How to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital

How to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital Thievesก

by: George Papazoglou

Can you encounter the number of times where a Credit Card Sale was generated, only to receive a ‘refund Notificationก from your contracted ecommerce processor on behalf the กcustomerก?

Welcome to the electronic world of กcybershopliftingก.

Unscrupulous surfers, disguised as potential กcustomersก, systematically opt to ordering goods (using credit cards) in electronic form of delivery, only to request a refund minutes or days later after receiving the product.

The กcyber thievesก consent the wellknown กloopholeก of specific ecommerce processors who deploy a กno questions askedก refund policy.

Some… might concur to the predicament that a กliberal refund policyก boosts sales, but it is statistically verified that these claims are unthinkingly based gross sales figures, where refunds are *not* accumulated to extract the กnet profitก (minus refunds).

In numerous cases, the cyber thieves (or else called freebie hunters) automate their thievery, by using premade templates to ask for a refund, in order to save time and reap as many digital products as possible, for gratis.

A portion of cyber thieves, download a digital product, whether ebook or software, only to illegally sell it online at eBay or sell it in กwarez sitesก.

Optimistically, these unprincipled pinches are either prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law, for infringement of copyrights, or face imprisonment along with heavy fines.

So if you want to avoid getting targeted by cyber thieves (and losing thousands), the wisest approach is to conduct business with an ecommerce processor who will protect you against dodgy กfreebie huntersก (see http://trafficengine.net/stormpay for a genuine payment processor).

After all, it is *your duty* to forming your own ‘refunds policyก, not your processorกs.

About The Author

George Papazoglou is the author behind http://cybersoftware.com

This article may be freely distributed / republished, as long as it contains the authorกs credits and the precise entirety of the provided article, titled: กHow to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital Thievesกก.

This article was posted on September 01, 2004

by George Papazoglou

Googleกs Wonderland: Trouble In Paradise?

Googleกs Wonderland: Trouble In Paradise?

by: Dean Phillips

The fairy tale existance of Google is starting to experience shockwaves.

So, whatกs the source of these shockwaves? Click fraud. As my readers know, Iกve written several articles on the subject of click fraud, suggesting that since itกs the market leader, Google should take a more proactive approach with the problem of click fraud.

Until now, Google has been mostly quiet about the subject, issuing this single statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission:

กWe are exposed to the risk of fraudulent clicks on our ads. We have regularly paid refunds related to fraudulent clicks and expect to do so in the future. If we are unable to stop this fraudulent activity, these refunds may increase. If we find new evidence of past fraudulent clicks, we may have to issue refunds retroactively of amounts previously paid to our Google Network members.ก

So, why isn’t Google doing more about click fraud? In one of my articles, I theorized that with the amount of money involved, itกs actually more cost effective for Google to issue an occasional refund to its advertisers, than to develop technology to eliminate click fraud.

That theory was echoed in a recent article, in which the author wrote:

กGoogleกs primary defense against click fraud has been to refund advertisers their money if they complain and Google sees evidence that fraudulent clicks have occured. The problem with this is that the burden of proof is on the advertiser … and Google knows that most advertisers will not take the time to argue. Therefore, Google has a financial incentive not to deal with click fraud on their own. It not only costs them to deal with the problem but if they do find a solution to stopping click fraud … it will cost Google much more when they don’t get paid for 20 percent or more of their clicks.ก

However, all of that may be about to change. At an investor conference last Wednesday, Google CFO George Reyes stated:

กI think something has to be done about this really, really quickly, because I think, potentially, it threatens our business model.ก

My question is this: What took Google so long to come to that realization? Itกs not like click fraud just magically appeared yesterday. The media has been reporting on the problem for at least the last 3 years.

Smug in its ivory tower, did Google think the problem was just going to go away by itself? Or was it waiting for Overture or one of the smaller payperclick companies to solve the problem, so it wouldn’t have to deal with it?

These are troubling questions, to say the least. Even more troubling is Googleกs passive approach to a serious problem, which in my opinion has been reprehensible.

It should be interesting to see what Googleกs next move is. Google CFO George Reyes statement notwithstanding, Iกll believe Google is serious about eliminating click fraud, when I finally see it!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected].

Visit his website at: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on December 07, 2004

by Dean Phillips

7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks

7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks

by: Nancy P Redford

One surefire way to loosing out big time on your business profits is from incidences of excessive refunds and chargeback requests. If the number is high in any period you could risk loosing your third party merchant account altogether.

So what do you do when there are some who will request a refund within 15 minutes of purchasing your product?

Or even more pettier are those who will wait until the last possible moment to request a refund. Well not all is lost because merchant account providers are very well informed as to the credit card numbers of persistent refund and chargeback claimants. Just like their list of fraudulent credit card users, stolen credit cards etc they have a database of what I call ‘refund Junkiesก. There appears to be no end to the unethical tactics some people will use to get your product for free.

Use the following tips to further safeguard against refunds and expensive chargeback costs. The good news is that refunds are easy to process and do not carry any additional fees. However as a merchant you want to ensure that refunds are kept to a minimum.

1. Clearly State the Billing Name

First and foremost state the name of your third party credit card processor on your sales pages and include them in your terms and follow up email receipts so that customers are fully aware of what company name will appear on their billing statements. This will reduce the number of customers who do not recognize the billing name on their statements from contacting their credit card issuers for a chargeback. This one factor can lead to an unprecedented number of chargebacks claims.

2. Provide Your Customer Support Details

Provide your email address so that customers can contact you regarding any queries about their order. Make sure that you answer them in a timely manner to avoid unnecessary delays. If a customer is not responded to promptly they are very likely to make a refund request.

3. Offer Lifetime Updates

Offering your customers lifetime updates to your product and services to add value and will encourage them to remain customers in the knowledge that they will always receive your most current edition of your goods.

4. Reward Loyal Customers With Exclusive Privileges

Offer your customers a product that can be used freely as long as they are fully paid members, as part of a membership site. Or use a tool which is only available to customers and cannot be accessed after a refund request is made. As long as your offer is valuable to your customers and members you are will substantially reduce the number of refund requests.

5. Provide The Best Guarantee

Your guarantee could become a thorn in your side if you have a very short time span before customers can test out and use your product. But studies show that the longer the guarantee period the less refund requests are made because customers are more comfortable with their rights to cancel if the product or service does not meet their needs.

This is at your discretion as a merchant so testing is important to work out what is best for you. Remember to take into account that some third party processors have a limit on the maximum refund time their merchants can issue to customers.

6. Accurate Product Descriptions

Avoid making bold claims that are ขtoo good to be trueข if you cannot deliver the results. You could be setting yourself up for a big fall and your customers will request refunds if your product description does not fulfill their needs.

You could also be breaking the law and be liable to charges if a law suit is brought against your company. Make sure your sale letter accurately reflects your goods for sale and highlight the TRUE benefits of owning the goods.

7. Surprise Bonuses

It is a great surprise when you buy something and receive additional unadvertised bonuses. This can warm your customers to your company and can only please them. It also demonstrates that you do not need to publicize your bonuses because you believe in your product so much that it will sell on its own merit.

Dispelling Myths

All too often I have read articles and statements claiming that with third party merchant accounts there are no chargeback fees and that you never have your company name display on customer statements. These claims are inaccurate.

The facts are that some do not have chargeback fees. I have personally researched 90+ third party processing companies and have contacted them to verify certain key points in their terms of contract and fee schedule.

There are some third party processors that do not issue chargeback fees or refunds, such as can be found with some digital gold currencies. In this case the merchant must initiate a refund directly to the customer.

There are some third party processors who do not levy chargeback fees but you will find that these are very few in number and they will typically have a higher processing fee to cover their costs. Don’t be mistaken in thinking that third party processors do not pass on chargeback fees to their merchants. You only have to read their terms in full to find out exactly what you can expect to be charged for per chargeback incident. I highlight these important facts in my book The AZ of No Merchant Accounts for your convenience.

About The Author

Nancy P Redford shows you how to Take Online Payments for any web site without a costly merchant account. Stay safe on the Internet by getting wise to Online Scams and Shams. Plus get some of the best business tools and resources for your homebased business here at: http://www.miriadz.com.

This article was posted on August 31

by Nancy P Redford

ClickBank Refunds Hope for the Best but Prepare

ClickBank Refunds Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst

by: Tim Coulter

When we launch a new product, we all hope itกs going to be a runaway bestseller. More than that, most of us aim to produce a product so remarkable that it generates rave reviews and achieves cult popularity. You may very well achieve all of these objectives with your product launches.
But, beware of a characteristic of the ClickBank system that may throw these aspirations into jeopardy the 90day refund rule.
Most merchants agree that ClickBankกs rocksolid refund policy adds a great deal of credibility to their sales pitches, enabling them to make sales to even the most wary of online shoppers. The hasslefree refund procedure is also the key factor behind ClickBankกs exceptionally low chargeback rate. ClickBank customers have no need to ask their banks for chargebacks, so ClickBank keeps its merchant account in good standing and we merchants all save money on chargeback penalties.
But, despite its attractions, the ClickBank refund rule is also a source of blatant abuse by a minority of dishonest buyers.
However good a product may be; however much your genuine buyers love it, there will always be a small percentage who ask for refunds. Don’t be disheartened. In most cases, this is not a reflection on your product or your competence as a merchant. It is simply an exploitation of the ClickBank refund system to get something for nothing.
Around 5% of my ClickBank sales result in refunds and, judging by my discussions with other merchants, this figure appears to be about average. I have numerous glowing testimonials from satisfied customers, but there is still the occasional buyer who is, seemingly, impossible to please. Ironically, I have never yet issued a refund to a buyer who has offered a reason for being dissatisfied. Is this normal? It suggests to me that the problem lies not with the product, but with the morals of the buyer.
With the purchase of a digital product you can, if you choose, keep the product and get your money back. Online theft just doesn’t get any easier than this.
ClickBankกs merchant community has suggested various ways to tackle this problem. The most popular idea seems to be that ClickBank should introduce a rogue customer list, identifying serial refunders by their prior purchasing activity. Of course, the list would be confidential merchants would simply need the option to specify whether they accept purchases by buyers in this category. This solution is not without its own problems, especially the challenge of accurately identifying buyers from one purchase to the next. With multiple credit cards and multiple email addresses, it is relatively easy to bypass the banned list, simply by creating a new online persona. But, at least this initiative offers hope of a solution to the problem.
So far, ClickBank has not announced on any plans to update its refund policy or introduce controls to protect its merchants from this type of fraud. Until something changes, merchants need to adopt a pragmatic attitude to the dilemma of sham refunds. As frustrating as it may be to see our profits willingly handed over to fraudsters, we should remember that the reassurance offered by the refund system probably pays us dividends many times greater, in the form of increased sales.

About The Author

Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.
Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.
He is also the author of กClickBank The Definitive Guideก The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.

http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/

This article was posted on June 29, 2004

by Tim Coulter