ESTABLISHING YOUR OWN VISA/MC MERCHANT ACCOUNT

ATTENTION — LEARN FROM THIS SCAM TO PROTECT YOUR SELF IN THE FUTURE!

There was an advertisement and press release that started circulating in late November 1993 from Daron Fordham, Mail Order Merchants Exchange, phone (904) 322-2607. Daron claims that you can just pick up the phone, call the phone number and his company will set you up (the same day) with a merchant account. The cost is less than $50 per month.

Daron states: “The majority of mail order dealers are losing thousands of dollars in profits because their local banks are refusing to grant them merchant accounts. Mail Order Merchants Exchange, a mail order dealer discount products and services organization, will grant VISA/MC merchant accounts to new mail order companies for a small monthly fee.”

The very first question in your mind should be “who” gave Mail Order Merchants Exchange the “legal right” to grant these merchant accounts IF banks have refused to? Does Mail Order Merchants Exchange have higher authority than a real bank? I don’t think so. Has anyone within the inner-circle heard of this guy before? I’ve been in business 7 years and I’ve never heard of him!

But before you take my word for it, take a second of your time to personally call your own bank. Ask them what you have to do in order to establish a merchant account so you can accept VISA and Mastercard orders. Explain to the bank employee that you will only be receiving orders through the mail and not as a walk-in business.

Then, after you get the specifics, ask them if you can just run a charge through another business’s merchant account? Run down the street to Kroger’s and see if they’ll charge a purchase from your customer for your product and issue you a check to buy your groceries. Sorry folks — it doesn’t work like that!

It is our job to put a STOP to this type of activity. This new type of scam could escalate into something big if we don’t. Can you just begin to imagine the problems something like this can cause?

Let’s suppose you call Daron’s phoney business (which he claims was established in 1993) and set up a merchant account. You receive an order from a customer for $100 to be charged to their VISA card for a product you sell. You give your customer’s credit card number and expiration date to Daron and he could charge whatever amount he wanted to without you or your customer knowing until it was too late.

It’s impossible to determine the extent of Daron’s full intention since Mastercard CLOSED him down. His plan might have been to “get in” and “get out” quickly, obtain credit card numbers and authorizations to charge purchases for himself — then slip out of existence for awhile. Or, perhaps, he planed to make his money from the $50 monthly fees he collected from hard-working people like you.

You know as well as I do. If you establish a merchant account today it will take a little while to let your customer’s know about it and receive your first credit card order. Daron knew this too. And during this period of time you are still paying $50 per month and waiting on customers to charge a purchase with you, But Daron is making money and planning his escape. Don’t fall for this one and take the time to warn others before they fall prey! (Note to Daron: We’re not as stupid as you think we are.)

Here are a few REAL banks that are willing to doing business with people in mail order:

• Rancho Vista National Bank, 820 Escondido Ave, Vista CA 92083, (800) 433-2460
• Bank of Oakland, 360 14th St, Oakland CA 94612, (415) 763-6834
• Charter Pacific, 30141 Agora Rd, Agora Hills CA 91301, (818) 991-8512
• Rocky Mt Bankcard Systems, Inc., 950 17th St, Ste 735, Denver CO 80202, (303) 629-7755
• American Pacific State Bank, 16912 Devonshire, Granada Hills CA 91344
• Bank of California, 400 California St, San Francisco CA 94145, (417) 765-0400 (Merchant Relations Dept.)
• United Bank of Denver, 1700 Broadway, Denver CO 80274
• Central Bank Service Corp, 309 Captain’s Walk, New London CT 06320, (203) 447-3500
• Bank of Delaware, 300 Delaware Ave, Wilmington DE 19899, (800) 722-1172
• Bank South, Atlanta, PO Box 4387, Atlanta GA 30302
• Bank of Hawaii, PO Box 2900, Honolulu HI 96846, (808) 537-8111
• First State Bank & Trust Company of Park Ridge, 607-611 W Devon Ave, Box 718, Park Ridge IL 60068, (312) 692-4114
• The Central Trust Company, 201 East Fifth St, Cincinnati OH 45202, (513)651-8253 (minimum 1 year in business)
• Ameritrust, 4169 Pearl River, Cleveland OH 44109
• Michigan Bankcard Services, PO Box 30096, Lansing MI 48917, (800) 848-3213
• American National Bank & Trust Co, 8990 W Dodge Rd, Omaha NE 68114, (800) 833-2586 (midwestern states only please)
• The National State Bank, 401 Park Ave S, Linden NJ 07036, (201) 474-1043 (business must be located in New Jersey or New York)

Processors and Independent Sales Organizations

Some believe the following firms are easier to deal with than banks. However, the fee they charge merchants to process charge cards is usually higher than the fees charged by banks.

Automated Communications & Engineering, Inc, 2367 Agate Ct, Simi Valley CA 93065 (800) 678-5667 (provides 800 and 900 number system that takes orders and provides information to cardholders. Discount rates, based on volume available. Their system can reverse chargebacks.)

• Telecredit, 6301 W Idlewild Ave, Tampa FL 33614 (813) 886-5000
• T.J. Little & Co., 54 Stiles Rd, Salem NH 03079 (603) 893-9333
• Banc One Wisconsin Bankcard Corp., 1000 N Market St, Milwaukee WI 53202 (800) 824-8870
• Bankcard System Inc., 3880 Michelson Dr, Ste 200, Irvine CA 92715 (714) 733-0707
• Electronic Credit Card Systems, 236 W Portal Ave, San Francisco CA 94127 (415) 877-1557
• R.A. Mulhern Co., Inc., 1820 East Garry, Santa Ana CA 92705 (714) 252-1445
• Bankcard Inc., 1233 Sherman Dr, Longmont CO 80501 (800) 666-7575
• National Bankcard Systems, 1800 Silas Deane Hwy, Ste 54, Rocky Hill CT 06067 (203) 563-8292

Why?

Many of you may be asking “why” mail order businesses are so discriminated against when trying to obtain a merchant account. The reason is NOT because the bank, Visa or Mastercard dislike you. The reason has nothing to do with your credibility as a human being.

The problem lies primarily in the fact that a mail order business can open and close up shop tomorrow. And if a small mail order business owner dies before a customer gets his/her bill — the customer could refuse to pay it (called a “chargeback.”) This leaves the credit card company being left in the middle to pay the bill and absorb the loss. This situation may sound like “one chance in a million” to you — but things like this happens everyday and credit card companies (as well as banks) have to protect themselves.

So don’t get mad and out to seek revenge if your bank denies you. Just find another bank that approves you. It may be difficult — but it’s not impossible. Besides, if it were extremely simple for everyone to get a merchant credit card account — anyone could set up a fake business today; have their friends charge purchases on stolen credit cards; transfer the funds into their account; withdraw it tomorrow morning and be on the way to Mexico in the afternoon!

COMPUTER INFORMATION SERIES NO. 2 OF 3

To complete your computer system purchase, you’ll need to choose the right printer for your needs. Since there is such a wide variety to choose from with prices ranging from $120 to $6,000 we need to look at what each one is, and how much it costs to operate and maintain.

Dot-Matrix Printers (obsolete technology).

Essentially obsolete with the advent of inkjet and laser printers, these printers print using a series of dots. There are 9-pin and 24-pin dot matrix printers. A 9-pin will print 9 dots per inch on your paper, where a 24-pin will print 24 dots per inch on your paper. Naturally, a 24-pin is going to make your print-out with more detail and clarity because there is more printing per inch therefore if there is only a small difference in price — you should get the 24-pin.

Dot-matrix printers don’t cost much to maintain. They use a printer ribbon similar to a typewriter ribbon at an average cost of $12 each. The ribbon has about the same life as a typewriter ribbon, so you be the judge as to how long they’ll last you.

A dot matrix printer is a perfect investment if you plan to use your computer for mailing lists and occasional writing of letters. There is also a software you can buy called “Emulaser” (purchase from TigerSoftware for $69.95 by calling 1-800-888-4437) that will make your dot matrix printer think it’s a laser printer. The print-out will almost be of the same professional quality but your printer will print much slower. (Emulaser is not recommended for older computers with a 8086 or similar processor. A minimum of a 286 or 386-based computer system is recommended)

Daisy Wheel Printers (obsolete technology).

Don’t get stuck with one of these. Remember the old IBM Selectric typewriters that used a wheel to type a character instead of a typewriter key? This is what a daisy wheel printer uses. You can NEVER print a photograph or picture and it’s not too great at drawing lines and boxes either. Besides, you can get a dot matrix printer for a much lower price and print anything you want to!

Inkjet and Bubblejet Printers.

Both of these printers use a WET ink to print onto the paper. There is no danger in smearing because the ink dries instantaneously — however, if the printed page draws moisture or something is spilled on it, you could have a few problems and have to print the page
again.

Although they are not costly to maintain, if you have a mail order business the chances of ink smearing during the mailing process is greater. Therefore, inkjet and bubblejet printers should not be used — especially for printing labels to apply to the outside of the envelope.

Laser Printers.

If you plan to do more with your computer than maintain mailing lists, keep records and write occasional letters; you will want to seriously look at purchasing a laser printer. A laser printer hardly ever wears out and is one of the best investments you can make if you’re in for the long-haul.

A laser printer is like a mini-computer. It has a memory board in it and will accumulate an entire page in it’s memory banks BEFORE it prints the page. Just like making sure you have enough RAM in your computer to operate the software, you need enough RAM in your laser printer to print a page.

How much memory do you need? If all you wanted to print was a 1-page letter containing only words you could print it on a laser printer with 512K of memory. However, if you want to print that same letter with a graphic (cartoon, photograph, lines, boxes, etc.) you would need more memory in your printer. The “safe” amount to purchase would be 1MG but we highly recommend 4MG. This way, you won’t be in any trouble when you are trying to print something that takes up 2MG of memory and you only have 1MG on your printer. If this happens, the page will not print and your computer will tell you that you have run out of room!

Laser printers print with a DRY ink (similar to a high-speed copier.) The ink comes in a cartridge and most cartridges will print 5,000 to 8,000 pages. Prices vary for purchasing cartridges but normal costs are $35 to $150 for a NEW printer cartridge. After you buy a NEW cartridge, you can have it refilled at 50% to 75% less than the price to purchase another NEW one. This saves you money on future purchases and also helps our environment! (A good refill company for toner and office copiers is Roman Office Supply, 652 Rebecca St, Westerville OH 43081 or you can call and get a specific quote from Jim Varadi at 614-794-3412.)

Have a great time!

Continue reading Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4 of the series.

WHY DON’T WE HAVE A GOOD PEOPLE ALERT?

I’m glad to know that “Hambro Sudefy” is a scam artist but I want to deal with a good mail order company. Where do I turn? What do I do?

This problem faces many of the beginners in mail order today. That’s why it’s important for publishers to not copy the news media and only report derogatory information — but publish the good stuff too.

While scams and rip-offs should NEVER be ignored and are the best ways to prohibit their growth, why don’t more people start writing about the company who “did” issue them a refund check? Or the dealer that was late processing their order but “did” put 250 extra copies in the box to compensate for the delay?

Yes folks, they’re out there! People just don’t take the time to point them out to other people. It’s really not fair! They get their order and everything is fine so they have no reason to complain. They will place another order in the future but will never tell anyone else about them unless a problem arises.

I think it’s time a lot of us started bringing out the “good” side of the coin. People need to see the “Right” and “Wrong” of an issue. Being exposed to “Wrong” all the time is a distorted way to conduct your life and your business.

In fact — here’s a partial list of some GOOD people to help you get started. Please take the time to write these people FIRST because this report may be old by the time you read it. I have taken precautions to only list people who have been in business quite awhile and are likely to stay in business for a long time to come. However, people can die, move, become ill and get out of business altogether. Keep trying until you do hook up with some of them and they will help introduce you to others like themselves.

List of Good People We Recommend:

Don Harris, PO Box 1052, Oviedo FL 32765
Artcraft Press, PO Box 225, Mankato MN 56002-0225
Ken Weiand, PO Box 624, Cherokee Village AR 72525
Harland DeGroot, 2765 W Jefferson #H, Springfield IL 62702
David Dye, PO Box 1002, Battle Creek MI 49016
Robyn Marie Hormel, 4615 Takilma Rd, Cave Junction OR 97523
Marianne Hunter, PO Box 50027, Reno NV 89513
Gary Davis, PO Box 80, Foyil OK 74031
Coal Publishing, 27 So. 4th Ave, Highland Park NJ 08904
Graphico Publishing, PO Box 488, Bluff City TN 37618
Lori Thorn, 1807 Stillwater #5, St Paul MN 55119
Glenn Bridgeman, PO Box 10150, Terra Bella CA 93270
Tom Leash, 64 W Main St, Dallastown PA 17313
C J Nelson, 1825 Domanik Dr, Racine WI 53404
William Thrailkill, Jr, 4811 – 16th Ave, Chattanooga TN 37407
Thomas McCrary, PO Box 64, South Holland IL 60473
Carl O’Shea, PO Box 700, Baldwin Park CA 91706
Jerry Goodwin, PO Box 429, Johnson City KS 67855
Gail Lamothe, PO Box 46, Derby VT 05829
Dale Rolland, 2045 Deer Trail, Floresville TX 78114
Don Smith, PO Box 7600, Newark DE 19714
Maynard Hawkins, PO Box 3403, Wichita Falls TX 76301

And Remember:

You have to ALSO be a good person to benefit the rewards and help of a good person. You can’t go into a relationship with any of these people with the sole thought of “using” them until you make some money. Instead, you should treasure these people as a breath of fresh air. Dealing with honest people will save you lots and lots of money. Treat them like the gems they really are and you and your business will certainly be successful in the long run. Good luck to you.