Quote:
Originally Posted by elizilla
I don't so much mind about the multiple charges when I buy more than one book at a time - I'm trying to not get so far ahead of myself, at least not with books I have to pay for, and this serves as a good reminder. But the problem with doing every book as a separate transaction is this: Ever see the signs at restaurants saying "Minimum Visa charge $5? My friends who run a restaurant tell me that Visa charges the merchant 40 cents for each transaction, plus some percentage of the total. So if I buy four bargain books for $.99 each, and they all go to my credit card, Visa is going to take maybe $1.71 of that money, and the bookstore gets $2.25. If they let me put it in a shopping cart and buy in one transaction, the bookstore would get $3.45 and Visa would get $0.51.
I'd much rather the profit went to the bookstore, so they can stay in business selling ebooks for me! I think Visa gets quite enough of our cash already.  I would be willing to go through the shopping cart steps instead of just conveniently using the Buy It Now, so that the bookstore can keep all those 40 cent transaction fees. Especially for Borders who is in trouble and who I like and would like to help! |
those signs "requiring a minimum purchase amount" in locations like restaurants and retail stores are totally not allowed with any merchant card agreement. Merchants are NOT ALLOWED to require a minimum purchase if they accept a given CC. It's just part of the cost of doing business. Sure it's not fair in terms on that single transaction but OTOH look at the number of sales they would otherwise not have made were they not to accept that credit card. Plus as overhead it's completely deductible on their taxes as overhead. I've initiated calls to the merchant card 800 # right in front of the clerk or manager in a store and reported their refusal to accept the card due to a minimum purchase requirement then handed the person the phone where by they suddenly were happy to process the charge and took down the sign.
Trust me that sign cost the business a lot of money as a surcharge/penalty by the merchant card and also was a black mark on their account which if they get enough their discount rate (what the card provider charges the merchant per transaction) can raise to over 5%+txn fee from whatever their current rate is due to violations of the agreement. And even more complaints and the merchant will lose the ability to even accept that card.
I generally do try to buy a reasonable amount because as a merchant myself I am well aware of the fees but I also realize these sort of merchants are HURTING my business because they are not following the rules gaining a competitive advantage over other similar merchants. so when I am in the mood I will make the call right then and there. Often on the merchant's own phone which is even funnier.
BTW, the txn fee is usually a fee charged by the Federal Reserve Clearing House on money transfers and not something the merchant card provider charges, though some companies do mark up that fee from, as I recall the $0.30 fee the Fed actually charges to process the transaction.