e-Commerce Pricing

e-Commerce solutions providers clearly add considerable value when compared to traditional payment processors. Pricing is therefore generally more expensive. Fortunately most vendors provide tiered programs, with certain services available a la carte. In General, merchants can expect the following types of fees:

Sign Up Fees

Many providers charge a one-time sign-up fee to cover the costs associated with processing any applications and setting up the account. Sign-up fees generally run under $100.

Monthly Hosting Fee

This fee covers the cost of providing the Web store and any related services. This fee is generally found in tiers depending on the level of service required by the merchant. It may be governed by the number of products the merchant is allowed to sell or the availability of special features like couponing and advanced reporting. These fees generally start in the $30 range and can go as high as $200 or more for high-end options.

Percentage-of-Sale

This fee is simply another way that vendors charge their merchants. It can be as low as 5% of each sale, or as high as 15% or more. These fees are obviously geared to products that have high margins, where paying the fees make economic sense. Digital goods typically have 98 % gross margins, but relatively high promotional costs. Merchants selling digital goods therefore see the highest percentage-of-sale fees, but generally use the greatest amount of additional services like affiliate networks.

Most of these merchants would rather pay the higher commission provided the IPSP can really help them increase sales and profits. For example, would you rather pay 3% and sell only 10 units or pay 15% if the IPSP can help you sell 50 units? So, instead of paying per-sale commissions, the promotional costs are bundled in with the percentage-of-sale fee.

Payment Processing – In the case of more traditional goods, some vendors will pass through all payment processing fees. The range of these fees is discussed in What Pricing o Expect, and they are linked directly to the perceived risk and your ability to shop and negotiate

Accepting or looking to accept credit cards online?

Our 2-Minute Suggester will ask a few simple questions about your business. We’ll then recommend a number of processors that specialize in your industry as well as estimate the price you should be paying. You will be contacted only by the vendors you choose. Our service is free, confidential and objective.