Questions about Authorize.net

[Guest Mark Weigl]

I am currrently setting up E-commerce web site and from what I see everywhere Authorize.net is definitely the place to go to for credit card payments but I have several questions for others who are using Authorize.net or other services:

1. If I choose authorize.net it seems it is offered through resellers. Are all resellers the same since they are using authorize.net or does the service vary? Is there a specific reseller I should go to?

2. There are times that we are remodeling our warehouse or even taking pre-orders for items so they may not ship as soon as an item is purchased. From what I see it appears that as soon as someone does the checkout it immediately charges their card. Is it possible to set up authorize.net or others to not charge a card until a certain timeframe after or whenever we select to have it processed?

3. Does authorize.net use a secure server?

4. Is it possible to somehow issue refunds through authorize.net such as if someone has to return an item?

5. Is it possible to do manual orders such as in-person, over the phone, or email and charge that to a credit card?

6. What are the total monthly fees?

7. What is the transaction fee or is that based on volume?

8. Chargebacks: What protections do I have for these? I currently use Paypal and it seems even if an item is shipped to the ordering address if there is a chargeback I always lose. I have considered if I will have to only ship items to the billing address to avoid this. How safe is authorize.net for this? What is the fee for any chargebacks I have and if I were to win a chargeback could I hold the customer liable for paying this?

I know this is a lot of questions and it seems authorize.net is the way to go but I just have some concerns about these issues. Thanks for any help.

[Guest Brivtech]

Would you not be better off asking Authorize.net about most of these questions?

When it comes to resellers, firstly, due to forum advertising rules, no resellers can be listed here, and secondly, a reseller just earns comission from a transaction that is normally made by (in this case) authorize.net, and you, probably for the introduction and/or the fees you pay.

[Guest]

1. If I choose authorize.net it seems it is offered through resellers. Are all resellers the same since they are using authorize.net or does the service vary? Is there a specific reseller I should go to?

I only have 1 Authorize.net account, so I can't offer any comparisons.

2. There are times that we are remodeling our warehouse or even taking pre-orders for items so they may not ship as soon as an item is purchased. From what I see it appears that as soon as someone does the checkout it immediately charges their card. Is it possible to set up authorize.net or others to not charge a card until a certain timeframe after or whenever we select to have it processed?

You can set your account to capture the card details for later authorization.

3. Does authorize.net use a secure server? Yes.

4. Is it possible to somehow issue refunds through authorize.net such as if someone has to return an item?

Yes, this is very easy to do, which you will see once you have your account.

5. Is it possible to do manual orders such as in-person, over the phone, or email and charge that to a credit card?

Yes. They have a "Virtual Terminal" which allows you to process cards directly.

6. What are the total monthly fees?

Depends. There is a $10 gateway fee. Beyond that, you have authorization fees (.25 ea), batch fees (to close out the day's transactions, again .25 ea.), and there may be other fees I'm forgetting. These are in addition to the transaction fees and discount rates taken by your merchant account.

7. What is the transaction fee or is that based on volume?

The transaction fee is charged by your merchant account, not the gateway. The gateway charges an authorization fee, which is charged whether the payment is accepted or declined.

8. Chargebacks: What protections do I have for these? I currently use Paypal and it seems even if an item is shipped to the ordering address if there is a chargeback I always lose. I have considered if I will have to only ship items to the billing address to avoid this. How safe is authorize.net for this? What is the fee for any chargebacks I have and if I were to win a chargeback could I hold the customer liable for paying this?

I've never had a chargeback, so I can't answer this question.

Overall, having a merchant account is more expensive than a PayPal account. There are more fees involved.

The benefit is that more people are willing to make a purchase through an on-site credit card option than are willing to go through PayPal, so you end up making more money.

The best option is to provide both payment options to your customers, as well as offline (check / money order) options for those who prefer them.