Address and Payment options on Website?

[Pesty]

Hi everyone!

My questions relate to what information/options to include on my e-commerce site. For the 'Contact Us' page, should I have: Town, State and Postcode, Mobile and Email OR put my physical address and landline as well? Should I get a PO Box and put that in there instead of physical address? My site is selling babies/childrens clothing and accessories and I would prefer to control the communication a bit so as not to wake babies etc with the phone ringing, I keep my mobile with me all the time and have my laptop if the youngest is sleeping (poor kids' cot is in the office as we don't have enough bedrooms!) What would customers like to see there if they have a query? Secondly, in addition to Paypal, Visa, Mastercard and Bank Deposit, should I offer Cheque and Money Order payments as well? I do want to make online shopping as hassle free as possible and be flexible, yet worry about these items getting 'lost' in the mail or delaying customers orders as there is a longer wait for payments to clear. What do you recommend or which options do you include for online webstores? I would appreciate all feedback.

Regards,
Nicki

[Tim from Voucher.com.au]

Personally, I use a land-line number and a PO Box, also with an email contact form that has a 12 hour response time.

I use these mainly because I don't expect any walk in sales or customer service and I haven't had any complaints yet about a lack of information.

Also, I refuse to take cheque payments and even hesitate on direct deposits. I've had customers that forget, get too busy then change their mind in the process. I would think everyone has a credit card, or at least a visa/mc debit card these days and expect to use one if making a purchase online.

Online businesses are meant to be convenient for consumers, and business owners in my opinion.

Cheers,

Tim.

[Pesty]

Thanks Tim, some good ideas there. I'm still not sure but my husband thought we could save the expense of a PO Box and just use our home address and either the mobile number or landline plus the mobile. I think the manual payments might just be too much hassle, I won't be including cheques/MO's unless I see that there's a demand for them down the track. As you said, it's all about convenience really!

Cheers,
Nicki

[Tim from Voucher.com.au]

Yeah, you could easily use your home address, I just prefer to keep that information private :-)

Best of luck!

[Pesty]

Ok I've compromised! I'm going to use my Suburb, State and Postcode, landline and mobile plus I'll have an email contact form as well. I'm still considering a PO Box though as my business is web based, submission to search engines will plaster my home address everywhere! We do live in a reasonably small town though, so not too many crazies about I hope?

Regards,
Nicki

[silkinteriors]

I'd go with a PO Box. They're not expensive and they do offer you a level of privacy.

A few years ago when I had a home based business I had my home address on the website because the bank required a street address be displayed on our website - something to do with having a merchant account. Anyway, sometimes people would actually stop by! And I was never prepared for it... I used to love living in my pjs until 4pm. How embarrassing!

As for what method of payment to offer - I guess it depends on your target market. Most people these days are quite comfortable paying for stuff online with credit cards or via PayPal. If I were targeting people in my parent's generation (70+) I'd offer something else like cheque. As you're mostly targeting mums and cashed up aunts, I think PayPal and credit cards are fine.

[Pesty]

LOL RE the jarmies! Yes I think I'll get a PO Box soon, mainly so I don't have to give my home address constantly.

Cheers,
Nicki

[King]

I offer direct payment on our software sales website - but I ask for a copy of the receipt (even if its just copy and paste.

I've never had a problem with non-payment.

Sometime people send cheques - but I ALWAYS wait for them to clear first!

Money orders are good as well, a nice way to put some 'cash' in your pocket

[BrightSpark]

I would suggest a PO Box, and the provide an email contact page on the web site (If done correctly won't reveal address) which will keep the amount of spam low. For the phone number you could get a 1300 or 1800 number and once again are not giving out personal details.