Questions about Authorize.net

[markw10]

I am currrently setting up E-commerce web site and from what I see everywhere Authorize.net is definitely the place to go to for credit card payments but I have several questions for others who are using Authorize.net or other services:

1. If I choose authorize.net it seems it is offered through resellers. Are all resellers the same since they are using authorize.net or does the service vary? Is there a specific reseller I should go to?

2. There are times that we are remodeling our warehouse or even taking pre-orders for items so they may not ship as soon as an item is purchased. From what I see it appears that as soon as someone does the checkout it immediately charges their card. Is it possible to set up authorize.net or others to not charge a card until a certain timeframe after or whenever we select to have it processed?

3. Does authorize.net use a secure server?

4. Is it possible to somehow issue refunds through authorize.net such as if someone has to return an item?

5. Is it possible to do manual orders such as in-person, over the phone, or email and charge that to a credit card?

6. What are the total monthly fees?

7. What is the transaction fee or is that based on volume?

8. Chargebacks: What protections do I have for these? I currently use Paypal and it seems even if an item is shipped to the ordering address if there is a chargeback I always lose. I have considered if I will have to only ship items to the billing address to avoid this. How safe is authorize.net for this? What is the fee for any chargebacks I have and if I were to win a chargeback could I hold the customer liable for paying this?

I know this is a lot of questions and it seems authorize.net is the way to go but I just have some concerns about these issues. Thanks for any help.

[ruggerdean]

I currently use Authorize.net and its great. I do not have it integrated on my website for the same reason you listed. I have multi site warehouses where I often times need to customize the order and do not want their cards charged until I verify

1. items are in stock
2. items ordered can still be customized etc.

So I manually enter all credit cards on line.

[zap]

Originally Posted by markw10

I am currrently setting up E-commerce web site and from what I see everywhere Authorize.net is definitely the place to go to for credit card payments but I have several questions for others who are using Authorize.net or other services:

1. If I choose authorize.net it seems it is offered through resellers. Are all resellers the same since they are using authorize.net or does the service vary? Is there a specific reseller I should go to?

I was set up through a reseller...but be careful...this guy was a sham and he falsified my contract. Once I proved it, i was able to get out of the merchant account had I wanted. I certainly got the terms changed. I am not certain you have to go through a reseller though. Call Authorize.net and ask them. They have pretty good customer support.

2. There are times that we are remodeling our warehouse or even taking pre-orders for items so they may not ship as soon as an item is purchased. From what I see it appears that as soon as someone does the checkout it immediately charges their card. Is it possible to set up authorize.net or others to not charge a card until a certain timeframe after or whenever we select to have it processed?

No problem. Just set the Authorize.net settings for authorization only. This way, you get the benefit of real time processing, but the charge is only batched out or captured when you tell it to do so. Also, this way you have the option of adjusting the charge to a lower amount on the fly when you capture the transactions.

3. Does authorize.net use a secure server?

yup

4. Is it possible to somehow issue refunds through authorize.net such as if someone has to return an item?

5. Is it possible to do manual orders such as in-person, over the phone, or email and charge that to a credit card?

Yes. All of those tools are included in the online merchant tools section of their website.

6. What are the total monthly fees?

7. What is the transaction fee or is that based on volume?

I pay $10 per month for the Authorize.net gateway. Merchant account fees are of course a different story.

8. Chargebacks: What protections do I have for these? I currently use Paypal and it seems even if an item is shipped to the ordering address if there is a chargeback I always lose. I have considered if I will have to only ship items to the billing address to avoid this. How safe is authorize.net for this? What is the fee for any chargebacks I have and if I were to win a chargeback could I hold the customer liable for paying this?

Don't confuse the gateway (Authorize.net) with your merchant bank. Authnet only acts as a mediary between you and the merchant bank. They have nothing to do with charge backs in my experience. I"ve won a few and lost a few, but they live and die by your merchant bank and visa or mc. The only one I ever had with Paypal I won.

I know this is a lot of questions and it seems authorize.net is the way to go but I just have some concerns about these issues. Thanks for any help.

No problem. --good luck!

BTW, I use both paypal and a seperate merchant account through authorize.net. However, I can't seem to get this to work with OSMax. Everyone has questions...but few take the time to answer them if they do at all.

[JohnW]

I've used them for over 5 years on my site and they've been great. I'm not too wild about Ipayment though which handles the back end of the transaction. No functional problems but they keep looking for ways to nickel and dime me.

But, this brings up a point worth noting since you mentioned chargebacks. At least in my situation Ipayment is the one that handles chargebacks and moves the money.