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A picture is worth a thousand words.... and a few dollars! 11/21/2008 3:35:24 PM see topic |
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How can you not take credit cards at a trade show? 3/6/2008 5:12:21 PM see topic |
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Pedestrian Counters 3/4/2008 11:43:34 AM see topic |
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How can you not take credit cards at a trade show? |
Posted by
Ken at 3/6/2008 5:12:21 PM
Ken Kilar is a skilled programmer and respected executive manager. Ken works with high-end databases, architects, builds and interfaces high availability e-Commerce and Business Information systems. Ken has a proven track record (both vision and development skills) to conceptualize and deliver complex technology solutions.
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In my spare time I have built (and operate) an online business known as beautycrunch. For background purposes, beautycrunch is an authorized direct to consumer reseller that offers overrun and discontinued (but still very good) artistry brand beauty products. beautycrunch carries premium brands like Stila, Too Faced, DuWop, and Lola that attract artistry enthusiasts who are looking for a “better than good” deal.
Most of the time I'm selling direct to the consumer online, but every so often I'll participate and sell product at a conference, trade show or special event. I needed to accept credit cards and have a speedy checkout process, but also wanted to keep the technical cost structure low. For me, there where were only two components required for selling offline at remote locations, and I found solutions for each worth sharing.
A. reliable, low-cost Internet access
B. low-cost, simple point of sale (POS) application that supports a USB magnetic strip credit card reader, prints a branded customer receipt and interfaced with my online payment service (PayFlow Pro/PayPal).
Some events simply don't offer Internet services, and the ones that do provide those services at insane rates, often over $1K for a small block of days (and poor shared bandwidth). And getting any connectivity support during an event is hopeless.
Since I only need this type of Internet access a few times a year, locking myself into a 2 year Sprint/Verizon type mobile wireless broadband card subscription wouldn't make economic sense. So, I simply rent an already activated wireless card from RovAir. I can only say positive things about this company and the service they provide. I've used their service a few separate times now and they have never missed a date... and the card worked perfectly.
It cost just under $60 for a 3-day rental. And the wireless card return works like NetFlix; RovAir includes a preprinted return UPS envelope in the shipment. Very simple.
For a low-cost, simple point of sale system, I recently started using USBSwiper. It's good for remote events where you need clean printed invoices, SKU tracking and fast (swipe-able) credit card transactions that seamlessly interface with your PayPal Payments Pro or PayFlow Pro account.
Keep in mind that it's not a full featured POS - don't expect stock transfers, fancy gift receipts, split tenders, fancy reporting, etc…
It's created with FileMaker Pro, so the interface is a little clumsy, and certain functions are not near as intuitive as they should be. I have a large list of items (wishes) that would make this product significantly better for my use (auto print invoices after sale, better messaging when transaction fails, some reconciling and simple reporting features, etc,…). However, conceptually, I think this product has real potential.
For around $50 you can buy a USB magnetic strip credit card reader almost anywhere, including USBSwiper. Just make sure it's a Track 1 and 2 reader with keyboard emulation.
I believe USBSwiper is a one-man operation (Andrew), but he is very responsive and seems committed to making his application better and better. I personally think the next move would be to move away from FileMaker Pro... but, hey, it works well enough and the price is perfect at under $5 a month. Nice!
So for a total of about $65 for a 3-day event, I am the most technically sophisticated vendor providing the fastest and coolest checkout!
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment, or email me - maybe I can add some updates to this topic if I skipped something super important. |
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