I own a pretty successful bike shop in a college town, and I still handle all our books. I can never seem to make sense of how much it's really costing me to accept credit cards. I've switched three times in the past 8 years and every time a new sales rep tells me he can beat my old rate. The last guy's rate was lower than the previous one, but then it jumped up after only 3 months and now it's higher than my original rate, and on top of that it will cost me a boatload if I cancel early! How can I protect myself from the confusing and tricky credit card processing industry and, for that matter, is there any way I can get out of this slimy contract with my current card processing service?
