CD Baby Credit Card Swiper - QUESTIONS?
Can I sell anything through this?
Yes, but you should only sell your music merchandise. If you start selling blueberry brownies or hampster hypnosis lessons, we might have to discontinue your service.
What cards can I accept?
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. You can also accept ATM check/debit cards if they have a credit card logo on it.
Can I make SURE their card is good while they are there?
Nope. Sorry. Not until we charge it. About 5% of charges are declined. That is why it is very important to get a phone number and/or email address from each customer and write it on the charge slip.
What if someone uses a bad card, or cancels it the next day?
No problem - as long as you remembered to ask them to write their phone # or email on the sales slip! We'll email you any time a sale failed, with their contact info, so that you can get a new card number from them. If you ask, we can re-run a failed card anytime up to a month later.
Can I use this to take orders by phone/mail/internet?
Nope. The actual card-owner needs to physically hand you the actual card, for you to make an actual imprint of the card, and get their actual signature, or else we can't charge it. For phone / mail / internet orders, send them to cdbaby.com, or go to cdbaby.com for them! Our usual $4 consignment fee applies to these orders, but we take over complete responsibility in getting the order to them. Fast!
Can I use this for foreign currency?
Yes - BUT - you'll need to write the amount in USA Dollars on the sales slip you send us! We can't convert it for you. The amount you write on the slip has to be in USA Dollars. Example: If you sell a CD for $20 Canadian dollars, write “$16.29 USD” as the amount on the sales slip. Current conversion rates are at www.xe.net
Can I personalize the charge so that my band's name appears on the customers' statements?
I wish! It would make our job a LOT easier! But for now - no - the charge will appear as “CD Baby Live Music Sale” - and it's YOUR job to tell them this!. Our toll free number will also appear on their statement, so that the customer will bug us instead of you, if they have a dispute. We keep all of your carbon slips on file just in case there is any problem.
What if a customer doesn't recognize the charge on their statement?
They might not! They might demand a refund when they don't recognize us, and that's why it's VERY important that you hand them the nice little yellow “thank you” card, which explains to them that the charge will be from “CD Baby Live Music Sale”. Our toll free number will also be on their statement so that they can call us to find out what the charge was for if they ARE confused. We also keep every charge slip on file, so if the customer files a dispute, we have signed proof of the sale. That doesn't mean you can be lazy about letting them know who's processing the charge though. If we can't get a disputed charge reversed for you, we will have to charge your CD Baby account for the loss.
How soon after the sale do I need to send in the sales slips ?
The sooner the better! We officially have a one month deadline, but if you find a slip in your laundry 6 months after your show, we can only process it for you if we know that you have given the customer the heads up and gotten their permission to charge them for that sale.
Only 25 sales slips? I'll need way more!
Just log in to your CD Baby account - and you'll see under MEMBER TOOLS where to request more supplies. You can also fill out a reorder form, which is on the backside of our return envelopes. Please only order as much as you're sure you're going to use soon.
Why pay 9% when I can get my own merchant account and pay 3% ?
The 3% is not really 3% after you add up all the other costs of having a merchant account. Merchant accounts vary slightly, but on top of the 3%, most merchant accounts also charge you 30 cents per transaction plus $30 a month just to have it. So, if you sell 15 CDs in a month at $15 each with your own merchant account and factor in the other fees, you are charged an extra $43.50, which comes out to about 15% ( not 3% ). In this scenario, CD Baby would have only charged you $27 in fees ( 9% ).
If you decide to take a break from touring for three months while you work on your new album, your merchant account will charge you $90 for those three months. CD Baby would charge you nothing. The CD Baby swiper is there when you need it and doesn't charge you when you aren't using it. The program is designed specifically for independent musicians, not large companies. On top of that, refill supplies for your swiper are always free and we mail them to you when you run out.