The number one problem for online sellers and website owners accepting and processing micro payments is the very high fees charged by payment processors and credit card companies, which can typically eat into a significant portion of the payment revenue stream.

Before we examine the various options and solutions in dealing with this pervasive problem, we should first define what constitutes a micro payment.

A micro payment is a payment for an item or service that is of low value. For example, website payments for ring tones, pay-per-views, downloads, e-books, and subscriptions in the $ 1 – $ 3 range would be considered as micro payments. A 25 cent payment for a download or a 5 cent payment for a SMS are very good examples of lesser value micro payments.

There are two basic methods that an online seller may employ to accept a micro payment. The first method is to use a credit card, but the merchant fees would be quite high to accept a large number of payments for $ 1 and $ 2 micro payments, and this is not usually a cost efficient option.

Some online business owners who websites sell micro payment valued good and services will ask customers for their credit card details, and will process fees and invoices to their customers' cards when account balances reach specified payment threshold amounts.

Another variation of this method is to charge the customer's credit card a minimum charge amount of (say $ 10), and a credit in this amount is then posted to the user's account, which depletes as nominal value goods and services are purchased from the vendor.

The problem with this method is that customers do not like providing their credit card details to strangers, and they do not like the idea of ​​making a down payment purchase commitment for goods or services which the customer might absolutely decide not to purchase.

The other option is to process payment for each micro transaction as it occurs using an online payment system, and there are a few viable options with several companies competing in this space, some of which are much more cost effective than others, as I shall explain .

Let's look at the following example:

Consider a micro payment in the amount of $ 2 USD sent internationally (from one country to another) using a business account.

I've compared the fees that each of the following online payment processors would charge to handle this payment, and present the results below, from highest to lowest cost:

ZayPay.com $ 0.99 flat fee = $ 0.99 (49% commission)
Moneybookers.com 1.9% + $ 0.40 = $ .44 (22% commission)
PayPal.com Regular 2.9% + $ 0.30 = $ 0.36 (18% commission)
AlertPay.com 2.5% + $ 0.25 = $ 0.30 (15% commission)
PayPal.com Micropay 6% + $ 0.05 = $ 0.17 (8.5% commission)
Payments.Amazon.com 5% + $ 0.05 = $ 0.15 (7.5% commission)
CashSender.com 1.5% no minimum = $ 0.03 (1.5% commission)

The highest fees would be incurred if using the services of Netherlands-based ZayPay and UK-based Moneybookers. PayPal's regular payment service would result in an 18% payment commission, and even their lite service for mirco payments results in an 8.5% commission. By far the lowest cost micro payment processor is Canadian based CashSender, as their 1.5% commission does not have a fixed fee component. Thus, CashSender's fee is even a fraction of the cost of the next lowest provide on the list.

Many online sellers and website owners accept micro payment as the life-blood of their business operations. This means, many such payments are processed over the course of each month, through the year.

Therefore, to see the real bottom line effect of the fee differences presented above, we need to factor the data up to a one year analysis.

Let us assume that a typical online seller needs to process 1,000 of these $ 2 payments each month, which translates into 12,000 such payments every year (representing $ 24,000 in annual micro payment revenues).

We then need to adjust our data to reflect the annual fees using each of the relevant online payment services, and the data is presented as follows, again listed from highest cost to lowest cost:

ZayPay.com ($ 0.99 flat fee) X 12,000 payments = $ 11,880
Moneybookers.com (1.9% + $ 0.40) X 12,000 payments = $ 5,256
PayPal.com Regular (2.9% + $ 0.30) X 12,000 payments = $ 4,296
AlertPay.com (2.5% + $ 0.25) X 12,000 payments = $ 3,600
PayPal.com Micropay (6% + $ 0.05) X12,000 payments = $ 2,040
Payments.Amazon.com (5% + $ 0.05) X 12,000 payments = $ 1,800
CashSender.com (1.5% no minimum) X 12,000 payments = $ 360

The most well known company in the online payment space is PayPal, which is owned by eBay. PayPal's regular online payment service is actually $ 4,000 per year more than the low price leader.

PayPal's lite micropay service is $ 1,680 more costly than the low price leader, and even Amazon, which is the second place low cost leader is four times more costly than the low price leader.

In conclusion, online sellers and website owners need to pay very close attention to which online payment service they choose to handle their micro payment transactions. Even a middle range micro payment processor will cost several thousand dollars per year more in fees than using the low cost leader.

It became much easier to learn how to sell ebooks online, when Jonathan Leger created his seven dollar script. However, if you want to sell a lot of books, the system can seem a bit clumsy. Another programmer saw the possibilities and created Rapid Action Profits.

If you’re really serious about selling ebooks, I warmly recommend Rapid Action Profits, or RAP, as it’s most often called.

This PHP script is inspired by Jonathan Leger’s $7 script. However, it’s much more advanced.

You can setup the script on one domain, and sell several ebooks with the same installment. All you have to do is to create different folders for each product.

RAP takes care of collecting the payment through PayPal, and of delivering the goods, once the payment has been confirmed.

Immediately after payment, the customer is shown to a page, where he can sign up for an affiliate programme. He gets a very simple link, he can use, or he can use the ‘tell a friend’ feature. In both cases, he makes money if he make sales, and so does the creator of the product, unless he’s chosen to give away 100% of the price to the affiliate. He can still make money in the long run, since he’s collecting the purchaser’s names and emails for his mailing list.

If you choose to give your affiliate 50%, the script will let you received the first payment to your PayPal account. Next time, your affiliate makes a sale, he gets the full payment directly on his PayPal. You can overrule this, and collect all the sales, and pay your affiliates monthly, but it will only give you more work, and less satisfied affiliates.

There are some disadvantages to RAP, though. The first hurdle is the price. At the moment, you’ll have to pay $197 for the right to use the script, so it’s an investment, you’ll probably have to think about. It’s well worth its price. I’ve been using the script for years, and I certainly don’t regret having bought it.

Second disadvantage is that you either need to have the necessary knowledge yourself to set it up, or get somebody to do it. It’s fairly easy for a savvy person, so it’s not that huge a problem.

And then there’s the frequent updates. To be honest, they are made to be easy. You just download the updated files, upload them, and upgrade your installation. But you have to be consistent on updating every time, or at least the major upgrades.

Whether we like it or not, birthday shopping takes up a lot of time, particularly depending upon the age of the recipient. Shopping for children is a lot easier than shopping for the finicky teenager. But there is a way to soften hassles of your birthday shopping – Ecrater. You can shop in the comfort of your own home, and not fight traffic or the crowds in the stores.

Ecrater also uses two major payment methods, Google Checkout and PayPal, which is very handy. We are finding that most of our customers use Google Checkout. While at eBay, they will only accept PayPal. Google Checkout encourages sellers to set up promotions all of the time, which many of them get involved in.

Ecrater offers a quick and efficient method of finding ways to find birthday gifts ion their site. Try and remember an item that your gift recipient bought for themselves. Enter the item’s name into Ecrater’s search engine and see how many items are returned.. You will have a list of items that birthday person would love to cherish. Do not use Ecrater for your last-minute minute birthday shopping, though. You will probably have to pay express mail rates if you do last minute shopping, and if you want it the next day.

Is the person that you are buying from trustworthy? Each seller has a feedback rating and you can always check this to see if they are trustworthy. If they have a good rating 96% and higher, then you can purchase items from them without any worry. Hopefully, you can find birthday items on Ecrater cheaper than eBay, and you can have a more pleasant experience on Ecrater.

Etsy is a wonderful marketplace for selling your handmade crafts. It allows you to work for home, and set your own hours. Know however that there are millions of handmade listings on Etsy, so you should do your research first before opening a store so that you may master the art of selling. Here is some basic information and suggestions if you are thinking about utilizing this avenue for your wares.

Know that Etsy’s main theme is handmade crafts, although supplies, and vintage goods are also allowed. To open a store, which is free, you simply choose a user name, and provide a credit card to secure your account fees.

There is no fee for opening or having a store. For each item you list, there is a small listing fee, which at the time of this article, is only twenty cents. Your listing comes with five free photos which you upload, and lasts for four months on the site. You are able to set your selling price for your item, and choose shipping costs. It is a bonus that you may choose shipping costs per country, or region, or do each one individually, which is nice as you can determine where it is feasible to sell your item. When someone buys your item, they pay for the item and the shipping fee you have set based on their address.

Selling fees are low, currently around 3.5%. There are no additional fees, unless your buyer pays with PayPal, wherein you will incur fees from PayPal.

Billing occurs monthly, which you may pay with your credit card on file or with PayPal.

The platform is very easy to use, and there are several screens to list your item, description, photos, tag (keywords) and shipping costs. Editing your items is easy, and so is relisting your item if it doesn’t sell.

Many people go into Etsy blindly, without doing their research, and get lost in the millions of listings on Etsy only to close their shop as quickly as they opened it. With this in mind, it is imperative you read about Etsy on their site to learn the tips and tricks and hints from your peers. Their “How to Sell” tutorial, and their blog entitled “Storque” is priceless, and full of useful information about ways to increase your sales. There is a “Forum” area where you can network with other users, and “Teams” you may wish to join for added exposure.

Among the topics to help you succeed you will find the following: the need for good and clear photos, detailed descriptions, great titles and proper keywords. Offering a wide variety of items for maximum exposure may be necessary until you find your niche and build your customer base. Many sellers also offer a wide range of pricing to entice potential buyers. Excellent customer service, fast shipping and social networking will help you make money off your handmade crafts.

A major part of what makes a work-from-home opportunity right for you is how you work it. It involves old-fashioned discipline and determination, but you also need the right tools. There are a lot of tools out there. Some good, some bad.

If you are planning to benefit from a new work-from-home opportunity you will need to know what tools you need to make that business work. Some of the most effective business tools, especially for online businesses, include automated transaction tools.

For example, if you have your own e-commerce site and you have a shopping cart integrated into your web pages, it would allow you to take orders even while you are asleep. If you are selling products that require digital delivery that is even all the more advantageous to you. One way you can do this is by way of the PayPal system. This system is set up in a way that you can send and receive payments directly from or to your PayPal account.

One of the most important features of running a work-from-home business is search engine optimization (SEO). Therefore, several SEO tools are made available to help you advance your work-from-home business. For example, you might find a keyword research tool [http://www.techn9ne.org] very useful. This is a device which helps you research the keywords that you would add to the pages of your website. If you know what keywords would be the best to place on the pages of your site it would be automatically indexed by major search engines.

The Make Money Fast chain letter was an email forwarded chain letter that was a scam and no money actually came from it. Further it has since been a term that insiders into the computer industry have joked about and said that if something is impossible then it is a Make Money Fast scam. Some antispammers have termed this MMF as part of their slang.

Dave Rhodes was the infamous name that was attached to the first Make Money Fast email in 1988. Most modern historians believe this was not the correct name and that it was just a name given when the email was sent out. This type of email has been thought to be something that should have been stopped however around 1994 when spamming became a popular trend this was available and was quickly spread. There were a number of other subject lines that were used some of these included “You are a winner” or ” This Really Works” and in addition to the original scam being about money there are a number of other themes as well.

Basically this was a scam that worked similar to how pyramid scams work in that there was a list of individuals with addresses and these people were to each send one dollar to the people on the list and the idea was that as it was forwarded there were a number of different things that would be sent on and in the end everyone would make money fast. One thing that made this scam even harder to detect was that the text of the email claimed that it was perfectly legal and that it was a great way to be able to earn extra income.

In a subsequent email scam there were directions to use PayPal to distribute funds, however if you get caught trying to make money fast by utilizing PayPal for these purposes you will be banned from utilizing PayPal. These letters were quickly so widely circulated that the person ahead of us had gotten their money. The US Postal Service also prohibits the use of the mail for these types of scams.

Chain letters have been around for a number of years. However the Make Money Fast scheme was one that was not considered to be understood or something that would make individuals think that there as some type of overall issue with the chain email. Further there were a number of other problems associated with this chain email and with similar emails/letters that have been sent for years.

Perhaps one of the reasons that scams like Make Money Fast work is because every desires the opportunity to make money quickly and they all believe that they have found the best way within which to do so. However there are also a number of other issues that have been pointed out as being a concern with these types of chain letter/chain emails as they are far too similar to the issues that are being reported as few of these are reported and people continue to fall for them on a regular basis.

OK. I know. You’re saying, “what’s up with the title?” Well, it’s like this… what I know for sure is that systems are boring. I don’t know about you… but as a business owner, I am up to my eyeballs in daily tasks and To-Do lists! That said, if I think of my systems as funky, sexy and cool, I just might feel more inspired to do them. If you’re like me, as an entrepreneur, ‘solo-preneur’ or small business owner, the buck stops with you… and sometimes it’s a drag. However, on the flip side, somewhere in there, you know what I’m talking about…there are times where you just feel plain good….you are energized, ideas are flowing and everything feels fantastic! You have a skip to your step, a smile for everyone you meet and your confidence is at an all time high! In 3 words, you feel… funky, sexy and cool! Your mojo is working big time!

That’s where the systems come in…having systems which support your daily activities and responsibilities tend to makes things flow effortlessly. It feels kinda funky, a little sexy and so cool! You feel confident, things are flowing, you have more time and plenty of energy. What’s more, you aren’t pulled down by details because you have ‘funkysexycool’ systems in place!

Here are 10 of my tips for Funky Sexy Cool Systems for More Success in Your Business!

1. Easy Payment Options! PayPal – Love it or hate it. PayPal is great for the small business owner. This system has a reputation for charging fees upon fees and being difficult sometimes but I’ve seen them continue to grow and get better. PayPal allow you to pay a vendor by credit card whether you need fast documentation or because you want to manage your cash flow. PayPal is the fast, quick and easy solution. Lord knows relying on small business owners to get an envelope, a stamp, write a check and go to the mailbox, is a lot to ask in this era of technology!

2. One Stop Shopping Cart – Try 1shoppingcart.com You can take orders online….which increases the easy flow of products, services and money. You can manage your subscribes and un-subscribes on autopilot. You can set up automatic email reminders called auto-responders for webcast reminders, follow- up on calls, announcements, etc…you write them, schedule them. That’s it.

3. Remember Important Birthdays! Birthday Alarm – This is an easy way to remember my clients, colleagues and friends birthdays. You can load them into the Birthday Alarm system and set reminders. They will email you several days ahead of time…to alert you that a birthday is coming. You get to schedule the reminder timeline yourself. You don’t have to be afraid that you missed a special occasion to celebrate! Your clients and friends will be impressed that you remembered their birthday.

4. Save Time: Pay Your Bills Online – What did we ever do before this? Whether you pay via your creditor’s website or your bank….this is definitely a time saver. Check your bank and see if they offer “bill pay” as an option. Take the headache out of paying bills and turn it into a stress free task, because it’s so easy to do it on-line!

5. Invest for Retirement! I love Fidelity Investments. This is strictly an investment house for rolling over 401K accounts and housing other investment alternatives. You can manage and monitor your account online just like a banking service. This helps you to save and put money aside for retirement. Of course it will take a nice little nest egg for life on the beach once you’re ready to slow down a bit. But you’ll be glad you did!

6. Customize your Email Signature – It’s easy to customize and set up your signature in your email. This is a very simple thing to do yet some people overlook it. Set it up once to save you time. You will appear more professional. On your professional email, list your phone number and website, and even a short announcement about a new product or program. It’s frustrating to receive an email from someone with just a name as their signature and no other information.

7. Hire An Office Assistant! Virtual assistants are a perfect way to delegate for a small business owner. Stop trying to do everything yourself. It’s impossible to be all things to your business. I have found professional and talented people who are capable of effortlessly doing things that I don’t know how to do very well or don’t have time to do. Hiring someone to do billing, presentations, web design or list management will definitely free up time for you. I would recommend either ODesk or Assist U, for finding qualified assistants. With both services you can input your criteria to find the contractor for the job you wish to outsource. What a great resource for entrepreneurs, solo-entrepreneur types! Don’t struggle alone! Be smart, optimize your time and get help.

8. Put your E-Zine or E-Newsletter on Autopilot – Once you have established what works best for your list, you will want to automate and schedule your emails especially if you are sending them once a week. There are many services such as Constant Contact, Mail Chimp and Mad Mimi that allow you to schedule your emails in advance.

9. Organize & Energize Your Marketing – It’s time you give your marketing the oomph it needs to get out there in a bigger way. Your marketing plan doesn’t have to be a dissertation. I suggest a one or two page document succinctly describing your strategies for growth, financials, forecasting, etc. Stop jotting things down on napkins and sticky notes. Keep a journal of ideas and opportunities as they present themselves. Change your plan when necessary. Write a list of all the ways you can get more publicity for your business short-term and long-term. Hopefully this will motivate, inspire and energize you to take action…putting the law of attraction in full effect.

10. Write gratitude cards on a daily or weekly basis. It’s no secret that sometimes as entrepreneurs we get bogged down in the daily tasks and responsibility of running a business that it’s easy to forget the great things that have occurred. Take time to be grateful for all that’s good, awesome and progressive in your life and your business. This simple practice will help you get through those days when things aren’t so great. An attitude of gratitude will help you to attract more positive energy into your business.

© 2012 Quality Media Consultant Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

In this article we will go over 10 simple steps to selling products on eBay from your home.

I will offer some helpful information so you can sell your products and start making money. It is not as hard as you think to build an eBay business that is profitable.

1. Start the right way. Describe your item truthfully. If it is old say that. If the item you are selling is new say that. Provide an accurate description for your buyers.

2. Use good keywords in the title. Search for an items like yours on eBay to get ideas for a good title. Using good keywords gets your items showing up in the search results.

3. Use images. A digital camera let’s you take a good picture of your item. A picture is worth a thousand words to your buyer. If you provide a quality picture your item will sell better.

4. List shipping and handling costs. You have the right to ask the buyer to pay for the shipping cost plus a reasonable handling charge. Using a Buy It Now button to receive free shipping is another good option.

5. Use PayPal to accept payments. PayPal is easy and safe to use. Plus many people already have a PayPal account today. You can start out with a personal account and create a business account later.

6. Immediately ship your item after receiving payment. Prompt shipping is a good way to keep your customers happy and as repeat customers.

This is important. Be sure and provide all of your shipping options. It is smart to have standard and faster shipping options. Always send your article with one form of delivery confirmation. Also require insurance on breakable items.

7. Keep in touch with your buyers. Email them to confirm their payment was received. Email them again to make sure that they were satisfied with their purchase.

8. Create an email list of your customers and add them to it with their permission. Email them when you are running a sale. A good way to develop repeat business is building a list of satisfied customers.

9. Stay informed. Join eBay forums to keep up to date on what is happening on eBay. Being informed is a smart way to run your business.

10. Know what’s hot on eBay. Go to the what’s hot page everyday. Be sure to keep up to date on what is hot in your category.

Follow these steps to sell products on eBay from the comfort of your own home. Building a business on eBay is fun and can be profitable if you work hard enough at it.

Do you want to earn cold hard cash for taking surveys? You are not alone. Many people who come across this opportunity want to be able to earn cash for the surveys they take.

But instead, they come across survey websites that reward sweepstake entries. Your chances of winning a sweepstake are about as good as winning the lottery. Instead of spending hours for a chance at a $10,000 sweepstake, I would rather run to my local convenience store and buy a couple of lottery tickets. It would only take me a few minutes.

Then you have prizes and gift cards. That’s all good if you are a big online shopper but if your goal is to earn cash for surveys – prizes and gift cards, although more appealing than sweepstake entries, are not going to cut it.

And that is what a lot of survey websites want to reward you with – sweepstake entries, prizes, and gift cards. What do you have to do to get paid real cash for taking surveys? It’s quite simple. You just need to find survey websites that pay cash.

When you are online trying to find legitimate survey sites to sign up to, you need to pay special attention to how a survey site rewards you for taking surveys. You can usually find this information on the website’s FAQs or Rewards page.

If the site pays in cash, you will either be paid by check, PayPal, or prepaid debit card. I highly recommend getting a free PayPal account if you intend to earn cash for taking surveys. PayPal is a very common payment method used by survey websites.

If you notice that a survey website pays in points rather than cash, you need to find out if you can exchange those points for cash. Many legitimate survey companies reward points for surveys that can be redeemed for cash rewards; so don’t disregard a site just because they use a point system.

If they do happen to offer non-cash rewards in exchange for points, then you can mark them off your list and continue with your search for survey sites that pay cash.

Make sure that you do adequate research to make sure the website pays. It’s great to find survey websites that pay cash but if they aren’t legit to begin with, you aren’t going to earn any of the cash the site promised to pay you.

Therefore, check the site’s reputation by reading reviews, browsing discussions forums related to paid surveys, and checking websites like BBB.org. Avoid websites that ask for any type of fee, has no privacy policy on their website, makes unrealistic income claims, and has a poor reputation.

Once you have a good list of reputable survey websites that pay real money, you can join those sites and start earning cash for taking surveys.

It is possible to make money online, running your business from home. But to be able to do this, you have to have a web site. Most people starting up a home based business will try and build their own, that’s fine if you know what you are doing but can reflect very badly if you don’t. Home based business web sites, need to be professional looking but not overly flashy!

Some work-from-home opportunities include a web site when you sign up but if starting up a business, consider either one of two options.

1) Pay someone to build your web site for you. Look around you, web sites can be purchased at low cost these days.

2) Use a Free template or paid for template. Web designers work from home too and are happy to work for low fees to get their own online/home-based business off the ground.

Make sure your web site is consistent.

Your customers will want to see a consistent web layout. Most users will make an impression of your site in seconds. The difference between a good looking site and a bad looking site is a potential lost sale.

If you run an e-commerce business from home, don’t try and build the shopping cart yourself. Use a third party product like PayPal, particularly good for selling a few products and well respected. Payment processors like PayPal take care of your Data Protection requirements and leave you to get on with promoting your internet business.

Third party software

With a small investment, you can purchase a complete shopping cart or if you are on a tight budget, you could use an open source e-commerce product. Either way if your home based business sells a lot of products, why try and re-invent the wheel!

Paid host or free host?

Don’t make me laugh! A years internet hosting with your own domain name costs less that taking someone out for dinner. If you don’t make this one investment, then why bother starting a business at home? Owning a domain adds professionalism to your business. How many www. mysite.myinternetserviceprovidername.com web sites have you seen, that are successful online businesses?

How much does it all cost?

Hosting your new web site and fitting it out with e-commerce might cost you less than a $100 per year. This depends how many products you sell and how much of the work you are prepared to do your self. But be realistic know your limitations and know when to ask for help!

Good luck working from home.