quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I thought that was not allowed by cc companies.

I had the same idea. When credit cards were first introduced, a lot of stores gave a loer price for cash buys. The CC company charges the seller to access and accept cards, and they were putting that charge back onto the customer. The CC companies quickly decided to make it a part of their contract with the sellers that no deals for cash payments would be allowed.

flashguy

In my plumbing/heating business I just absorb it, most customers pay with cash or a check.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
I get it that merchants are being squeezed, but trying to pass on all increased cost encountered is just not going to work. People (Me) will simply go somewhere else, even though some will consider that petty, you've got to draw the line.

You'll happily pay 3% more for the quality same food and service at another restaurant that doesn't stress you out with a 3% 'cash discount' or 3% 'credit card surcharge' choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
What restaurants around here are doing is "going cashless" - you have no option but to pay by credit card. Those places no longer get my buisness.

In their defense, not having a lot of cash on hand lowers their risk of being robbed.

flashguy

quote:

I get it that merchants are being squeezed, but trying to pass on all increased cost encountered is just not going to work. People (Me) will simply go somewhere else, even though some will consider that petty, you've got to draw the line.

I don't teach any business courses, but to the best of my knowledge a business has to pass on all increased costs incurred in order to maintain a profit. No profit, no business.

Like Richard said, you have two options. You can pay the extra added on by merchant A who is upfront and puts it on a line item for you. Or, you can pay the extra added on by merchant B who simply buries it in his price.

Merchant B is also charging his cash customers an increased price as well and making that 3% on every sale, and not just yours. Seems less honest to me.

When I got my cold water heater replaced, they had two prices, cash and credit.

I paid cash.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
What restaurants around here are doing is "going cashless" - you have no option but to pay by credit card. Those places no longer get my buisness.

In their defense, not having a lot of cash on hand lowers their risk of being robbed.

flashguy

Pilfering and stealing from employees is a part of that equation also.

I will tend not to patronize businesses that have different cash and cc prices. If I know beforehand that they do this, I will try to pick a different business to patronize.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
I get it that merchants are being squeezed, but trying to pass on all increased cost encountered is just not going to work. People (Me) will simply go somewhere else, even though some will consider that petty, you've got to draw the line.

You'll happily pay 3% more for the quality same food and service at another restaurant that doesn't stress you out with a 3% 'cash discount' or 3% 'credit card surcharge' choice.

Just raise your prices. That seems more honest to me. Pricing trickery get's figure out pretty quickly.

Only one restaurant around here does it. The first time I saw the extra line item on my bill I asked the server about it. She pointed out a tiny sentence at the bottom of the menu's back page. I still go there, but not as often and with cash.

None of the other local eateries have jumped on the bandwagon...yet.

I've not seen it here in TampaBay, but I always pay with cash anyway.

I do use a credit card for online purchases, but cash for pretty much everything else, or a check.

Bob

IIRC, a few years ago there was a lawsuit involving VISA where the credit card fee charge was at stake. VISA lost and so a company can charge the consumer 3% or whatever it is to cover the CC fee. This is really no different than the exorbitant shipping fees you see with some companies. $12.99 or flat $15.00 for example. How many of you have ordered a spring or a small part where the shipping was under a dollar or two yet you had to pay $15.00 for the package? I tend to shop with those companies who earn my business. Overcharging isn’t one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I will tend not to patronize businesses that have different cash and cc prices. If I know beforehand that they do this, I will try to pick a different business to patronize.

I imagine, let me know if I'm incorrect in my assumption, that you would not apply this policy to ALL businesses.

For example...my company offers a professional service, one which requires decades of school and experience along with a professional license. Typical fees are around $4,995 - $8,995, though more complex reports often do often contract for up to $19,995 per report. For a variety of reasons, some clients are happy to pay the extra $150-200 credit card fee for convenience. Many will just ACH or wire transfer the funds, very few clients these days snail mail a check though I happily accept them. I don't have large enough margins to write-off $200 even in a $6,600 report these days. The costs of doing business only keep going up. Now certainly if given a choice, and many people will make all kinds of stupid decisions about an inferior product to save $200, you might choose my competition who will accept your visa card and eat the fee. I'm offering a discounted price for my services if my client chooses not to pay with a credit card. I'm passing the savings directly to a client.

Again...in my industry, my company is the unicorn for even accepting Paypal, credit cards, crypto-currency or anything other than a check.

Very common here in NY.

Long time ago, the credit card issuers prohibited extra cost for using a credit card, or discount for cash. That changed a while ago; per RichardC's post, it was in 2013.

Merchants are now permitted to pass credit card processing costs to the customers. However, there is a limit. I found out about this when I received a bill for Roadside Assistance; there was a line item for using a credit card, and the amount seemed excessive to me, so I checked with VISA and I was told that yes, there is a limit. I forget the details, but they did state that the surcharge imposed by the Roadside Assistance company was higher than the limit specified in the VISA agreement.

I passed this information to the Roadside Assistance company, expecting that they would reduce the surcharge to the limit in the VISA merchant agreement, but they surprised me by removing the surcharge completely.

quote:

This is really no different than the exorbitant shipping fees you see with some companies. $12.99 or flat $15.00 for example.

I think it's the exact opposite of that. In your example a package that costs $2 to ship is being billed $15. We won't need to get into the "handling" portion at all. Your example is "overcharging" every customer whos shipping actually costs less than $15 to ship. Fair point.

In the case of companies factoring in the overhead of credit cards across the board, they are overcharging every single customer that pays with a cash or check, no? Those customers do not result in a fee for which they are including within their price.

By making it a line item charge they are A) offering a choice to the consumer, and B) only charging those who result in that portion of the overhead. Doesn't get much more honest or fair than that.

Thai restaurant here has two prices, regular and "less 10% for cash" which benefits them in a couple ways. Needless to say most people pay cash there.

The only restraunt I've experienced utilizing this practice is Taco Casa. I no longer eat there.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
I imagine, let me know if I'm incorrect in my assumption, that you would not apply this policy to ALL businesses.

There are always exceptions - each transaction can be held case by case.

As a general rule, I may be more forgiving for lower margins (where wages are reasonable; less forgiving for lower margins where wages are higher than mkt). And especially for transactions that are low dollar value and low margins.

I'm less forgiving for transactions that are anticipated / perceived as mid/high margin and/or high wage and/or high dollar value.

Again, I can make case by case exceptions. I try to be reasonable. Just saying rules of thumb.

I've seen "3% fee for credit cards," "3% discount for cash" and "minimum $x.xx purchase for credit cards" from various merchants, but not in a restaurant.