Do you pay the 3%?

[MachIVshooter]

Keep in mind the 3% fee usually applies to debit cards also

Correct. I pay 2.47% + $0.19/transaction, whether it's debit or credit.

I run an auto repair shop. I do not play the 3% fee/cash discount game. Instead, I'll eat the 3% on labor, but all parts are automatically marked up at least enough that I'm not losing money on them if a customer pays with card. I appreciate cash, but the price is the price.

That said, the mark-up on new guns is minimal, especially for some of the discount retailers. Think ~10%, maybe less for those guys. If you were only making $50 on a $500 item to begin with, would you want to pay $15 or $20 in card fees?

 

[offroaddiver]

I have only paid the extra at one gun store. It was too good a deal to pass up. They charged me the 3% which was less than the gas it would have taken me to drive to the nearest ATM of my bank and pull the cash needed. Most places that do the 3% are mom and pop places that don't do very much traffic with debit or credit cards. I have even been in some recently that do not take anything but cash and they will test it with marker and the black light. Most of the time I don't care unless I'm in a pinch to buy something needed or traveling.

 

[Warp]

Keep in mind the 3% fee usually applies to debit cards also

Some people are worried about the government coming to get him if the government knows they buy guns or ammo.

As if paying in cash...and then telling us all about on THR...will do change anything.

 

[AZ]

Never use CC, don't like what they can lead to. The 3% for me would just be extra incentive not to do so.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I always go cash. It gives you that extra barganing chip when trying to get the best price. Usually when I go into shops and ask if there's any room on the price of a gun, they ask - usually quite bluntly - "Well, how'r you paying?" Cash makes a difference, and given the choice between plastic or paper, most dealers wanna take the money and run.

Also, the "Just put it on the card" mentality is a slippery slope.

 

[Walkalong]

On occasion.

 

[carbine85]

I factor in all costs to determine the final price I will be paying for a firearm. This includes the tax, shipping, and any other charges.
I see a lot of guys on gunbroker paying top dollar for a gun, $35 shipping, FFL and sometimes tax. It's hard to make an investment out of something when you don't consider all cost.

 

[cfullgraf]

I use a credit card as opposed to a debit card. I get to use their money for a while. If a mail/internet order goes south, I have not laid out any of my cash yet. Although I may have a fight with the credit card company.

The credit card companies do not like me as I pay off the bill each month.

The credit card fees are part of doing business and as others have said, they are there whether advertised or not. When the states figure out how to collect sales tax on everything, my view will probably change on the credit card fees.

 

[mdauben]

I see it as a BS way to advertise a lower price than reality.

This. You pay it either way, this is just a more annoying way to do it. I'm acutally supprised that the CC companies let them get away with it, I was under the impression that most of them forbid such surcharges in their contracts with retailers.

In any case, the alternative is usually a USPS money order, which costs you extra money, too, plus the delay in the mailing time. So, I just pay the darn surcharge.

 

[csa77]

Iv never once bought a gun on credit, every gun I own I paid cash for.
I only use my credit card a few times a year, its just too easy for me to get carried away with my spending using credit.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

If there is a firearm that I have been wanting for a long time and it is hard to come by (for whatever reason), then I pay the 3% fee. In the long run I will forget what I paid for it fee or no fee. I will just be happy to own it. I have a few that I know I greatly overpaid for (or spend as much modifying it as it cost to buy it) but don't mind if it's what I really wanted.

 

[gfanikf]

I try and avoid places with the 3% fee and I think I only did it once with Southern Ohio Gun. Generally there are more than enough places that take debit or credit without feeling a need to squeeze a few more bucks out me.

 

[mgkdrgn]

why the firearm industry just doesn't absorb this fee

And how do you think they "absorb this fee"?

Why, just like everyone else does, by raising their prices. It don't come out of Obamas' stash.

Many firearms dealers (like me!) operate on razor thin margins as it is. I'm lucky to get a 10% markup on a sale ... gross. Take away 3% of that and I'm down to 7%, gross. Take away the taxes I pay on that and I'm down to 3.5% or so. We haven't even talked about paying any operating expenses yet.

That is just about the "Pizza Delivery" rate. That is, anything less than that and I'd make better money on my time working for Domino's delivering Pizza.

I don't take CC's yet ... but I'm in the process of getting that set up. And guess what ... IT AIN'T FREE. There are monthly fees, equipment fees, insurance fee ... and we haven't even talked about the actual transaction fees yet.

Now, do you think it's "better" (how ever you choose to define that) for me to raise my prices to EVERYONE to cover those fees, or have them covered by the folks that want to use a credit card? Gotta be one or the other, there isn't any 3rd choice.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

I think the issue is this: you are much less likely to regret a purchase if you purchase with cash. You've got the money to spare, and you spent it on something you wanted.

Too many people (myself included) have made reasonable purchases on credit cards and not paid it off immediately. Long-term, life is better if you minimize the use of debt (especially debt with credit-card style rates. The 3% you pay on your house is different.)

I'd say the same thing about financing a car though. Better the older, less fancy car you can afford to buy with cash than a newer car you need to finance.

 

[TennJed]

I think the issue is this: you are much less likely to regret a purchase if you purchase with cash. You've got the money to spare, and you spent it on something you wanted.

Too many people (myself included) have made reasonable purchases on credit cards and not paid it off immediately. Long-term, life is better if you minimize the use of debt (especially debt with credit-card style rates. The 3% you pay on your house is different.)

I'd say the same thing about financing a car though. Better the older, less fancy car you can afford to buy with cash than a newer car you need to finance.

What you say us valid and true, but has been mentioned a few times already the 3% applied to debit cards as well. You can still pay the 3% without using credit

 

[mgmorden]

Now, do you think it's "better" (how ever you choose to define that) for me to raise my prices to EVERYONE to cover those fees, or have them covered by the folks that want to use a credit card? Gotta be one or the other, there isn't any 3rd choice.

Here's what I'll guarantee you - 3% different in price isn't that much to most people - they don't really mind paying that much more in most cases. What will irk them, though, is when they hear *WHY*.

Realistically, everyone I know under the age of 40 uses a debit card. At any given time I can I have less than $5 cash on me and if I ever have more than that I'm on my way to the bank to get it deposited. My paycheck goes directly into my bank account (not even an option where I work - you provide an account for direct deposit or you don't get paid - we don't issue checks). Cash is just a terribly annoying liability - it can be lost, stolen, destroyed, etc. Banked money is more secure (and for all the SHTF folks - if you store up cash instead of bank deposits then if the system ever collapses all you have is a bunch of worthless paper).

So, you have whole generations of shoppers who generally WILL NOT deal in cash - and then when they go to make a purchase you're going to tell them you're charging them extra for using the defacto standard payment method? Doesn't jive well.

Basically, as a businessman, you don't ask whats fair to this customer or that - you want to ask "What is the way that my business will make the most money?". I can pretty much guarantee you that a 3% hike in overall prices will turn away less customers than a big sign saying you're going to charge 3% extra for credit card orders. This is beside the fact that Visa nor Mastercard allow such surcharges, so as soon as one of your customers gets irritated enough to file a formal complain you risk having your ability to take cards revoked altogether.

Take a lesson from the big boys and just make sure your margins are high enough to cover the fees. I can guarantee you that a significant portion of your sales will be paid using a card, and that portion percentage-wise will only increase.

I'll admit that I occasionally pay the 3% hike on online purchases if the price is really that much better, but if it's anything local, I flat out will not shop anywhere that advertises such a fee or a minimum purchase.

 

[ny32182]

Guns and gas seem to be the two products I buy most often that have the 3% optionally broken down and directly advertized as such.

It is truly a case of a "cash discount". I don't see why anyone would dislike this. It should be the standard everywhere. As someone who uses a debit card all the time, since I choose to do so I should be the one paying the fees to do so, not people who elect not to use them.

In every business that does NOT advertize a separate price, YOU ARE paying the extra 3% with NO choice regardless of whether your payment method incurs the fee.

Why anyone would prefer to have fewer options with no cash discount available just to have a "feel good" lack of 3% line item on the bill is completely beyond me.

 

[mister_murphy]

a good number of the public will complain about a surcharge, and if you raise your margin to cover the cost of the fees associated with credit/debit cards, the ones who know you have raised your rates just for that reason will complain, or be another stores customer.

Personally, I try to pay with cash because its generally cheaper for the store, and easier for me, unless its something like mail order, or say I find a good deal and have the cash in the bank instead of my wallet, and pay with a debit card in that case.

What I have learned from growing up in a family business (that lasted over 50 years), and in the past, starting and running my own business for a few years myself is that customers usually have a short term memory, and even if the service/product you provide is better, generally the customers will want it for the price as elsewhere with bad service/product. So if your in business, set your margins properly, and let it ride, thats all you can do.

 

[xwing]

If they have those fees, I dust off my checkboox. I can always wait a week or two...

 

[Panzercat]

Many firearms dealers (like me!) operate on razor thin margins as it is. I'm lucky to get a 10% markup on a sale ... gross. Take away 3% of that and I'm down to 7%, gross. Take away the taxes I pay on that and I'm down to 3.5% or so. We haven't even talked about paying any operating expenses yet.

That is just about the "Pizza Delivery" rate. That is, anything less than that and I'd make better money on my time working for Domino's delivering Pizza.

And yet you somehow remain in business with such thin crust margins... Hmmm.
Argue your point, but nobody's going to be impressed with the theatrics.

 

[bergmen]

You need a "Don't have or use a credit card" option.

I haven't had a credit card for over 15 years. I only use debit cards (when I use cards at all) preferring to manage assets rather than debts.

Dan

 

[bergmen]

AARCO charges $.10 more per gallon of gasoline for using a credit card.

Which is why I never buy gas at Arco. The convenience of using a debit card at stations that appreciate my card business trumps the lower Arco prices. Arco hates card related transactions.

Dan

 

[Revoliver]

I gladly pay it.

Why? Because if I'm in a situation that has that added fee tacked on to it, it means I've already exhausted my other options (no one has it locally, other sites that do not charge don't have it, the price locally is so high that it is not an issue).

 

[oneounceload]

Which is why I never buy gas at Arco. The convenience of using a debit card at stations that appreciate my card business trumps the lower Arco prices. Arco hates card related transactions.

Dan

Then you missed the whole point - your DEBIT card is equal to cash and accepted at ARCO. ARCO doesn't take credit cards at where I lived - even if you were willing to pay more

 

[bergmen]

Then you missed the whole point - your DEBIT card is equal to cash and accepted at ARCO. ARCO doesn't take credit cards at where I lived - even if you were willing to pay more

Actually I should have been more clear. At any place I buy gas, other than Arco, it is pay-at-the-pump convenient. Arco makes card buyers go to a kiosk and enter in several bits of info before authorizing purchase, sometimes having to stand in line. I just find it easier and more convenient to handle the whole thing at the pump I'm parked next to.

But it used to be even worse a few years ago. Nothing at the pump or pump aisles, everyone had to go in and present either cash or jump through the card hoops. It was easy to see that they really, really did not want to deal with plastic at all so I made it easier for them.

Dan