Is there a service for independent visual artists that allows for them to accept credit cards in per

I am doing a couple of art fairs this summer and don%26#039;t want to lose sales because I can%26#039;t take credit cards. Is there a service to assist the occassional needer of such services?

Is there a service for independent visual artists that allows for them to accept credit cards in person?

A cheap and reasonable alternative to the credit card machine and merchant accounts is using Paypal%26#039;s service %26quot;Virtual Terminal%26quot; (www.paypal.com). The advantages are you can take credit cards, it%26#039;s a low monthly fee, you can cancel and start back up at any time and without reapplying, there%26#039;s no contract, no equipment, and the rates are comparable %26amp; competitive with merchant services. The disadvantage is you have to run the cards through the internet on paypal%26#039;s website, so if you don%26#039;t have access to a computer/internet you cannot run the card at the time of purchase. If you don%26#039;t mind waiting until you get home to run the transaction you can buy a cheap %26quot;old school%26quot; credit card slider (the one that makes a carbon copy of the card) for about $10-$20 or simply create a form to fill out for the info.

Is there a service for independent visual artists that allows for them to accept credit cards in person?

You can %26quot;buy%26quot; a credit card account and card reader. Just do a search for companies that sell these. As an artist, the IRS sees your SSN as your tax number, and this qualifies you as a business/merchant. Of course, credit cards leave a paper trail, and you have to report income on your taxes once you do this (though you should have reported sales prior). You can go the old scool route wth the slider and carbon paper reciepts, to the new high tech cel phone readers.