PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Any business operating on-line needs to be able to take payment there and then in real time without the delays of cheques and postage. There are several excellent systems available. On our sites, for items that we sell ourselves, we currently take PayPal. This is the world's largest transmitter of merchant payments over the internet, and is now owned by eBay.

At one time it used to be said by some internet marketing gurus that having PayPal as one's only payment option was a sign of amateurism. Now, however, this is certainly not true. It is by far the premier internet payment processor and also allows people without a Paypal account to use a credit or debit card to pay through their system.

Below this paragraph there is a banner linked to the PayPal site, on which you can find details of their services and sign up for an account.

Whether you intend to buy or sell over the web you should set up an account with PayPal now if you don't already have one.

Although PayPal is outstandingly the market leader there are several other systems which are currently becoming more prominent. Two of these are e-gold and Alert-Pay.

You may wish to offer more than one alternative. Be aware that e-gold actually conducts its transactions not in dollars, pounds, euros or yen, but with respect to a valuation of gold. It is more complex than a straight currency transaction but has its enthusiasts and is being found on more and more sites around the web.

... and here's something new that you really should look into: >>>

Take payments from a customer's mobile phone account. This is especially suitable for serving those buyers who have a mobile phone but either do not have any of the usual cards and accounts or who simply do not want to use them at the time. A highly innovative payment system backed by phone companies around the world.

Customer loyalty is crucial to the long-term performance of any business, and although it is vital to remember that genuine, lasting loyalty comes only from excellent service delivered with persistent thoughtfulness and care for the customer's interests, there are some other things that can be done.

Here is a very promising new loyalty scheme that you might want to add into your marketing mix. It's still in its early days but I suspect will be successful, and you have an opportunity now to get in ahead of the game.