Shops Not Accepting Credit Cards

Mase wrote: It is your money. You spend it any way you see fit. If I wanna charge 20 cents, I should be able to.

If a store has problems with credit, avoid those stores....they won't be in business long anyway.

And for the record, alot of these stores won't accept debit cards either

I'm sorry, but perhaps I should not take your "charge 20 cents" remark literally. But just in case, you do know that 20 cents wouldn't even cover the cost of the credit card transaction, nor the labor it would take to run your credit card and hand you your item, let alone the gas and electric that is used to make your shopping experience at least slightly comfortable - don't you? And let's not even count in how much the bag used for your item costs (because I'm sure you'll feel entitled to a bag too) and the thermal paper for your receipt. (wouldn't want to leave one of those out.) The actual profit margins at many stores is not very high. Your 20 cents or $2.00 doesn't go very far. And to the notion that a store won't stay open very long by not accepting credit - my corner bodega has been in business for over 16 years and you know what? They don't take credit cards. There are restaurants that don't take credit cards are are doing quite well. Now that's not to say that I haven't found myself low on cash standing before the check out person and needing to pull my visa. I have. Guilty as "charged." It's not something that I aspire to though.

Subject: Re: Cash vs. CC's

LimestoneKid wrote:
What I don't understand are the restaurants that operate on a cash only basis. /quote]
Mike's Coffee Shop only takes cash.

I fully expect to pay in cash when I go into coffee shops like Mike's or John's Donuts, etc..

Perhaps I should have been more clear. What I don't understand are establisments that tote themselves as fine dining restaurants (like 360 in Red Hook) that only accept cash.

It is kinda irritating to watch people slow down the line for a credit card transaction over something less than $5. Over 5 bucks, I don't really care.

Every time a store offers a PIN-based debit card transaction as an alternative, I go with the credit option. I do this because I'm under the impression that I'll be charged 1-2 bucks for a debit transaction. I may be wrong about this; if so, it would be great to hear someone confirm or deny it. Someone in this thread implied it's just about the business avoiding the fee, but if my assumption is correct they're just moving the fee to you. Sometimes I don't mind paying a 'convenience fee', though most places already include that in their costs.

Cash-only restaurants that don't make this clear before you open the menu are annoying. This should be clear on the front door, and in any advertisement. It's not like I walk around with $100 in cash on me at all times. Setting up one of those one-arm-bandit ATM terminals, in lock-step with a cash-only policy is kind of facetious. It's not like they're ever fee-free. THAT, to me, would be a good-faith gesture to customers. Ellie's has a lot to speak ill of it, but this is definitely one of the bigger reasons.

Some places (e.g., pharmacies?) ask you if it's credit or debit, but then the register rings it up a debit card transaction anyway because it detects it can. That's irritating.

But then, so are hangnails. In all this easy talk about what's annoying or irritating, it's important to have perspective. These are minor blemishes on an otherwise great day-to-day experience. I try not to get bent out of shape when owners don't think things through, or when employees have bad days.

That said, I tend to send more of my walking-around business to those places who, for whatever reason, don't limit my payment options (or shunt transaction fees traditionally theirs) to me.