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Technology Stocks : CyberCash a buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: john shoemaker who wrote (2038)	9/30/1998 12:38:00 AM
From: Mike Fredericks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3990

I'll try to dig up the transaction fees, etc., and I'll post them here when I find them. Over the phone the woman I spoke with broke down how much was for CYCH and how much was for the bank, but I was most interested in the bottom line so that's all I wrote down... it's in my stack of paperwork in my "office," and it's after midnight so I don't want to track it down now. I'll post back here when I check in in a couple of days. 'Night all. -Mike

To: john shoemaker who wrote (2038)	10/9/1998 4:45:00 PM
From: Mike Fredericks	Respond to of 3990

Keep us posted on how things go. Would like to know their pricing structure also. I believe the monthly fee for CYCH is now $35, but not sure on each transaction. Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but it's been a hectic week ;-). It's hard for me to tell what portion of the fee is from Cybercash and what portion is from Humboldt bank (my processor). Transaction fees: I pay 2.5% plus $0.10 per transaction. I accept Visa and Mastercard only; Discover and Amex are different. Minimum monthly transaction fee is $25.00 [IE if I have a low volume month, they still take $25.00 from me] My maximum transaction volume at this point is $14,000 per month. After 3 months I think (i'm not sure) I can apply for more. From what Humboldt reps told me, this fee structure and volume limit is standard for anyone who has a pulse and a decent personal credit history. I did have to personally guarantee everything because my company is brand new. Other monthly fees: I pay a $35 "Gateway access" fee - I'm assuming that this is the fee to CYCH. I also pay a $10 "statement fee," which I believe Humboldt bank charges me for the monthly statement. Start up fees: I paid $500 to Humboldt up front for them to set up my account with CYCH, and part of that fee goes to CYCH I'm pretty sure. I also paid $300 to my ISP for them to set me up at this end, but I think that this money went only to the ISP as a charge for configuration of scripts and testing the software for me. Keep us posted on your journey and give us the address to your new site. If anyone else here is a merchant looking to get started, keep in mind that you getting set up with CYCH is not an overnight thing. It took me a month from when I sent in the $500 until the site was ready to run because of all the testing of scripts, and processing at the bank's end. They had to do a credit check and send someone out to my "place of business" (my apartment) to photograph my "office" (my computer) and prove that I really did have a business. Completely unrelated (but relevant to those who are starting web businesses) Most search engines take forever to get new links in their databases. Altavista is the exception - they'll index you in 48 hours. Anyway, the site is holymarket.com . It's an experiment, pretty much. My stepfather is the one who designed the jewelry on the site, and he asked me to put his stuff on the internet. We have the angel collectibles because they are popular and we hope they will draw people to the site. I just have no idea if this type of stuff will sell on the web, because often times jewelry is something that people want to touch before they buy... I'll keep everyone posted on CYCH stuff as I encounter it - ease of use of their processing interface (I manually process a charge, it's automatically authorized. That way the charge doesn't go through until the item is shipped which means fewer folks calling up and disputing charges because they haven't gotten their stuff yet). Back in June I was told that CYCH is often unreliable by someone trying to sell me a competing service; I'll let you know if I have any problems (or if I don't have any problems). If anyone has any questions on the merchant's end of things, feel free to post them here or send a private message... I check into SI every couple of days (depends on how busy I am). -Mike