Last weekend, my wife and I went camping. It was my first time sleeping outdoors, so I didn't know what to expect.
When we arrived at the campground, I was told by the young clerk at the general store that I would need to buy wood if I wanted to make a camp fire. Buy wood? I'm surrounded by it.
I decided to play by the rules and said I would take one $6 bundle of split logs. I handed her my credit card and was told that the store had a minimum charge of $10 for credit cards. Minimum charge? In today's world, where a great deal of the currency is plastic, to demand that someone buy more things before a crddit card can be swiped is just wrong.
Feeling a bit frustrated, I grabed a soda and a couple bags of ice to put me over the $10 finish line. I still feel cheated, even though I did enjoy the soda.
OK, minimum charge is one thing, but you never slept outside? Never? Didn't they have Boy Scouts on Long Island?
Obviously you are not a retailer. Small credit card purchases actually loose us money till you figure out the cost of handling and fees from the banks. So pull up your big boy pants and get over it...besides Sean...real men carry cash.
Hey Shawn,
In the setup packet that arrives for retail installation, they include the federal laws regarding credit cards. It states it is illegal to set minimums. If retailers shop around for great percentages, then the amount of the sale is irrelevant. (1% of $2.00 vs 1% of $10.00, it's still 1%). Check with some of the large credit card companies regarding the laws.
This is crap. Minimum charges -- whether they cost retailers or not -- are in violation with their merchant agreement with Mastercard and Visa.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20010418a.asp?prodtype=cc
No minimum. Ask to speak to the owner/manager if they invoke a minimum charge or call a cop!