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Another realtor story.

Malkin

New Member
... when our credit card machine comes in this week, they'll be doing it that way from now on.

Little off-topic, but have you really gone this long with no credit card machine?
Or maybe the old one was fried or ditched. I can't imagine going for more than about 24hrs without it.
 

Techman

New Member
Lose payment of $600 on just one job.. Just one 600 bux job payment and see how stupid it is not to get a deposit. I let just one get bye for the first time in years and got the pipe for it.

Never ever again. Never again will a job get out of my place without a deposit and payment before install. If someone is so arrogant that they refuse to give a deposit then they are arrogant enough to pull a rip off.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
:thread

Little off-topic, but have you really gone this long with no credit card machine?
Or maybe the old one was fried or ditched. I can't imagine going for more than about 24hrs without it.

Honestly, we only got a credit card machine for the first time not long after joining s101. Many of the members here pay by credit card, so to speed things up and make it easier on everyone, we got set up for it. After a few months, the costs became so enormous we looked for another supplier. In the end, our costs were far greater to have the machine in use, so we investigated new prospects with each new one being a bigger liar than the previous supplier. The last guy came in, took our money, has charged us for the services.... and never hooked anything up. He won't return calls or anything.

Anyway, we just got new equipment in last week and the girl said she'd be out Thursday morning to hook us up and run me through it.

Personally, I have one credit card for a second ID and getting gasoline. I despise credit cards, but they seem to be a necessary evil.
So, we should be up and running with ours by tomorrow afternoon. Whoopie :clapping:
 

royster13

New Member
I did not say be stupid with credit......I looked back over 11 years since I started this incarnation of my business and my written off accounts are .37%......Not enough in my mind to get concerned about......
 

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
Personally, I have one credit card for a second ID and getting gasoline. I despise credit cards, but they seem to be a necessary evil.
So, we should be up and running with ours by tomorrow afternoon. Whoopie :clapping:


Unfortunately they are. Can't do almost anything in advance without have a credit card or a debit card. Debit cards are in a sense better for the person with the card as far as spending goes, but if that card info gets around then you could be wiped out. All boils down to picking your own poison.
 

Circleville Signs

New Member
Hey Gino - You should have looked into Square. Simple, easy, no contracts, and the fees are really reasonable - especially considering that in our line of work we are taking quite a few business and P-cards....
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
The girl is coming in tomorrow to set us up. My wife set everything in motion and I'm under the impression, there are no fees whatsoever as long as we buy the machine out-right. Per sale will be a very minimal charge, in fact, less than normal suppliers according to my wife. Whether we do or don't use the machine.... no charges. We'll see. :rolleyes:
 

Locals Find!

New Member
Gino, did you try talking with your bank? I would assume you have been using the same bank for years and are doing a fair amount of business with them. Most banks if you have a good account history and lots of money in their hands will give you some pretty amazing deals on credit card processing, payroll service etc... its all about keeping you loyal and your money in their bank.
 

GoodPeopleFlags

New Member
We get deposits or cc# on every order except for government offices that have to give out POs. We don't extend credit - we are not a bank!
 

Techman

New Member
You can get a great CC machine from ebay for about 1/3 of what they charge. It is programed over the phone line for your business in about 30 seconds. I obtained a Trans with printer and extended swiper keypad for 100 bux a while ago..
 

BargainSigns

New Member
name me one, serious, national company that will produce a retail product without payment. I cant get a .99¢ McDouble without paying first, I dont expect walmart to invoice me for the TV i just walked out of the store with... if its not paid for, I expect them to be calling the cops. If I want custom cabinets from lowes I have to pay a upfront to place the order. Why should signs be the exception?


I agree. The only people that won't leave a deposit were not serious in the first place! My existing customers were told of the new policy and nobody had a problem with it. We started it about 4 years ago. I get a deposit on layouts. You want me to do a layout for free so you can shop it???? No thanks!
 

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
Churches, charities, governments, and realtors pay up front. Especially churches and realtors.
 

SD&F

New Member
I appreciate honesty and that is how I run the business. I still get 50% upfront and will work out short terms with large customers or the government. I do ask for a PO if possible. I could not afford to lose .37%, that is a load of money. I am glad it works for some people, but unfortunately it would not work for us. The more flexible you are the more flexible you will become as the day wears on....pretty soon you don't know what the heck happened. I am currently negotiating % and charges on my cc transactions.
 

TyrantDesigner

Art! Hot and fresh.
Everything we do here is either deposit, person and/or vehicle/substrate/whatever at the shop to get work done. When I started here, the stack of just cut graphices was 3 feet tall .. i measured it since I was shocked it was that high .... since then we have no debts owed for graphics not produced ... have some people get ticked we won't just cut for them ... but that is the breaks.

shouldn't really say no debts ... final payment I have one. had one person pick some stuff up and the boss lady let it slide out the door without payment ... the dick still comes in every few months wanting to get work done, i pull out the invoice and ask 'Is this paid yet?" ... i get the standard reply of 'yeah, we paid with a check' ... only he never paid ... if he paid with a check, and has the date on it I can easily track that back ... but to that would be if he paid it ... told him to clear it up with the boss lady ... never been done and until then I've told him he's not gonna be able to get work done without giving me some sort of information on when he paid it, how he paid it and who he paid it to ... especially since it was just me and the boss lady when he supposedly paid it and i never took the check. ... also never took it up with the boss lady. his loss I suppose.
 

Colin

New Member
Had one person pick some stuff up and the boss lady let it slide out the door without payment ... the dick still comes in every few months wanting to get work done, i pull out the invoice and ask 'Is this paid yet?" ... i get the standard reply of 'yeah, we paid with a check' ... only he never paid ... if he paid with a check, and has the date on it I can easily track that back ... but to that would be if he paid it ... told him to clear it up with the boss lady ... never been done and until then I've told him he's not gonna be able to get work done without giving me some sort of information on when he paid it, how he paid it and who he paid it to ... especially since it was just me and the boss lady when he supposedly paid it and i never took the check. ... also never took it up with the boss lady.

I think you said "boss lady" too many times.

:Big Laugh
 

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
I think you said "boss lady" too many times.

Only if it's not pronounced Caribbean style with the accent on the 'Y' in 'lady'. As in 'boss laydEE'.

Since, in this patois, most every term is doubled, as in "Throw toss the stone rock at the woman laydee", 'boss lady' is just another double.
 

Tigertron

New Member
Unfortunately they are. Can't do almost anything in advance without have a credit card or a debit card. Debit cards are in a sense better for the person with the card as far as spending goes, but if that card info gets around then you could be wiped out. All boils down to picking your own poison.

Anything can be "evil" if abused. Resist the temptation to carry a balance and you will be getting paid by the cc company. I filter over $60k through my cc each year and i get enough points and miles to go on vacation for free. I gave my daughter a $100 gift card for her birthday from points I accumulated. The merchant is the one getting the worse end of the deal except they don't have to do the collections and are guaranteed to be paid. Which is the concern here. So cc companies take the risk for a fee. I'm fine with that.

As for being wiped out, you can't. Your liability is regulated by law. It is way safer than cash. I have about $100k in credit limit on the three credit cards I carry and if my wallet is stolen and each card maxed out I'm out $150, if that. If I had $1000 in my wallet it's gone. No way to ever find out where it went or any hope to get it back. Even if I lost the wallet and someone picked it up 9 out of 10 would keep the money.

For me cash is way too risky.
 

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
As for being wiped out, you can't. Your liability is regulated by law.

Well, I know the in-laws that were wiped out because of their debit card and someone getting a hold of it. They also had an over-draft protection on it, so when the person that got the info had drained one account, the over-draft protection kicked in and it went into the other account. The first one was wiped out and they are still dealing with the bank on getting that resolved.

I'm sure it will be resolved in their favor, but it's the red tape of this small local bank that really a pain in the butt.

That isn't worth the headache to use a debit versus a credit card.

I don't carry a balance, charges show up and they get taken care of. Mainly it's a source of not having to lug cash around and convenience. My cc doesn't have points, my debit card did, but that holds no interest for me once I determined that what I was getting from it didn't really go towards anything that I would use, so that was moot as far as the debit card goes. I still have points if I recall correctly. Never used them, I'm sure some of the older points earned had expired as well. Probably should have more then what still shows up.
 
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