Starting an E-Business on a Shoestring
Step 8: Determine How to Receive Payments
Web Marketing Today, Issue 101, July 9, 2001

This article contains older information. Go here for newer information on shopping carts and transactions.

In this month's issue I'm discussing the vital issue of how to receive payments on your website.

1. Introduction to Internet Money Transfer
2. Comparison of Low Cost Money Transfer Systems
3. Review of PayPal

There are also three current topics I'm studying that I need your help with:

• Payment Gateways, especially outside the US. Please tell me what you use, the URL of the payment gateway company, and how good you think it is. I'll be reporting soon.
• Academic Courses in E-Commerce and Web Marketing. If you're an instructor or recent student, please let me know what textbooks you've used, etc. A nice freebie for instructors. :-) Survey is at: http://www.wilsonweb.com/survey/texts.cfm
• Pay-Per-Click Search Engines (PPC), such as with GoTo.com. Which PPC search engines have you found helpful? Which are junk? Any tips? What has your experience taught you?

Thanks so much for your help on these topics. I hope you're having a wonderful summer (or winter to those down under).

God bless you,
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Editor

P.S. I really appreciate the sponsors that keep Web Marketing Today coming to you. Please patronize them -- they're the Internet good-guys who have survived the downturns and are going strong. Why doesn't your company learn about the prime exposure to Web marketers and business owners that sponsorship can bring you? http://www.wilsonweb.com/ads/

Introduction to Internet Money Transfer

Most e-businesses need a way to collect money from online transactions -- especially businesses with customers outside their geographical areas. This introduction lays the groundwork of the typical merchant account/payment gateway approach to e-commerce and contrasts it with some newer, less expensive approaches to online transactions. Read the Introduction.

Comparison of Low Cost Money Transfer Systems

There are several e-commerce solutions that you can use with low or no set-up charges. Here's a comparison of the leading contenders: PayPal, BillPoint, c2it, eMoneyMail, BidPay, Yahoo! PayDirect, CCNow, ClickBank, and DigiBuy. We compare fees and openness to international merchants with the typical merchant account/payment gateway system. See the Comparison.

Review: PayPal

A low-cost electronic funds transfer system is now mature enough to be a great platform for e-commerce sites that are starting on a shoestring. In this review, I examine the strengths and weaknesses of PayPal's Shopping Cart system for online merchants. Read the Review.

New Ecommerce and Web Marketing Articles

Each month our team of link editors scours dozens of online periodicals and resources to find key information on e-commerce and Web marketing. With so much new literature available to you, how do you find what you need quickly and painlessly? Here's a selective and searchable database of article and resource links to help your research and keep you up-to-date in the field. (Links gathered in a given month are usually available during the second week of the following month.)

My "Real" Book Is Coming Soon

Planning Your Internet Marketing Strategy: A Doctor Ebiz® Guide
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
John Wiley & Sons, current publishing date October 12
$19.95, trade paperback
ISBN 0471441090

I've written a "real" book, and it will soon be published. I'll be returning page proofs to the publisher next week.Why don't you take a look at the Amazon site. You can "pre-order" the book and not pay until it is published; it will be shipped to you as soon as it's available. If you sell books through Amazon or another bookseller's affiliate program, please put a link to it on your site today. The following link will take people directly to the book on Amazon US: -- just substitute your own affiliate ID: http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471441090/ref=nosim/wilsoninternetse