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If you are crafting for a living you are going to want to makeas much money as possible. It's nice to be in it just for thelove of the craft, but, if you are going to craft shows to sellyour items, then chances are you are going to want to profitfrom your venture.

One of the best ways to boost your craft show sales is to offercredit as payment. Visa, American Express and MasterCard (andothers) are becoming the transaction of choice when people aremaking snap decision on purchases. Plus, there are quite a fewbenefits for people using credit cards, like air miles and otherreward programs, along with purchase protection.

Crafters have reported in various surveys that have credit cardcapability has increased their sales by as much as 35%.Accepting credit card payments is almost a necessity today asfewer people walk around with a lot of cash in their pockets andtaking checks incurs greater risk. Taking credit cards allowsyou to expand your business to mail order, phone orders and theInternet as well as your craft show sales. Credit cards allowconsumers to make more spontaneous purchases, which is often thecase at craft shows.

Today, there are more options for those who have mobilebusinesses: they can have a wireless debit / credit cardmachines, the standard debit / credit card machines, and youalways have the old style chargex machine with the carbon copytransaction. Any of them will work, however, with theelectronic systems, you can set your business up to take anycredit card. If you have the chargex carbon, then you may onlybe able to accept one of those cards.

Even though there are set up fees and monthly fees, the benefitsfar outweigh the costs. To get started, check your current bankor call a craft guild or association to check the many options,comparing costs and services for merchant accounts. Somewarehouse companies like Costco, offer its members excellentcredit card services at reasonable prices. Create a comparisonchart of the best two or three offers and get some referralsfrom people who are using the services of the companies you'reconsidering. Lastly, before making your decision, ensure thereis an available contact person you can call when you have anyproblems or questions.

Credit cards are a great way for you to offer paymentflexibility to your customers. There is less cash in theaverage consumer's pocket, and more plastic than ever before.So, if you want to sell more of your crafts, maybe you shouldthink of offering a credit card payment option to your customers.