Posted by: homedealer
Posted on: 2008-03-17 07:53:00
Hello,
I have been trying to find a merchant account to set up on dream host servers, I have been running into a couple problems and was wondering if any one would be able to let me know what companies they are dealing with for merchant services. If any one could give me any information on this i would love to hear from you. Thank-You.
Posted by: seiler
Posted on: 2008-03-17 13:48:00
What is the problem you're having? A merchant account alone won't do anything as far as your website goes, unless you also have a gateway service (Authorize.net, EPN, etc...). Otherwise, you'd have to manually process everything through your terminal, phone, or whatever setup you have.
If you just mean problems choosing, then it's really best just to compare as many as you can and pick what's right based on your needs & sales volume.
Things to watch for would be any hidden fees, setup/cancellation fees, etc...
Some will have a monthly minimum, some won't. Rates will vary, as will transaction fees, address verification fees, statement fees, gateway fees.
One tip if you're shopping around would be to check out the E-commerce forum section over at webhostingtalk.com. Some of the reps from companies post there (CDGCommerce, Corey Bryant, etc...) and will often have WHT specials in their sig that will get you a discount. If nothing else, searching there should make you aware of some of the ones to avoid.
Also, some companies like Sam's Club offer their members merchant accounts at low rates. Even if you're not a member, if the prices are right, it might be worth the $30 - $50/year to join.
If you're not doing much volume, you might be better off for now just using PayPal, Google Checkout, or some third-party processing company.
The 3rd party companies often charge higher % of the sale, but without the other monthly fees that come with a merchant account. But once you get up there in volume, those fees work out to be a lot less than a jacked-up transaction fee.
No matter which way you go, be sure to fully read and understand the terms on anything you sign. You'll also want to make sure your site meets any security requirements they have, as well as how you handle customer info (use SSL, no storing CVV codes, etc...).
Posted by: homedealer
Posted on: 2008-03-17 14:21:00
The issue that i am having problems with is all the merchants i have gone to. Insist the server the i am operating on meet PCI standards. A Problem that i have came up with already. Dream host server has been scanned and failed because the version of Linux used back ports their updates. Witch is normal and ok, the issue i ran into is you guys (dream host) would not give me the information of when theses updates were made, and why they were made. Witch the merchant requested nicely in an email. There for the server is not able to pass and meet PCI full security check and i was not able to get issued my account. It has been a back and form email conversation for about a couple weeks. Witch is why I have posted on the form to see if any one has a company they are dealing with and using dream host and share some information with me.
Posted by: rlparker
Posted on: 2008-03-17 14:41:00
In reply to:The issue that i am having problems with is all the merchants i have gone to. Insist the server the i am operating on meet PCI standards.
Have you discussed this with DreamHost support? DreamHost *has* a current PCI compliance report:
http://www.dreamhost.com/pci-compliance.pdf
This should be all that any merchant account provider should need. 
--rlparker