A while back, I started offering an ebook I wrote on eBay.  After a while, though, I got tired of listing it on eBay and having to pay the fees.  More recently, I decided I needed to launch my own website and sell the ebook from there.

Of course, there are many logistics involved here.  One is how to handle online payment processing.  PayPal works fine and is trusted by many buyers, but the problem is that the fees can get quite expensive after a while.  So I decided to look into alternative ways to accept payment from customers.

Google Checkout was one of the early options I looked at.  It is very similar to PayPal, but not as many people are familiar with it.  The fees are slightly lower, but not enough to make a significant difference.  I also have accepted a few money orders, but I worry about that because of all the money order fraud – they seem safer than checks, until you hear about all the scams!

After that, I broadened my search to look into other methods of accepting credit card payments online.  As it turns out, there are a lot of services where you can get a retail merchant account for processing credit card payments.  You have more options than you would think.  So anytime you are opening up a business online, or even just want to upgrade your payment processing method, be sure to look into the many possibilities to make sure you get the right one for you.

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