The internet has also changed the game for the world of drug paraphernalia. In the past, businesses that wanted to supply and sell products like rolling papers and water pipes had to create brick and mortar stores and rely on local communities of customers. But now, it’s easier than ever to make an online paraphernalia store and sell products far and wide to a much bigger audience of buyers.
The High Risk Paraphernalia IndustryParaphernalia stores and smoke shops have been popular for a long time, but in recent years, their popularity has really risen as more and more people have taken an active interest in these kinds of items. The relaxing of certain laws has helped these kinds of stores grow a lot bigger too, and the demand for items like bongs and hookahs has never been higher.
In addition, the rise of the vape industry has allowed paraphernalia stores and head shops to expand into other areas and start selling a wider range of products, such as CBD oils, vape pens, e-cigs, kratom, and so on. And, with the power of the internet, you can give your business an online presence to sell your paraphernalia to more people and make more money in the process.
So clearly, there’s a lot of money to be made in the paraphernalia world right now, especially if you’re willing to take advantage of the online market. But in order to do so, you’ll need to have a drug paraphernalia merchant account. Without one of these accounts, you’ll struggle to do any online business at all.
Before we take a closer look at the risks and problems associated with paraphernalia merchant accounts, it’s important to understand what these accounts actually are and how they work. And the first step is making sure you have a clear and full understanding of what a merchant account is and why it is necessary for many businesses to have them.
Merchant accounts are used by businesses that receive a lot of electronic credit and debit card payments, like those with e-shops and online stores. The merchant account is what makes it possible for these types of payments to get processed. If you don’t have a merchant account, customers won’t be able to pay you with their cards, unless they are physically present at your location.
So, a paraphernalia merchant account will allow you to run a head shop site or drug paraphernalia online store and make sales easily and conveniently, allowing your customers to pay you with their cards. And in today’s world, with so many paraphernalia businesses operating and selling products online, these accounts are hugely important to have.
As we can see, if you want to get involved with the world of smoking paraphernalia, it really helps to have a paraphernalia merchant account. However, you may encounter some difficulties and challenges when trying to get one of these accounts, due to the fact that businesses involved with smoking and drug supplies are regarded as “high risk”.
Why is this? Well, one reason is simply the fact that drug paraphernalia has negative connotations. Even in today’s world, with more relaxed rules regarding marijuana consumption and more progressive attitudes towards smoking and vaping, there are still many difficult associations connected with smoking and drug-oriented businesses, and some banks simply don’t want to risk tarnishing their own reputations by working with these kinds of companies.
There’s also the fact that, when it comes to drug and smoking businesses, there are also a lot of rules and regulations that need to be adhered to. If you’re running a drug paraphernalia shop, for example, you have to make sure that all of your items are legal to sell, as well as running age verification checks to avoid selling to minors. This adds a lot of risk to the business.
In addition, paraphernalia businesses may have to deal with a lot of chargebacks. A chargeback is when a cardholder disputes a payment or asks for their money back from their bank or credit card processor if they aren’t happy with the product or service received, or for other reasons, and chargebacks happen a lot for smoking paraphernalia purchases, causing extra fees and problems for the banks involved.
You’ll need to get your own paraphernalia merchant account if you want to run a business supplying and selling drug accessories and smoking paraphernalia, but what can you do if all the banks around you refuse to offer the paraphernalia merchant accounts and services you require? Well, that’s where Shark Processing comes into play.
At Shark Processing, we’re experts in high risk credit card processing and we work together with businesses in high risk industries, like the paraphernalia industry, to help them get the merchant accounts and services they need. In other words, we’re here to help you get the best paraphernalia merchant account to suit your business, with the right rates and fairest fees around.
We work with a network of reputable banks and trusted payment processors who are willing and able to work with high risk businesses, so if you’re sick of rejections and refusals, we’re here to help you get accepted and approved, once and for all. Get in touch with the Shark Processing team today to find out more about how we can help you.
