…It’s about the motion of the ocean, right? I’ll withhold any particular viewpoints on that matter in the sense of bedroom sport. After all, it’s more fun to keep you guessing…LOL
On to serious matters, though. Apparently size does matter. Especially as it pertains to business models and monthly flow. So, let me lay out the latest. In my previous post I mentioned that I was switching payment processors, and this is true. However, there is a little backstory to this. January 27th I was notified by paypal that in spite of 6 years, their approving our original business model back when Dave started it in 2015, so much money in transactions and less than 1% dispute or customer chargeback over that period of time, they were limiting my account for terms of service violation and shutting my business account down. I won’t say how much they are holding for up to 6 months, but needless to say, after being a highly rated, above board seller with them, I’m a bit nonplussed at all of this. What is even more frustrating is that in my search for another merchant processor? Size matters. So much. It matters in how people treat my account and the priority they assign it. For instance, I’ve jumped through all the hoops with this new payment company, EMS. They have even had site inspectors come to my house and verify all of my information. The issue lies with the company processing my account for EMS, which I won’t name out of professional courtesy. They are highly recommended, and yet–I’ve been in direct contact with EMS and know that they are waiting for two documents from me to finish the account. My contact person in the processing company claims that they haven’t heard anything, which means they are either lying or have not been in contact with EMS. To say that I’m frustrated is an understatement. My first inclination is to go all trauma unit coordinator on them (a past life) and say “Hey, I don’t know what the issue on your end is, but I’ve been in contact with the Merchant Systems Company and they want documents x,y,z. Why have you not asked me to submit that information?” Clearly I am already low on their totem pole and I’m worried that confrontation and request for accountability will result in my account application being put in a coma or permanently round-filed. So here I wait. If anyone reading my blog happens to have a payment processor that they would be willing to recommend? At this point I am all ears. I’ve lost so much income this month. In addition to bills I need to pay? This has slowed down my planned growth for the site to a halt.
That said, I’m still selling files. If you contact me at my site email, I offer different payment options while the cart is down. I’m set up to take Zelle, Cashapp, Venmo, and I also take amazon gift cards. How it works is this: You contact me and tell me what files you want. I will confirm that I received the email and include my contact info for the payment method of your choice and as soon as I receive payment I will generate your order and send your download links to you. I also understand that this isn’t something everyone would be interested in. If you’d rather, I can also add you to an email list and let you know when the cart is back up and running if you contact me at the link above.
In the meanwhile, I’ve been learning and getting ready to grow the site. I’m also kind of shocked by the devastation: So much of our original content has been lost. I don’t know if Dave had a file or a drive he forgot to tell me about, or what has gone on. While I can easily download the files up on the site, the missing information and programs comprise the “building blocks” of my files, making the creation of new ones difficult right now, including the customs, which I was hoping to be offering again by March 1. I remember that Dave leaned on the generosity of our community once before when we needed new audio equipment to upgrade our file offerings. I am going to do that again today and post a crowdfunding link in the attempt to be able to keep moving forward, even as I am waiting for our processing approval to come in. Don’t feel obligated to contribute, but if you are willing and able, it would mean the literal world to me and help me grow the site. Anyone who contributes and messages me? I’ll have a special coupon code I’ll email for your generosity. Thank you so much! I’ll keep everyone in the loop as this continues to play out. I’m hoping to be up by the first part of march. Please put good energy and vibes out for me!
