Setting Up Merchant Account - TORTURE!

Is this normal?

[cabbagehead]

I have been trying for TWO MONTHS to get a freaking merchant account setup.

Month1 (Paypal) - screwing around with Paypal. They apparently have some website payments pro system. I went through a series of incompetent departments who never got this crap together and I lost faith and moved on to the next step.

Month 2 (Authorize.net) - I then moved to Authorize.net who setup my gateway account within 2 days and then sent me to a "preferred processor" for a merchant account, who assured me they could get my dating site setup within 3-4 business days. A month later - I'm checking in every day and they're still telling me "1-2 more days...problems with the underwriters".

Apparently the current sticking point with the underwriter is that I don't have the price posted on my site currently. But my dating site is free currently, and until I have the ability to access credit cards. So why should it be posted? Its the stupidest thing I've ever heard!

Anyway - now I've wasted two months, jumped through probably a dozen hoops that seem only designed to waist my time and I STILL do not have a merchant account to speak of!

Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I know part of the pain is related to this being a dating site but come on - this isn't the first time this has ever been done! So what am I missing?

Any advice? I'd sure appreciate it!

Thanks.
N

[LifeinAsia]

Post your prices (to make them happy), but add something like "free until x" (where x is some date in the future when you expect the merchant account to be setup).

We've also had problems before with getting a merchant account- online travel is one of the categories that almost no one will touch any more.

[sun818]

I say try going back to Paypal. If you're getting a hard time getting a merchant account approved, my thought is that any approved account will be processed at higher rates due to perceived risk.

[Essex_boy]

I do what lifeinasia suggests, youve got to play their game however silly

[Corey Bryant]

Dating site - high risk. Who is your merchant account provider? That is where the problem actually lies - not with Authorize.net. The provider is the one who would be very leery of it because of the high risk of chargebacks.

Authorize.net would not be out any more if your company went under and everyone did a chargeback. The merchant account provider would be actually.

-Corey

[bwnbwn]

Are u US based? If sso try cardervice international

[DJulian]

I have been with PayPal for two years. Not once have I had a problem with them. I recently started getting money back from them for using my paypal credit card. They just couldnt be nicer on the phone too. I say, try again with PayPal.