How to Accept Credit Cards at Yard Sales
You can accept credit cards at a yard sale. You no longer have to worry about taking checks from strangers for big ticket items. You can sell any item and get paid right away by accepting a credit card through PayPal. PayPal has become one of the safest ways to transfer money on the Internet.
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Instructions
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How to Accept Credit Cards at Yard Sales
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The first thing you must do is set up a PayPal account. This can be done for free at the PayPal web site. The information asked for is general so there is no need to hunt for any paperwork. You may want to consider adding certain banking information. The PayPal account balance can be transferred to the bank account, if you choose.
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After you set up your PayPal account, you will need to set up a free web site. This can be done in a matter of minutes through places like Yahoo's GeoCities. You can even use social networking sites if you prefer. Most free web sites are a what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) type of site. You can design the site very easily by using the provided site design tools. It does not have to be elaborate. Something simple is all you need to be able to accept credit cards at yard sales. You can accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover.
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Once you have your web site set up and online, you will need to log onto the PayPal site. There is a section about accepting payments and donations under the heading of Products and Service. By selecting the link "Website Payments Standard" you can choose from a button that says "Buy Now", "Add To Cart", or "Donate". The HTML code will be generated for the button you choose. You will need to copy and paste the HTML code onto your web site.
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Choose the payment buttons you will need. The buttons can be set for certain prices. This is great for large ticket items. For instance, if you are selling a lawnmower for $25 and a bedroom suite for $100, you can have a $25 button and a $100 button added to your website. You can set the amount for each button. There is no limit to how many buttons you can add to the web site. It is easy to use the "Add to Cart" button because you can name the item and set the price. This way the customer will know exactly what they bought when their statement comes. Also, if the customer wants to buy more than one item it is easy to add more items. The "Donation" button allows the customer to choose the amount they are paying so multiple purchases can be done at one time.
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Start accepting credit cards at your yard sale or garage sale. You can now offer your customers an easy way to pay for their purchases. You can offer big ticket items and never have to worry about the check not clearing.
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Tips & Warnings
The "Donate" button allows the customer to enter in any amount they choose. This is perfect for multiple purchases. This type of selling is also good for someone who frequently sells at flea markets. A laptop with WiFi will allow access to the web site.
You do need to be careful when allowing someone access to your home to use the computer for the payment. It is advisable this method of accepting payments only be done when there are several people available to help with the yard sale. It may be worth borrowing or renting a laptop with WiFi for the sales just for the safety factor.
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Comments
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Or just use Square.
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obars
May 17, 2009
This sounds great! However when I placed buttons on my site, and when I click on one to let a customer make a purchase, it will not let me do so without signing in, and when I do how do we take their credit card number and enter it without them having a paypal account or them themselves using my computer? John -
kxmitchell
Jul 12, 2008
I must say this is a very good idea. I've had paypal for the longest and hadn't thought about this. (Glad I found it 2 Months after a big Moving Sale. LOL)
