Jon,

Ask your bank to set you up with a 'Merchant Account'. There are several options regarding credit cards that go up in initial price and go down in percent costs based mostly on expected volume of business.

I have the basic set up where I have the old carbon imprint machine ( ka-chunk! ) instead of an electronic swiper. After I ka-chunk I have to call a number and push phone buttons for a few minutes to get the bucks into my account... if I had the swipey thing it would all be automatic. There are various fees amounting to $7.50 a month plus 1 1/2% of all sales, if I remember right, although it might be 2-3% . The percent goes down as biz volume goes up, so I have the higher percent because, relatively speaking, I'm not pulling in much compared to a store-front. Each month on a couple grand my fees are about $50. My initial cost was $50 or so since I had to buy the Ka-chunk machine etc. (Initial costs on the electronic swipey machine can go up to $500 or so.) Accepting transactions online is a whole 'nuther set up with some software etc. There should be no 'Fees,' to set up.

DONT go through some company that wants to charge you lots of money to get a Merchant Account. They are usually con artists who don't offer any follow up service and charge way too much. Put on your non-shop clothes and go through your bank. Or get a DBA account ( Doing Business As...) with a bank who -will- set you up.

I wouldn't be in biz if I couldn't accept cards.