Jim Crocker, manager of Modern Myths, LLC in Northampton, Massachusetts read fellow retailer Noah Broessel’s sales advice (see “Noah Broessel of Pop Culture Paradise on May Comic Sales”) and warns against passing along credit card fees to customers:

A word of caution to anyone reading Noah's advice: charging a fee to accept credit cards (which is what a cash discount amounts to) is a violation of many credit card merchant agreements, and even some state and local consumer protection laws.  Be very thorough in doing your due diligence before considering this tactic.

Speaking personally, whenever I see a business that charges me extra for use of a credit card, I turn around and leave if at all possible.  A business that can't invest the 20 or 30 cents required to ring up my (possibly substantial) transaction in the manner of my choosing isn't long for the world.  It's 2009, and many people don't carry cash any more.  Credit and debit card fees are a basic cost of doing business, like rent or inventory or payroll.

We need to adjust to this simple fact, or be prepared for a long slow death at the hands of inconvenienced customers who abandon us for venues where they're not made to feel somehow evil for using their debit cards.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.