High Risk Merchant Tips on Targeting Your Market

A quick lecture on target marketing. To a high risk merchant account applicant, your target market dictates the possibility of whether your merchant account application will be approved or not. Why? Because as a general rule, the more international your client base is, the higher the risk involved in your business. I'll go straight to the point. If you're an exporter or a shipper, watch out over your application. More than likely, if you have nothing solid to back it up like a good credit rating or no fraud and minimal chargeback history, your application will have a great chance of being declined.

But so much for the gloomy outlook. Targeting the market is a skill, since many merchants commit mistakes in this area. Foremost of all, targeting your market is plain and simple common sense. If you don't know "who exactly" are coming over to buy your products and services, then where will the profit come from?

TARGETING YOUR MARKET IS A TRICK

"Target marketing contrasts with mass marketing, which offers a single product to the entire market." I would say it is tricky because as far as marketing is concerned, many merchants would like to mass market and be everything and produce everything that customers want to have. In this case you would have to decide whether to attack a particular segment of the market (niche market) or the masses (mass market). And it's not always an easy job.

So what do you need to consider to make sure you're targeting a good market, whether locally or internationally? As a high risk merchant for online casinos, for example, you need to do a lot of research on the saleability of your products according to:

• number of casino gamers

• possible increase/decrease in the number of gamers

• number of competing casino merchants

• continuing interest of casino gamers

• how far you need to go to get a good percentage of the market share

• profit percentage and sales potential

RACE, RELIGION, CREED...

Of course let's not forget the criteria for targeting your market. Geographics is a big factor among high risk merchants. You may only want to target U.S. poker enthusiasts...

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High Risk Merchant Tips on Targeting Your Market

Trafficking Human Pheromones Online: How Risky?

The sale of human pheromones is quite a controversial issue today. For high risk merchants, however, it is but another desirable drug that helps increase sexual attraction among men and women. Marketing it online may be a bit of a challenge, mostly because people find it hard to believe that pheromones actually work. We won't contest their effectivity. The scope of high risk merchant services guarantee that if you intend to sell this product in your online pharmacy, you can get your application approved as long as you pass your MAP's requirements.

THE AXE PHENOMENON

One time I picked up my fiance's AXE Body Spray, Orion bottle and read the back label. "...when you spray it, women will come."

"Did AXE really say that?" he said. "Yeah!" And we both burst out laughing. I didn't think AXE would go that far to describe its masculine body sprays as phenomenally attractive to women that they will be compelled to...err, come. No pun intended!

WHAT'S WITH PHEROMONES?

Whether AXE has added pheromones in their list of body spray ingredients or not, we do not know (well maybe check the back label again?) but we know for sure that it smells amazing. It does have an effect on me and I don't intend to endorse the product. However, unlike AXE Orion, human pheromones are considered non-prescription drugs and if you sell them online, they are considered high risk products. What's the catch?

Unfortunately, not only CDs and clothes can be pirated. The danger of buying drugs online is that you will never really find authenticity unless you've seen and touched and tried them. The catch is when buyers are sold with so-called pheromone colognes or perfumes that are diluted or fake. And when they receive fake products, naturally they will ask for a chargeback, or worse, sue the manufacturer. Chargebacks are the number one cause of problems among merchants and high risk merchant providers. So how can anyone make sure they are buying the real thing?

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Trafficking Human Pheromones Online: How Risky?

Underwriting High Risk Merchant Accounts

High risk merchant account providers hire an underwriter to help them assess whether an applicant should be approved for an account or not. Like a quality control personnel, an underwriter makes sure that the applicant passes the requirements outlined by the provider in its criteria of merchant account approval. Different MAPs have different criteria of judging whether a business is high risk or not. Among domestic MAPs, an applicant is declined if it is considered high risk. But for those who apply for offshore merchant accounts, the likelihood of getting approved is far greater.

The task of underwriting an application may be complicated, but there are criteria involved that make it easier. Underwriters are responsible for assessing how much rolling reserve should be put on a company, as well as check on the following:

THE PRODUCT:

Product Type

Means of Delivery to Customer

Lifetime Membership

THE COMPANY BACKGROUND:

Fraud History Checking

Processor Switching

Chargeback History

Credit History

THE PRICING

THE BLACKLIST

HOW UNDERWRITERS SEE RISKS

There are several types of risks involved when assessing a high risk merchant account application. However, the most aggravating of these is the contingent liability. As mentioned above, a business that relies on lifetime delivery of product is the most likely to be declined. Unlike risks on fraud or credit, contingent liability increases the possibility of chargebacks in the future. If a merchant is not able to deliver the product or service as promised, customers will want a refund. Generally, the longer the allowance period from the payment to the delivery of the product/service, the higher the risk. Also, if there is little or no proof that it has been deliverd, such as a movie file downloaded online, the higher the risk that is involved.

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Underwriting High Risk Merchant Accounts

More High Risk Merchant Account ezinearticles by Gerri Bryce:

• OsCommerce for High Risk Merchants - The Good, The Bad, and The Possibilities
  [Finance] Just because osCommerce is the most popular merchant account software doesn't mean it's the best solution for your online business. Agree or disagree? Do you find osCommerce to be overrated? A lot of high risk merchants adopt osCommerce as their primary merchant account solution because of so many advantages.



• Insider Tricks to Successful High Risk Merchant Account Application
  [Finance] Many merchants complain about the lack of information when it comes to high risk merchant account application. It's not that there's no information at hand; it's more likely because merchant account providers do not give standard customer service or are simply too lazy to share the nuts and bolts that the applicants need.

Women Gamblers and the World of High Risk Merchants

What's new in the gambling world? Well, apart from Jerry Yang bagging the 2007 WSOP prize, nothing much. The same old story goes that internet gambling can be addictive and this is exactly what motivates the U.S. government to curtail, if not ban, online gambling. High risk merchants have a way of dealing with these current restrictions by being based offshore. I have nothing against it. In fact, I think that being based offshore is practically what makes online gambling businesses survive. Do I have anything against online gambling too? Well, my knowledge is as good as what I hear and read. Consider this:

WOMEN BETTING HIGHER THAN MEN?

"High-stakes women gamblers who use the Internet to wager on games win more often than men, according to a Harvard Medical School study." Initially, anyone would think that the gambling online arena is permeated with middle-class American/European/Asian men who take off a percentage off their income and use it play online, for entertainment's sake. But the report says when it comes to internet betting, women are less afraid to stake big dough and win/lose according to their bets. They are, in short, more fierce online gamblers.

I GOT HUSTLED!

What does it imply? These days I wouldn't call addiction as the main issue in internet gambling. This report is kinda funny though. It reminds me of when my fiance and I went to a casino somewhere in South East Asia. I was then a stupid dork who didn't know the first thing about poker tournaments and stuff. One time...

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Women Gamblers and the World of High Risk Merchants