. Now I know where you’ve been. You’re really on a roll. Aren’t you? This is going to be fun to warch!
By Melonie K. Murray (SmallBizMentor.com) on Jun 10, 2006 | Reply
You’re so right, Martin: using what appears to be the industry standard is the easiest way to establish that trust with new buyers, especially for those who are just making their e-biz debut. Lots of food for thought, especially thanks to Maxon’s comments about users outside of the realm that appears acceptable to PayPal.
So…how do we cater to those customers, then, that are not able to use PayPal? Oh wait…I’m sure you already plan to address that in the future.
By Martin Neumann on Jun 12, 2006 | Reply
maxon - 30 countries does seem rather low. I’m guessing that PayPal can’t or doesn’t seem willing to extend.
I know PayPal monitors and tracks security issues quite intently - so I’m sure if they could they would. I’m guessing it’s a risk/reward thing and/or unable to sync up with the local banking system with theirs.
There are some countries that even I would not hesitate to say sorry, I can’t accept your order. I’ve seen it all with what people will do to rip off others.
I have never had any personal experience with a Ukraine customer so I can’t comment in that regard - but to me it’s a real shame. So many lost opportunities for all.
By Martin Neumann on Jun 12, 2006 | Reply
Liz - Thank you. And yep, if you can’t have fun doing this then get out is my motto … and I plan on having some fun.
Melonie - Umm, yeah, okay, Yes … I have planned something (as he desperately scrambles something together to give the perception that it’s all part of the main plan :-) )
It really is a sad situation for the likes of maxon and for the many millions (I’m sure) of reputable buyers/sellers that PayPal don’t serve. I’m wondering if they’ve put such countries in the “too hard basket” and forgotten about them?
I guess as information technology reaches further today throughout the world there will be more folks like maxon asking for the service. So there is growing demand.
It’s something I’ve never had to experience as in 5 years of selling digital products I’ve only sold to 18 countries.