Forum Moderators: buckworks
You need other information to make a quick decision. Sometimes you can call the customer directly and ask them something that only they are likely to know (or should we say remember, don't forget that fraudsters have probably placed another 10 orders in the meantime, under different names with other suppliers). One thing you can ask for is the customer service telephone number on the back of the card, for example.
PCInk - That makes sense. I suppose a day or two is unlikely to make a difference most of the time.
Anything is possible, I suppose. But a simple phone call can build confidence in the transaction, or propel you to cancel it.
My point in waiting was to provide the buyer an opportunity to contact me. Not that the credit card company would notify me that the card is good or bad.
Unfortunately as much as people would like to help, we need to keep all of our fraud checking procedures confidential. But there are good pieces of advice out there. Try WorldPay, 2checkout, NetBanx etc... and others, some have publicly accessible fraud prevention techniques.
One thing is that fraudsters do want a fast delivery service. Many will pay extra for this service. If the order mentions a quick delivery, treat it with suspicion.
If you have the ability to ship the goods in five minutes, I advise that you usually do, unless suspicious.
Now I just send a message (email) with some thing along the lines of 'order on hold', if I don't get a reply with-in the time I allow, the order just gets refunded striaght back the card they came from. Those that do reply, I guess are OK or ask for more details, like fax of card and ID. Most that reply are OK.
Since doing this my charge backs are down by about 75%. The draw back is, it does upset some customers, but I do feel its the way to go now. Seems most of the fraud now (that slips through), is international orders which are harder to check.
All orders that come through clean, i.e. matching code and address, I still try and ship the same day. I have many customers who come back again and agin because of that (people do like seeing there goods in the morning). Sadly I still get a few complaints every month from those I have put on hold.
Just the way its gone for me (trading online for 4 years). Will also say, high ticket items, I always request a FAX copy of card or scan of card by post (with sig.). Lost far too much in the past. I end to find over 'x' amount, people will phone the order through any way.
To sum up, I would say: Ship ASAP, as long as the order matches up. Also be aware that most CC clearers will charge extra for a charge back if you don't refund it, before the charge back comes through.
Lostins advice sounds appropriate.
"99% of all orders placed before 5pm(cst) are shipped on the same day."
And at the top of every page it says, "SAME DAY SHIPPING!"
