I'm about done with Partstree.

[Lord_Cavendish]

The problem with paypal is that contesting a purchase/getting a refund is a pita. Getting charges reversed on a CC is easier, and your protections are in law. Used to use cash, just not practical. As for debit cards or bank checks, that's the lowest level of security, they will drain your bank account, seen it happen.

Frankly, I use 1 card for everything, it pays me back 2% into my fidelity 401k...even use it for paying utilities. Keep a few thousand dollars on hand, in clean 20's, for the zombie apocalypse, but rarely use cash.

Of course the best level of security that some folks use for purchases is a one-time-use CC number that credit card companies will issue you when you are concerned about the veracity of a seller...its attached to your normal card, but its made to use 1x.

As for 2-level authentication, welcome to the computer age, brother. You are on a forum that asks for a password, and then makes you click a box to make sure you aren't a robot, and that's for a transaction of $0.

 

[StarTech]

OKay I No longer have one of those. Tennessee requires to go to a class and pay someone to said I am okay again. Doesn't stop from having one at the shop and home.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Stens doesn't take PayPal, do they?

If you have a trade account then you should be getting monthly statements and you can pay them with a cheque.
Down here you get a discount for paying when ordering but it is only 2% where as my volume discount is 15%.
And by using a cheque you don't accidentially miss a payment which on a credit card down here cops a fee + 19% / pa interest.
Statement accounts also means you have the chance of being paid by the customer before you pay your suppliers which is vital if you are running on very limited capital.

 

[PTmowerMech]

If you have a trade account then you should be getting monthly statements and you can pay them with a cheque.
Down here you get a discount for paying when ordering but it is only 2% where as my volume discount is 15%.
And by using a cheque you don't accidentially miss a payment which on a credit card down here cops a fee + 19% / pa interest.
Statement accounts also means you have the chance of being paid by the customer before you pay your suppliers which is vital if you are running on very limited capital.

That sounds nice. But I stopped using checks a long time ago. The last check I wrote, cost me $45 for a pack of cigs. Now it's debit card only. That way I don't have to keep up with what's out, whats in. or anything else.
Plus using the debit card, the bank keeps a running tally of everything.

So I let them keep those records.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

That sounds nice. But I stopped using checks a long time ago. The last check I wrote, cost me $45 for a pack of cigs. Now it's debit card only. That way I don't have to keep up with what's out, whats in. or anything else.
Plus using the debit card, the bank keeps a running tally of everything.

So I let them keep those records.

I have 2 small businesses to keep track of stuff for taxes. I pay for everything with credit cards. Stens orders are a snap using card on file. Vendors for the other business are the same. I get nice detailed reports on line from the bank for taxes plus both cards are cash back. The cards are tied to checking accounts for each business with automatic payments so i don't have to worry about missed payments. Can't remember last time i wrote a check or used a debit card. Of course i don't take credit cards. Check or cash only. What a hypocrite.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The problem that I have & I am sure you have is you can have $ 5000 sitting in the yard waiting for the customers to collect & pay and $ 0 in the bank .
So with a cheque you can hold onto the cheque for a week or two till the money has come in .
Once you have given card numbers to suppliers they control when the money is paid , not you aand you have just taken the first step to loosing financial control of your business.
And that goes for everything you purchase for your business .
Everything I buy is paid for by cheque, phones , advertising, parts, fuel, insurance .
I have just gotten back to work , although not offically open again since December when we were closed because of the bushfires .
IF I had allowed everyone to take payments from my account I would by now be insolvent but I kept some back a bit paid some bimonthly paid some out of my pocket etc till there was some money coming back in .
Down here if I go into debit on my trading account the bank hit me with $ 45 for each & every transaction it honours so that can easily add up to an extra grand a month plus overdraft interest rate of 15% P/A CHARGED DAILY .
I also pay the bank $ 2 month for a paper statement so the bank still creates my records .
The other problem is if you set up a monthly payment for something , down here you can not stop it . the billing entity has to do that so if there is a problem , you have to cancel your card & get a new one.

 

[PTmowerMech]

The problem that I have & I am sure you have is you can have $ 5000 sitting in the yard waiting for the customers to collect & pay and $ 0 in the bank .
So with a cheque you can hold onto the cheque for a week or two till the money has come in .
Once you have given card numbers to suppliers they control when the money is paid , not you aand you have just taken the first step to loosing financial control of your business.
And that goes for everything you purchase for your business .
Everything I buy is paid for by cheque, phones , advertising, parts, fuel, insurance .
I have just gotten back to work , although not offically open again since December when we were closed because of the bushfires .
IF I had allowed everyone to take payments from my account I would by now be insolvent but I kept some back a bit paid some bimonthly paid some out of my pocket etc till there was some money coming back in .
Down here if I go into debit on my trading account the bank hit me with $ 45 for each & every transaction it honours so that can easily add up to an extra grand a month plus overdraft interest rate of 15% P/A CHARGED DAILY .
I also pay the bank $ 2 month for a paper statement so the bank still creates my records .
The other problem is if you set up a monthly payment for something , down here you can not stop it . the billing entity has to do that so if there is a problem , you have to cancel your card & get a new one.

I've made a rule, and the customers don't seem to mind. Anything that's gonna cost more than $100 in part, I get parts money upfront. BUT, THE biggest thing that's kept me from getting stuck with stuff is you good folks. Those last two that I just flat turned down, was because of the advice I got here. I'm sure I'll have some. But the $100 rule seems to be going good.
Also, if a customer has more than one piece of equipment, I do each one separately. Like the push mower, rider and weed eater I took in last week. I finished the push mower first and took it back to them, and got paid. A day later, I did the same thing with the trimmer. Two days later, the rider. The customer lived close, so it was no biggy for either of us.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

You guys got some strange banking practices down there. All of my accounts are with the same bank so i can turn things on and off whenever i want. I always pay off the credit cards every month so i don't pay any interest. I am lucky enough to have a decent cushion in my checking accounts. I guess it is all in how you need to run the business. Luckily the corona virus hasn't cut into my business and Stens is still shipping parts

 

[bertsmobile1]

You guys got some strange banking practices down there. All of my accounts are with the same bank so i can turn things on and off whenever i want. I always pay off the credit cards every month so i don't pay any interest. I am lucky enough to have a decent cushion in my checking accounts. I guess it is all in how you need to run the business. Luckily the corona virus hasn't cut into my business and Stens is still shipping parts

We did not have a war nor revolution to break the power of the old established money hoarders.
So the banks were creted by those with lots of money to protect their money and make more money while preventing those without any money acquiring money and threaten the advantaged position of the old monied institutions .
Thus if you do not need finance you get a very favourable treatment
IF you do need finance you get treated like a criminal .
the whole purpose of it is to redistribute wealth from the poor to the rich .
So once you get into financial trouble you become a lepper down here.
THis protects people like your suppliers but makes it near impossible to get ahead till you have acquired sufficient real estate to use it as calateral by which time you have kids so you remain working for the "rich man" making him much much more wealthy .
We just had a royal commission into our banks & financial instutions if you get bored have a read of the findings , like charging dead people for financial advise . writing loans to the very young that they will never ever be able to pay off .
So yes If I have millions I can use credit cards and pay no fees at all if I have n money I get cruicified with fees & charges.
When the courier business was running well we got unlimited overdraft facility for free , once it started to go bad fees came in from everywhere .

 

[7394]

Government workers are quite lazy at times. Here Tennessee is issuing real id too. Well went for renewal last June. They already had previously required me to provide Birth certificate and two local bills just because moved into the state when I first got here to get a state of Tennessee driver license. They issue me a new DL for eight years that is not a real id version. Now they want to go through whole process get the star added and another renewal fee.Since I not planning any flying or going into any government building except the SS office in the near future, I am just going to let it ride.

TN was NOT pushing Real ID back then. & actually you would not have to pay a full renewal fee. Just a duplicate fee. Like you lost you other one. That's what my wife did when I renewed mine for Real ID. & it is only optional at this point in TN anyhow. But I was up for renewal anyway, so I just went for it.

Because we both have motorcycle endorsements also that cost me extra. But that was expected. .

And I only use a "No Fault" credit card, Like Discover. Anything happens, I get a notice by phone & email asking if that was by me. I make a call & get refunded & they go after the crook.

Never put my bank account on the line. Plus I have mason jars buried here as well.