Pawn Shop Merchant Account – Why Should You Get One?
Perhaps one of the oldest institutions in the financial world is the pawn shop. During medieval times, people had no place to borrow money quickly and easily, except at pawn shops. Pawn shops allow you to make an emergency loan without going through heavy paperwork. Ironically, the only thing that has changed is that people no longer need to go to a pawn shop on land to pawn or buy pawned goods. They can easily do it online. Although comparatively slow, many pawn shops today have made the leap from simply being a brick and mortar to having a website of their own. The advantages far outweigh the difficulties.
Why would anyone want to put a pawn shop online anyway? Aren’t so many people already wary of pawn shops with the idea that most of the merchandise on display is stolen? It is unfortunate that people still believe in this myth. Actually, Pawn shops are licensed and regulated by government agencies. Pawn shops that sell various pawn products online also have brick-and-mortar stores to supplement their websites. The only difference is that with the online store, people pay with their credit cards.
The best reason to set up your own online pawn shop is the fact that with the perfectly targeted customer base, you have a lot to offer and can earn good money. A quick visit to any pawn shop will tell you that people from all walks of life pawn their wares that people in other parts of the world may want to buy. At a much lower price, these items can still be in good condition and part of a hobbyist’s collection.
The bottom line is that a pawn shop can have the reputation of any type of business. As a virtual flea market, it boasts a wide variety of items that can hardly be found anywhere. And with the right online merchant account services to back it up, running an online pawn shop actually becomes more fun than tiring.
The variety of items you can sell can range from auto parts, appliances, electronics (computers, game systems, cell phones), CDs / DVDs, toys, rare jewelry (gold chains, brooches, scrap gold, watches, etc.) instruments, and good value items are hard to find. Even vintage items like LPs and unusual collections like rare beach shells are also sold or auctioned online.
One encouraging thing about building a pawn shop online is that you get more exposure and therefore more opportunities for good income. The Internet is packed with state-of-the-art technology and advertising possibilities to help you run your business. For example, if you are a new online pawn shop or if you already have an established store that processes a large volume of credit card transactions on a monthly basis, Acquiring a high risk merchant account can be of great help in your business.
A high-risk merchant account provider offers start-ups the ability to process credit cards through an efficient payment gateway and the option of your international bank. On the other hand, it also allows high volume merchants to accept up to millions of dollars in monthly transactions using multiple currencies.
More importantly, pawn shops cannot operate online if they cannot assure their customers that their transactions are secure. One of the most important aspects of high-risk business account services is the ability to provide credit card security using SSL, 128-bit server encryption, and a number of anti-fraud tools. The real risk lies in the credit card transaction. More than likely having purchased fake merchandise, pawn shop customers should beware of identity theft. As a merchant, it is your duty to give your customers peace of mind. This is the best way to establish a good business reputation, whether you do business online or offline.