Thank you so much for your responses. Wouldn't you know, I'm also the treasurer ! At the present time, I think we could only use credit cards for this sale, our silent auction and maybe yearbook sales. Ours isn't an affluent school so bounced checks are an issue, although all (6 in the last year) were made good. I'll tell my cohorts what you've so kindly shared. Sounds like we should proceed with caution. Oh, one thing I did do was extend the sale past the first of October (it was going to end on September 26th) so that those who are paid on the first of the month (like teachers) will have an easier time budgeting for our fundraiser.
Ahh...credit card fees! We just stopped taking credit cards for $crip pruchases after quite a few years. It eats into your profits anywhere from 2% to 4% and up depending upon which credit cards you choose to accpect. Not to mention monthly fees and extra fees if you input the data into the terminal by hand instead of scanning the credit card. So I'd say if your willing to part with up to an average of 4% or 5% total of your profit they it's OK. But don't forget all the setup fees they are pretty steep! For my two cents I'd say DON'T DO IT!!!
As for pre pay or post pay...we've never done post pay because we have enough trouble tracking down the 10 or so people who always manage to bounce checks during any given sale. It takes a lot of work to track down people and get them to pay for anything so we stick with if you don't pay up front you don't particpate. Hopefully you'll get posts from some that have used post Pay! I'd also like to know how successful it's been. We may need to rethink our THINKING!
I would not suggest getting all set up for credit cards just for one sale. There's a good deal of work (and some start-up fees) at the front end of accepting cards. On the other hand, if you think you could make good use of cards all year long (many big-time scrip schools accept cards), then it could be a good choice. It definitely makes your treasurer's job more difficult (balancing credit card accounts gets tricky with different discount percentages and fees, etc.), but you may bring in more sales.
Your other question regards pre- or post-pay. Post-pay almost always brings in more sales. Your rep. is correct. Post also results in a good deal more effort in chasing down moneys. To me, the decision centers on two factors: 1) your assessment of your population (do they traditionally pay in a timely fashion without headaches?); and 2) how many volunteers you have to help with the fundraiser (prepays are easier on volunteers).
In the long-run you would likely make more with a post-pay. That's especially true if you have a good volunteer team and a parent population that won't turn post-pay into a severe collection migraine. There are some on this forum who've sworn off post-pay and think everyone else should, too. I think it's a case-by-case decision.
I'm chair of our giftwrap fundraiser. Last year we collected the money up front and only accepted cash, checks or money orders. I was told by our rep that we would increase sales by 20% just by collecting the money upon delivery. Someone else suggested we accept credit cards. Have you tried either of these? If so, what was your experience? How did you set up the credit card account?
! At the present time, I think we could only use credit cards for this sale, our silent auction and maybe yearbook sales. Ours isn't an affluent school so bounced checks are an issue, although all (6 in the last year) were made good. I'll tell my cohorts what you've so kindly shared. Sounds like we should proceed with caution. Oh, one thing I did do was extend the sale past the first of October (it was going to end on September 26th) so that those who are paid on the first of the month (like teachers) will have an easier time budgeting for our fundraiser.