Payment Solution for site selling cosmetics

[chilluk]

Hi all,

I look after a site for a client that manufactures cosmetic type products - things like moisturisers and balms all made with natural ingredients.

She wants to start selling online, and we applied to Paypal for a Braintree account for payment processing (have integrated that solution several times) - she was turned down for an account on the basis of the type of items being sold.

Does anyone have an suggestions for a good solution, fairly easy to integrate with our own custom basket code, that would allow such products to be sold - customers would be worldwide, but the client in question is of course UK based.

Thanks in advance.

 

[UrbanRetail]

Have you taken a look a Stripe? Very easy to implement and does a sound job.

 

[WebDesires]

what about just normal paypal?

 

[Bainzee]

You need to be careful with Stripe as they're very similar to Paypal in terms of cost and application process. Even if they do approve you, which may be unlikely, especially if Paypal refused them then they have a habit of suspending or fully closing down accounts for no apparent reason, especially if you're not a typical low risk merchant.

whats the website address so i can have a look at the products?

 

[arnydnxluk]

Another vote for Stripe from me. In contrast to some reviews, I've always found them to be very fair and clear. Their list of prohibited business activities can be found here: https://stripe.com/gb/prohibited-businesses I'd contact them first though to make sure.

 

[pelparc]

she was turned down for an account on the basis of the type of items being sold.

Very odd i think there must be some other reason why she has been turned down. Try a PayPal standard business account. Stripe, SagePay, worldpay have never had a problem with us and I know of at least 3 small natural cosmetic sellers who use Braintree. The other issue they might have is that they might think your client will go bust within 2 years like most small natural cosmetic manufactures who invest all there savings and then discover that the market is flooded and no-one wants the next homemade wonder cream regardless how fantastic it is.

 

[Bainzee]

are there other merchants selling the same products, that you're aware of?

 

[pelparc]

are there other merchants selling the same products, that you're aware of?

i do not know what the OP is actually selling other than they said it is natural cosmetics such as moisturisers and balms. Of which there are countless stores selling similar items offering payment via PayPal. We also sell such items and had a Braintree account although we didn't actually use it in the end as a PayPal business account offered more protection from fraudulent use via their seller protection.

 

[Nochexman]

I look after a site for a client that manufactures cosmetic type products - things like moisturisers and balms all made with natural ingredients.

She wants to start selling online, and we applied to Paypal for a Braintree account for payment processing (have integrated that solution several times) - she was turned down for an account on the basis of the type of items being sold.

It would look like the reason she was declined was in your original post - 1) the nature of the product, which if not explicitly on the prohibited business, is certainly unwelcome territory for paypal, braintree and stripe; AND 2) "She wants to start selling" - start-up and cosmetics - that is a no-no.

 

[Bainzee]

I understand, there are many frustrated merchants out there who have been turned down by PayPal knowing that they have competitors processing via them.

I would suggest going down the merchant account as they would take a bit more time in researching the products and if the merchant is selling good, natural products, which have no drastic and unrealistic claims attached to them ie. "make you look 20 yrs younger", unless medically proven, then you should have no problem and they'll most likely get much better rates than what Stripe and Paypal would offer

 

[chilluk]

Thanks all - the products can be seen at (old site) - edit - I can't post links - the site is Arura Tibetan Medicine and there is a product range page on there.

Nobody else would sell them as they are made by the site owner. She has been established in her field for quite some time.

The issue with Braintree was definitely the product type - I had a good contact there as I'd done a few integrations for other stores who sell more traditional items so got it on good authority that was the reason.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

An Internet Merchant Account with one of the main acquirers could be your best bet. They all have established underwriting and risk teams who can spend time looking into a merchant's products/services if they can't be 'pigeon-holed'. We work with a number of acquirers that we set up accounts through on a daily basis and have direct contacts we can discuss this sort of thing with. We have helped merchants overcome obstacles and perceived risk on many occasions.

 

[Bainzee]

yes, you could try getting a merchant account from the main acquirers but from my experience, taking into consideration what you've mentioned so far, you may struggle as mainstream acquirers don't like to take the risk on something that they're not familiar with so i would suggest trying a high risk merchant account provider instead as they tend to be a lot more flexible but they will charge a higher rate on card processing.

 

[pelparc]

What is the risk for the merchant account providers, other than the business failing which is the same risk for any new business. One of our businesses started 15 years ago selling similar products didn't have any trouble at all in getting merchant accounts and it was about 8 months ago Braintree contacted us approved and setup an account, which we decided against using in the end.