Cash Money

We recently became approved to accept credit cards, which I think will come in handy at craft fairs. While it seems many people come to fairs, handmade or art expos with cash in hand, many still seem to carry plastic, namely their debit cards. I am not ashamed to admit that I would be one of them.

At first, when we didn't know how successful this venture might be, we decided to hold off and see if 1)it WAS successful and 2)if we actively noticed losing any sales because we didn't accept them. Because let's face it, as a small business the fees we pay are a much bigger part of our take home, plus who wants to add yet another thing to keep track of or set up?

Well, I did lose a few sales when customers weren't willing to go to the nearest ATM or write a paper check. OK, I wasn't really pushing the paper check thing. We also are selling lots of jewelry, more than I ever expected at this point. So I made a deal with the devil and we now accept plastic. Our first show with it is this week, it will be interesting to see if it impacts our sales immediately.

How about you. Do you accept plastic at shows? What are your reasons for accepting or not accepting credit?