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Recommendations for Website Payment Systems?
An anonymous reader asks: "I run a smallish website that provides stock quotes, charts, etc for a very under-reported stock market. (I won't link here due to the Slashdot Death Ray effect, and because this is a real question, not an advertisement). Over the recent weeks, many of my site members have been asking if they could make a small contribution to help off-set costs, which I am considering. 'Tip Jars' seem tacky and I know many people aren't comfortable with Paypal. So, should I roll my own, or are there any highly recommended ways of doing this that I am missing? Any suggestions?"
Most of the people who are uncomfortable with Paypal are the ones who think whining about it makes them seem experienced or intelligent. For simply sending money, there's nothing wrong with it (as long as you don't mind using them).
The money you lose from people who enjoy bragging about how they refuse to use Paypal will be more than made up for by the time you save not having to implement something like this yourself.
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I'd recommend going with some established solution that fits your budget. Rolling your own is likely to expose your users to all kinds of subtle security issues that could result in some nefarious jerk getting their credit card numbers or the like.
A creative solution I heard once was to auction "thanks" on eBay. For $2.50, you could buy the seller's "thanks", and you could buy as many (or as few) as you liked through the usual Dutch auction process. I don't know if anyone ever actually did this, but you might want to consider it.
Personally, I always use PayPal for website donations. I've never had anyone object.
Microsoft cheerleader, blue flag waving, you got a problem with that?
And put a donation button on your site that goes to PayPal. Just a small elegant button that says "support this free service" or something like that. Link to PayPal, or to a page explaining your expenses.
It's not begging. It's not tacky. It's just common sense. Bandwidth and time cost money. You can't distribute them for free like you can information. It makes sense to pay for them. Like I always say, "Information wants to be free, but bandwidth wants to be expensive."
After a while you can experiment with the other obscure services that people use, but PayPal is *it*. Yeah, "paypal sucks" but most people haven't had any problems (including myself). Just don't pretend they are a bank.
If you're accepting micropayments, you'll get bitten by the credit card companies and their merchant account fees.
Your best bet is to use something established like paypal or western union. The risks from a few customers not using the service because of it's name/reputation is must less significant than a lawsuit resulting from a mistake in your DIY financial solution.
Paypal has been a great solution for me.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
PayPal doesn't play at all with many countries.
Consider a seperate bank (not just a seperate account). Do not leave large amounts of money floating in either PayPal Land or the attached bank account.
Make sure your bank(s) have firm instructions not to transfer money out to PayPal w/out your say so. Or at least tell them what will and what won't be normal account behavior.
Your bank and CC co are always watching for fraudulent activity. Tell them that cash exiting the "donations only" account is a strict no-no.
A little prevention can go a long way.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!