
Myths About Square - mstolpm
https://blog.squareup.com/townsquare/posts/top-10-myths-about-square
======
kristiandupont
This post seems half-hearted to me. It reads something like "Myth: Square is
more expensive. Truth: No, we're not". If you want to be convincing, show me
some numbers or at least give me some details. Even then, I am not sure I
would ever post something like this. I was not aware that Square is fighting
all these myths until now. I think I would have chosen "response" blog posts
linking to specific, false, articles.

~~~
minimaxir
With respect to numbers, the pricing matrix Amazon mentions with their new CC
processing system objectively beats Square's fees, which makes this statement
in particular very odd.

[http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister](http://localregister.amazon.com/?ld=van_localregister)

~~~
colmvp
Even though 1.75% is only till 2016, it's still pretty good for new small
businesses who benefit from the 1.0% difference between that and Square
Register.

~~~
minimaxir
The rate after 2016 is 2.5%, still lower than Square.

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pbreit
I can't believe how bad Square PR is especially with such a media darling at
the top. How did it manage to lose so many large PR episodes such as Rabois,
Starbucks, IPO, it's general health, as a workplace, etc (all the myths, I
guess)?

It's on track for $30b+ in payment volume which blows away all other payments
startups. It's one of the fastest growing payments companies ever. It's opened
up a whole new merchant category.

And this blog post is so defensive.

Weird.

~~~
tmarman
This is a truly bizarre post. I especially don't understand how they create
myths that at least most people wouldn't think.

Like do people really think Square is not PCI compliant? Maybe they're just
trying to do some SEO magic so someone searching for "is Square unreliable"
will land there, but it's still odd. Why establish this negative relationship
when it maybe/probably doesn't exist?

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jawns
I'm not a PR person, but if you're going to do a "Top 10 Myths Dispelled"
list, here's a recommendation:

These lists follow a standard format. You list the myth, and you list the
counter-claim.

But why make the most prominent things on your page a bunch of untrue,
negative things about your company?

Some people avoid this by not even listing the myth directly. For instance,
for #1, they might just title it, "Square is NOT more expensive."

But if you do list the myth directly, I would put it in body type, but then
make the counter-claim big and bold.

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nodesocket
These responses are obviously biased, and the language they use tends to make
the responses even seem 'fixed'. An analogy is the Philip Morris CEO in 1994
famously saying he did not believe that cigarettes are addictive and killing
people.

For example: "...the reports that we tried to sell the company, or of a
delayed IPO? False. We're here for the long-term."

Is that really true though? Isn't it well established and known that Square
postponed their IPO?

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Mandatum

        If your Wi-Fi goes out or you’re off the grid, just use Offline Mode.
    

Run WiFi jammer, use junk credit-card, profit?

~~~
bravo22
Funny enough in most places parking meters are/used to be like that. I think
most cities have retrofitted them with live authorization but there was a time
you could use expired CC's for free parking to your heart's content.

I never did so myself but read about it as part of a massive upgrade program.

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kiyoto
If Square has to publish a blog post to clarify what they do/who their
customers are, it means their marketing needs to step up its game.

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jtchang
I remember square going down one weekend and having to try and contact
support. It was a nightmare. I tell everyone to avoid square if possible if
taking transactions during critical times is a must.

I simply couldn't get through to them.

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sli
I'm not so sure I completely agree with #9. The service itself is quite solid,
and I do enjoy that part of it. However...

My reader was totally unreliable, taking many swipes to read a card, and then
up and died on me. Never dropped it, never got it wet, nothing. All it took to
kill it was letting it sit in its box on my for a couple months.

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jmatthews
Aside from the odd lists of "myth-busting". My issue with square is the one
fee system you're based on. Major merchant systems have an extremely reduced
amount for debit card purchases, which for many, if not most business account
for the lion's share of their transactions.

In my research of Square versus the company I ultimately went with, a $1500
debit transaction was 10 times(no hyperbole) more expensive with Square.

Could you address that "Myth"?

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jgalt212
The major way Square is struggling is in keeping up the myth that Jack Dorsey
is the new Steve Jobs.

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elyrly
Can anyone explain why Square has recently been under scrutiny?

~~~
jakozaur
As far as I remember, it has started with article:
[http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-
squar...](http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/02/with-ipo-hopes-fading-square-and-
box-face-reality-of-commodity-products/)

Then many follow up, including famous: [http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-
trap/](http://avc.com/2014/05/the-valuation-trap/)

