Neewbie needs help/clarification about payment options

[tom182]

Hi all,

Firstly I was very happy to see an active forum here so hopefully I can get some clarity to my questions.

I have never setup a shopping cart before and this was a 'baptism by fire' job for me and all seems to be wel apart from the payment options.

I installed my OScommerce catalog and was able to customise my pages (colour, images products etc) pretty easily I know didly squat about Php etc but use dreamweaver for designing my site. My Shopping facility is pretty much there but I am stuck with the payment modules. I spoke to my hosting company today to see if they could explain the procedure of payment -which they couldnt but did manage in making me more confused.

 

We have 4 products in the shop (more to follow) that we will sell via credit card over the web. I was informed by the hosting company to use paypal or other as they will do the authorization and not to opt for the 'credit card' payment option as we do not use a dedicated server. Question 1: is that the correct method?

 

Question 2: I now believe that i should go with paypal or other, in that case does that automatically mean a buyer will leave my site and go to the other parties site (eg paypal) during the purchasing procedure?

Question 3 if question 2 is correct and the buyer goes to paypal or other, what was the point in me doing all that work in OScommerce?

 

I would appreciate any help in this as I am 90% there and would be chuffed to sort it out myself (via the forum) . I hope this makes sense

Thanks again,

Regards

Tom

[Daemonj]

You whatever method is good for you.

 

Using the PayPal payment method you do not need to get an SSL certificate as the financial information is entered on PayPal's site (which is secure) and not stored in your database. If you do this, get the PayPal IPN contribution and use that instead of the default version.

 

If you use the CC payment method, you will need to have a merchant account to process the CC. You will also need to have an SSL cert and you should definitely think about a dedicated server as the CC information will be stored in your database.

 

You could also look into using Authorize.net or any of the other payment gateways that will process the CC without you storing the details.

 

PayPal is definitely the easiest and cheapest method.

[tom182]

thanks for the reply, I am a bit confused as to why we were told we needed a SSL, surely we only needed that if we were to opt for the CC method and hence a dedicated server aswell?

 

regarding Paypal, will the buyer have to leave my site? if so can you customise the paypal skin to look like our current site?

 

Please correct if wrong> the CC method requires SSL and a Merchant A/c+ dedicated server, the SSL + dedicated server will cost about ?3000/yr- now I can see why paypal is a cheaper option.

the nature of our site (www.sealux.com) will only sell products to once off customers and we dont expect volumes to be big as our primary retailing is via stores. If for arguments sake we decided on a CC, then we need a merchant account- who do I talk to, a bank offering online ecom solutions?

 

this is all very new to me and hlep is much appreciated,

 

cheers,

Tom

 

 

 

 

You whatever method is good for you.

 

Using the PayPal payment method you do not need to get an SSL certificate as the financial information is entered on PayPal's site (which is secure) and not stored in your database. If you do this, get the PayPal IPN contribution and use that instead of the default version.

 

If you use the CC payment method, you will need to have a merchant account to process the CC. You will also need to have an SSL cert and you should definitely think about a dedicated server as the CC information will be stored in your database.

 

You could also look into using Authorize.net or any of the other payment gateways that will process the CC without you storing the details.

 

PayPal is definitely the easiest and cheapest method.

[Daemonj]

thanks for the reply, I am a bit confused as to why we were told we needed a SSL, surely we only needed that if we were to opt for the CC method and hence a dedicated server aswell?

The CC method does not require a dedicated server but it is certainly recommended because the CC numbers are stored in your database. If you are on a shared server this is a huge security risk, which you can be held liable for should anyone ever hack your database and get your customer's CC information.

 

You will need SSL if you use the CC method.

 

 

regarding Paypal, will the buyer have to leave my site? if so can you customise the paypal skin to look like our current site?

There are 2 different ways to use PayPal. The IPN version takes the customer to PayPal's site where the customer either logs into their PayPal account to make the payment or enters their CC information. PayPal offers limited skinning options (e.g. logo and colors) for the payment page. This method does not require that you have SSL because the financial information is entered on PayPal's site and not yours.

 

PayPal also offers a program called Website Payments Pro where the customer enters their information on your site and the customer never sees a PayPal page (i.e. they do not leave your site). The CC information is not stored on your server but because it is entered there you will need SSL. This is about equal to a merchant account (e.g. as if you had Authorize.net or another payment gateway) in that the processing is the same, the fees are a bit higher but the expenses are lower so it works out the best.

 

 

Please correct if wrong> the CC method requires SSL and a Merchant A/c+ dedicated server, the SSL + dedicated server will cost about ?3000/yr- now I can see why paypal is a cheaper option.

the nature of our site (www.sealux.com) will only sell products to once off customers and we dont expect volumes to be big as our primary retailing is via stores. If for arguments sake we decided on a CC, then we need a merchant account- who do I talk to, a bank offering online ecom solutions?

Go to Authorize.net's site and review their fees and find a reseller. It usually takes about a day or two to get setup.

 

Please let me know if I was unclear in any of the above or if you have any additional questions. ;)

[tom182]

Thanks a mill Daemon that is fundamental info I was looking for, (this is all very new to me) I am going to checK out the WPP as this seems to be the logical choice so far, considering we dont expect massive online sales that would warrant a Merchant A/C but we would prefer to portray a more professional site by keeping the buyer in our site during the process.

Damm just checked out Paypal WPP and it is US only :angry:

ok so I have to look elsewhere, there must be another solution to what I need,

maybe i'll talk to my bank and see what they provide,

 

thanks for your help

 

Tom