Artist Point-of-sale Options

[Adam J Carriuolo]

Hi, I'm going to be showing at my first art festivals in RI this summer, and I'm trying to get up to speed on certain "best practices".

One of the things I'm a little confused about is how to go about choosing the right credit card processor. There seem to be hundreds of vendors that offer this service, but I'm not sure what to look for. Citizens bank told me they could set me up for $10/month and a 4% transaction fee, which sounded like a GREAT deal... for them.

All I could think of was the effort I put into my art and letting a middleman take 4% off the top for a little paperwork. No way.

Anyway, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

-Adam

[Julie Beck]

Adam, this is great topic, I too am going to be doing my first couple of art festivals this summer myself, and I am looking for a good resource on art festivals.

I've been told ProPay is fantastic, and it's about 60 bucks a year. The transaction fees are like 3.5% or something and the limit per month is quite high.

Which festivals are you booked for so far?

[Julie Beck]

this is also a great resource:

http://www.indiecraftfairguide.com/articles/how-to-guide/

[Adam J Carriuolo]

Hi Julie,

Thanks for the input. So far I'm booked for Narragansett and Wickford . I'm also applying for Scituate. I thought about trying to get into more, but even though I've got a load of prints to sell, my body of work is quite small, so I want to kind of "wade in".

Does ProPay do it through a card impression device? I was wondering if there's a more modern electronic method for out-of-doors sales. I don't know, maybe wi-fi, satellite, lasers...

I was really hoping to get a fee closer to what I have with Paypal on my website, which is under 3%.... I think. It's been awhile since my last sale.

[Julie Beck]

I'll be at Narragansett as well. I'm also doing stART in the Park in Worcester June1st. I started selling my work on Etsy.com last year and since then, most of my originals have sold...so now I'm in the same boat...not a huge body of work (maybe about 6 or 7 originals, one or two quite large) but some prints as well. Next year i'm going to try to do Wickford becuase it's such an amazing festival, I personally didn;t think I'd be up for the pressure my first year in. The Pawtucket Art Festival is in Sept though so I'm doing a group booth there with my team (Arts In RI Etsy Street Team).

I'll be painting like a mad-woman this month to get some inventory. A lot of people told me not to book too many because they can be exhausting, so you're probably on the right track.

Do you already have a tent/display? if you're looking for cheap grid-walls I know a bike shop in Exeter that has a bunch they're selling for cheap. They're not brand new but I got 2 display setups for $75.

I think Paypal allows you to offer credit card service as well onsite. You should look into that!

[Adam J Carriuolo]

Julie, to tell the truth I applied to Wickford with no expectation I'd be accepted. You really could've knocked me over with a feather when I got the letter Saturday.

It will be intense, but I think having Narragansett first will offer a good chance to work out the kinks.

I got a great deal on a new EZ-UP Embassy II canopy through eBay for $115, and it includes all four walls. It was actually more heavyweight and tough than I expected. The seller turned out to be in South Kingstown(!) and was selling a whole lot of them. I think they go for about $200 normally. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to deal with the hanging and backdrop.

I've been working towards this for a few years. It's going so slowly, but I didn't want to wait another year to maybe have 2 or 3 more prints done. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the studio to meet people, as I'm sure you are as well.

Good luck in Narragansett! I'll be sure to come by and say hello. I like your work a lot. Your images conjure the voice of Garrison Keillor.

[Ken Rosenthal]

It a good question. Does anyone know of any credit card processors who specialize in artists?

This link provides independent Ratings on 10 credit card vendors.

[Libby Gilpatric]

4% is not a large amount for the convenience it adds to making sales. If somebody offers to pay cash or a check (if you trust them), you can give them a break, but don't let on it's because you don't want to pay the transaction fee. That will kill you in the end. You can just raise all your prices by 4% and stop fussing about the fee...Bank of Newport put me onto Primax and I have used for three years -- no problems, $10/month. Check it out. Using the oldfashioned machine also saves on your fees. You just have to call them on your cell phone for the verification#.

[SusiFranco]

PayPal, Dude. They only charge you for each transaction, instead of a monthly fee AND a transaction fee. Get yourself a manual credit card slider & CC blank slips and make sure to always ask for multiple ID ( 2nd CC, DL, etc); keep good records of such secondary ID, God forbid anybody's card is bad, you could still go after them for the $$$. ALWAYS write their phone # right on the slip, so you have it in hand if needed later.
You can also sign up for a wireless CC processor ( lots of these outfits out there), but they have hefty fees and they'll charge you monthly whether you have any sales, do a show or not. I just do PayPal and have never had a problem ( knocking on wood here :) with "bad" cards or denied cards. I never saw the need for buying that whole "live" wireless set-up. I don't take checks; seems like the percentage of folks who write bad ones is much larger than any CC decline potential, as a general rule.

I appreciate being able to handle my own transactions and eliminating yet one more fella who's looking to take a piece of my work. It's alot of paper work, but worth the savings you make by not paying another entity to do it for you. PayPal is easy to sign up with for a Merchant's Account, but I'd do it soon if you're signed up for Narragansett, takes a couple days to get all verified with them and whatnot. Also nice is that PayPal will keep your sales records for you, which is another BIG plus, lets you see exactly what you're doing & what shows get you the best yield.
Hope that helps a little and BEST WISHES !!!
Regards:Susi ( ps--your work is just amazing !!)

[Julie Beck]

Actually this is incorrect, to use Virtual Terminal through Paypal it's 30 dollars a month plus the fees per transaction.

personally I wish it was cheaper through paypal since I already collect $ through paypal for my Etsy.com sales.

I am going to be signing up for a propay account which I've heard is easy to use.

[Julie Beck]

If you're looking for display things on sale, check out the Rhode Island Business Supply surplus. Its a HUGE warehouse with anything you can imagine there! It's insane! Not too expensive either. Worth looking at if you need displays for art festivals or for a shop or studio.

[Krzysztof Mathews]

Hey there,

Thanks for the heads-up!

Is this their web site?

http://www.bsiri.com/main.html

[Adam J Carriuolo]

I actually have had a PayPal merchant acct for awhile, but didn't think they even offered a point-of-sale option. $30/month is pretty steep. One outfit I'm checking is called Merchantwarehouse.com. They have a $39 fee for the imprinter, $49 for the software (so you don't have to do it over the phone), and then 2.19% commision + .21 per transaction. No monthly fee, but a $10 minimum.