EJ asked me about credit card swipers and I think we both knew about the same amount. That there were two out there that worked easily on smartphones. PayPal Reader and The Square. (Click either for signup and more info.)
So it’s 2013 and Rubber Duck thinks it is time for all the galleries and small shops to get one of these if they are still using the old paper ka-chunk machine for credit card transactions. Even the old phone swipe machines are old technology and slow. Are you going to lose sales if you don’t upgrade? Maybe. Crowded shop on Saturday and you want to spend time with the customers and they don’t want to wait in line while you either ka-chunk or use the telephone to call in a card.
Rubber Duck recommendations. What you need:
1) Smartphone. Android or iPhone both can use them. You probably already have one or you already know if you are an iPhone person or an Android person. Joey likes Androids, I like iPhones, personal choice. (Do make sure your phone version is new enough. It likely is.) There is a caveat to the iPhone. It is very easy to turn an iPad into a cash register. If you have wireless in your shop that iPad is a cash register and a credit card swiper. Clear all the old tech away and you may not need the smartphone.
2) PayPal Reader or The Square. Kind of a toss up. Both are dead simple to use once you have given them all your documentation. Rates are 2.75% or 2.7%. I hope everyone picks both then complains about the percent. Competition will drive it to a more reasonable 1.85% of the old ka-chunk. But that extra one percent is worth the convenience.
One caveat: If you already have a PayPal commercial account as a collection source I would look at their set-up first. If you are really pinching pennies The Square rebates the ten bucks you paid for it. And the deals you can get on smartphones are pretty decent lately. You don’t need the newest model iPhone 5. You can get the iPhone 4S for 99 cents when you sign the two year deal. Same kind of deals on Androids since the wicked awesome Samsung Galaxy S4 that tracks your eyeballs is coming out the S3 is/will be cheap.
Will I buy lobsters from Joey with a swipe next to the scale? Sometimes cash is the handiest and 2.7% would pay for a few rubber boots. But transactions in a gallery where the tourista only has a card and not much time, it’s a good fit. It only takes one extra impulse purchase per month to easily cover the cost.
Imagine you have a card table in front of the store with mugs. Someone walking by likes one. Swipe right there, they sign the phone with their finger, and done.
Good Morning Gloucester 