posted on November 13, 2002 12:48:46 PM
I have been here posting and lurking for some time and never read the posts about c2it. I was cruisin some auctions earlier and one said they only accept online payments through c2it because it is free for both parties... is that correct? I just went the the c2it site and want to sign up but thought I might post here and get some honest opinions about their payment system. I like the idea of not paying paypal over $200 a month in fees but want to make sure it is as smooth as they act like. How does c2it make any money if they don't charge the fees??
Thanks for your help and views on this!
posted on November 13, 2002 01:31:18 PM
We use to ask how PayPal and PayDirect offered their service for free when they were new and we got they make money on the float and volume. C2it is trying to get established and the best way to do that is to make it free --- for a while.
The seller offering to accept only C2it is really missing the boat as only a very tiny number of buyers use it or willing to hassle establishing an account.
posted on November 13, 2002 03:34:30 PM
They can do it for free because they are not charging the buyers credit card as a credit, they do it as a cash advance so they don't pay any fees but some credit card companies will charge a fee. I quit using them when my brother was charged $14 extra for the cash advance fee.
posted on November 13, 2002 06:53:51 PM
I love c2it. You can link your acct to a credit card. That is how I make my monthly payment. I have only used it to pay for an auction once but I had a balance so I was not charged anything. I think they make most of their money by the people who transfer money internationally. Who knows, all I know is I can take credit card payments without fees! I had to call their customer service once and the number was easy to find. They answered the phone in less than 5 min and were great. Try finding that on paypal. I think it would be more popular if you didn't have to give your ssn to sign up. That seems to scare alot of people off. Hopefully it will become more popular soon.
posted on November 14, 2002 09:55:09 AM
When C2it works, it is great for the seller because there are no fees and no charge backs to the seller. But:
- about 1 in 3 people are unable to sign up
- the site is very slow when it works and often doesn't work
- you can use Chase or Citibank cards for free but some other cards process it as a cash advance and then there are stiff fees. When a charge is processed, there are different codes that can be used. C2it uses one that is open to interpretation and can be a purchase or a cash advance. It depends on how the issuing bank sees it.
I used to do thousands of dollars a month through C2it but as the site became flakier, I stopped pushing it. I still have customers who use it regularly. I did over $500 last week and it was nice to save the fees. But I still recommend that sellers offer alternatives, preferably accepting credit cards directly with their own merchant accounts, which accounts for a large chunk of my business even though I accept a number of other methods. There are now merchant accounts available with no monthly minimums, statement fees or gateway fees.
posted on November 14, 2002 11:42:31 AMyisgoodyou can use Chase or Citibank cards for free
Are you 100% sure on Chase?
I tried to sign up a Chase issued MasterCard. The first time I received a dialog to try again after 24 hours, the second time I received a dialog, try again after 24 hours, the third time I received the dialog, try again in 24 hours. I finally called C2it and explained the problem I was having. The operator asked me who was the card issued through, I told her "Chase," she told me my Chase MasterCard couldn't be used with C2it as Chase wouldn't accept the chargecode C2it uses.
This was in August of this year and I'm 100% sure this is what happened. If anyone has registered a MasterCard issued through Chase Manhatten Bank please let me know how you did it.
posted on November 14, 2002 12:16:11 PM
I registered and used my Chase Visa card shortly after C2it opened. At that time C2it was charging a 50 cent fee to the sender. When they changed that policy, they refunded me $1.
But as I said, most companies improve with time. C2it is one of the few that gets continuosly worse. I wouldn't be surprised if my Chase card would be rejected if I tried to register now.
