

Square vs. Merchant Account Comparison Calculator - seanharper
http://transfs.com/square-calculator

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agotterer
Speaking of Square. I signed up 2 months ago and still haven't gotten my swipe
device. Anyone else waiting?

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wooster
[http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-
inter...](http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-interaction)

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SteveD503
The whole payments industry is totally insane when it comes to transparency.
This is a really useful tool.

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msy
I hope dearly that whoever wrote that graphing method isn't allowed anywhere
near a system that handles actual money.

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seanharper
SMARTASS! :) Fair enough - that is admittedly not at all mathematically
correct and we should have chosen a different way to graphically show which
side was "winning". You got us - questionable design decision.

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Revisor
Two weeks ago someone submitted the Paypal vs. Merchant Account Calculator to
HN <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1471371>

Are hackers going to post every calculator they come up with?

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charliepark
These are genuinely useful tools for an audience of startup cofounders. When
you're bootstrapping or working off your angel funding, every dollar counts.
If you can save $200 a month, thanks to these calculators, you've just
extended your runway.

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wildmXranat
>Does TransFS work outside of the United States?

>No, unfortunately TransFS is only able to help business in the United States.
(Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam and US Commonwealths are also excluded)

And that's where you lost me.

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jws
Showing a bar graph more than twice as tall for a 6% difference in price
denied them my trust.

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carlcoryell
TransFS is selling merchant accounts and lies with their graphics. $30
transactions and $50K/month they calculate their fees at $1220 and the square
fees at $1625 and yet the bar graph is shows square as twice as much.

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jkrall
I helped create this calculator... and it's sad to see someone say that it is
"lying". The reality is that this is _by far_ the most honest, transparent way
to compare the all-in costs of Square vs. using a wireless terminal with a
merchant account. The costs are all very carefully laid out below, and the $
amounts are real.

Say what you want about our choice of the bar-graph... that's fair criticism.
It wasn't intended to be an accurate graph, just something cool to look at.

What we really care about at TransFS is giving people unbiased, accurate
information about their options. Square is a great deal for many merchants...
which is why we suggest them to our customers and link to their site.

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pleslie8
Really cool way to make a quick but effective decision. I would never have the
time to research these fees on my own, glad someone out there put this
together to make it easy to make a decision.

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reteltech
This is a really useful tool!

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cleeb
i am not o certain. i do not like to buy additional hardware. it is then about
delivery, logistics (shipping), handling, etc. i would like a solution without
any additional hardware...

chris

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GrandMasterBirt
Wait hold up. Did anyone notice that if you increase the volume of sales the
square cost goes up significantly? The number they gave $30 per trans avg +
4000 per month is the sweet spot. This is kind of bs. Oh and uncheck the
iphone option and square sucks.

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seanharper
I was one of the guys that wrote it - it's not BS - its just a random starting
point. Most people play with the bars to try a few different scenarios.

