Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

PowerPay Review – Why I Like These Guys

February 4, 2010 | Services

If you’re going to set up a real business online, you’re going to need a merchant account. You can sell things via Paypal, Clickbank or E-junkie, sure, but as far as I’m concerned, the BEST way to process sales is using your own merchant account.

In short, a merchant account allows you to process your own credit cards. So, you might ask, “Why bother? I can do that easily with those other services.” Yes, that is true. Here’s my view, however…

  • Paypal. It is easy, sure. However, you are leaving your funds to their whim. Look around online and you will find horror stories of frozen accounts. I am happy to report that I’ve never had a problem with Paypal, but I’ve also had the same account for years. So, I have a history. If I had opened a Paypal account and then just began processing a lot of sales through it, Paypal is going to red flag your account. You’re using THEIR merchant account and they sometimes react quickly to protect it. Plus, running recurring billing through Paypal comes with some really annoying issues.
  • Clickbank. You pay $50 to get your own product set up on Clickbank. Then, they take, on average, close to 8% of your gross. Then, you’re going to have the issues of Clickbank affiliates “buying” your product as their own affiliate and basically giving themselves a discount. Then you have the fact that Clickbank places automatic caps on your prices (until you have a longer history with them). Clickbank is convenient in many ways, but I like more control.
  • E-Junkie. I’m going to be honest, I’ve not used E-Junkie. But, it is a third-party sales processor, so it is what it is.

When you have your own merchant account, you are in complete control. You set the terms. You set your own prices. You’re not going to have a frozen account as long as you abide by the rules (which are easy).

To get a merchant account, I’m going to recommend PowerPay.

I ran my Blog Masters Club launch through PowerPay and they have been awesome to work with. PowerPay understands the way product launches work. They understand marketing. They understand, with a launch, that an account can go from zero to processing a LOT of money, very quickly. And PowerPay won’t freak out about it.

The thing I like about PowerPay is that they’re human. During the whole launch, I could pick up the phone and get ahold of my account rep (Marvin) in less than a minute. When I left a voice mail for him, he always returned my calls promptly. He replied to me via email equally as fast.

That’s HUGE. Having a merchant account provider that I can talk to on the phone is SO much better than dealing with some bank where I have to go through a sea of prompts and robot voices to speak to somebody.

I also had one little issue arise regarding the use of upsells. I can talk more about this in a later post, but they got it worked out for me. The key thing to note, though, is that 1ShoppingCart and PowerPay jumped in and figured it out for me – and all from a single tweet that I put out on Twitter. This means – they listen. And that’s huge.

I’ve had a merchant account for years before Powerpay. PowerPay is my second merchant account, so I now have two of them. With my first one, the account has been sold off at least twice. It is now operating under a different company name. I have no idea who I would call if I needed to deal with them. With Powerpay, I’ve got Marvin on my speed-dial on my cell phone. :)

You can’t run a successful business if you don’t have a partner to work with when it comes to processing transactions. So, I wanted to make a point to single out Powerpay. I’m quite happy with them and I’m sure you will be, too, when you get your own merchant account.

So, let me ask you this… what has been YOUR experience with different payment systems? Any success stories? Horror stories?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. Paypal Subscriptions are Currently Inoperable
  2. Why You Need A Merchant Account, Bloggers
  3. Merchant Account or Paypal?
  4. Verizon FIOS Review
  5. Introduction to Ecommerce

Learn The Real Story On Blogging As a Business...

  • Get immediate FREE access to the Six Figure Blogger Blueprint
  • Get exclusive stuff NOT available on this blog.
  • Get the latest updates from the weird Risley man who runs this site.

Enter email:

  • The stories of Paypal freezing accounts are perhaps a little over dramatized. Sure it can happen, but usually for good reason and its only temporary. Most merchants who are up to the stage of doing a launch have no doubt owned their account for several years. Not many would be opening an account and running a launch the next day. We just ran a small launch with Paypal and had no problems.

    Cost is a massive consideration to most merchants, but you haven't mentioned how much Powerpay charge. The MAIN reason we use Paypal is because their per transaction fees are only approx 2.6% all up. When you use your own merchant account you pay them 2-3% PLUS you then have to pay your chosen payment gateway another 3-5% per transaction.

    So 2.6% vs 5-8% for other options. Most merchants are going to go with profit over the quality of the payment company's customer service every day of the week... no matter how good Marvin's phone voice is ;-).

    How much is Powerpay anyway? Perhaps you're doing so well, cost may not be a big factor for you anymore.
  • ebusinessmom
    Thanks for this information. I've used Clickbank, which I don't like. I've had an account with Paypal and never had a problem with them. However, I am always thinking in the back of my head that I don't have total control over what happens to my account. My webmaster was shut down on Paypal and now uses Payoneer. However, I don't like Payoneer either. I have to consider Powerpay. I have just bee too lazy to switch from Paypal. I've just tweeted this article. Thanks.
  • Very topical for me this. As Nathan said, we use PowerPay for Beyond Blogging.

    But I've also been moving money around recently into my personal Paypal account for various reasons. Anyway, yesterday the account was frozen! Because some large payments had gone through, PP wanted to verify more details about me. It only took a few hours and I had to upload some documents, then it was all straightened out, but it's scary when it happens!
  • Sam
    Is PowerPay only for US residents? Can people from outside the US get an account with them too?
  • Not really sure. You'd have to ask them.
  • I have never heard of PowerPay, before now. I have always used PayPal, and it's working great so far. But I've heard the horror stories, and I'm aware that if I don't play by their rules my account can get forzen. (the problem is that I'm not aware of all the rules).

    I've been thinking about using Clickbank for new products. But that's mostly because of their market place. It's an easy way for affiliates to find my product.

    It didn't seem as easy to find products to promote as an affiliate at PowerPay, was that a concern of yours before the launch?
  • PowerPay is a merchant account, not an affiliate network. So, it isn't really comparable. It would be up to each person using PowerPay to have their own affiliate program. Same with any merchant account.
  • peg
    You talk about the costs associated with PayPal and Clickbank but never mention fees and costs with PowerPay. Is it cheaper than the others?
  • It is about on par with Paypal, if I recall, but significantly cheaper than Clickbank.
  • Amanda Hendrix
    <You pay $50 to get your own product set up on Clickbank.

    Not true. It's free.
  • No, it isn't. It is free to get an account, but to get your product listed for sale after they approve it, there is a fee. Unless they've changed this within the last couple weeks, that's the way it has been for some time.
  • Hi David,

    I think they've got with the program & cut these fees.

    CB is fine for those starting out - they've improved since the new CEO took charge - but are not without flaws. eJunkie is fine for 1-off sales. Darren R uses it.

    Will look at Powerpay - looks impressive.

    Ivan
  • ralphcarlson
    Not ready yet but this is good to know and bookmark
  • I don't sell anything online and therefore am in no need of this just yet but this reminds me of my hosting provider and how the new provider I'm with you can easily call and talk with a real person. In my mind it's huge to know you have a real person who you can talk with over the phone in case of anything happening.
  • Earlier this week I sent a client an invoice with a link to pay via credit card online. This option is my merchant account form. Today I sent a follow-up e-mail with a link to PayPal as another payment option. They replied, "I detest paypal. :-)"
  • BTW - Paypal is great, you just have to know how to use it, I guess you tried to say that too.
  • Yeah. I use Paypal as well. But, I also know from experience that the recurring stuff comes with issues. For example, if somebody modifies their credit card on file, it cancels the subscription even if they didn't want to.
  • Is 1SHoppingCart and PowerPay connected in anyway?
  • No. 1SC does refer people to PowerPay if they want a merchant account, so there is an affiliate relationship of some kind, but they are completely different companies.
  • Thanks, David.
  • I have been deeply searching the issue lately since I have been scoring sales on line.
    And I am very very happy with Payloadz, as an affiliate and as a merchant, I just renewed with them yesterday. Great service, reliable.
  • So far I've only used Paypal, but it's been flawless. I'm currently running a launch with both one-time payment and recurring payment options, and I haven't had any issues.
  • Mike and I used PowerPay for our Beyond Blogging launch and I agree completely. Customer service was great.
blog comments powered by Disqus