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More about:
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First, measure how most of your sales originate. Then select from one of four categories; mostly (i) mail / fax order sales, (ii) inbound telephone sales, (iii) e-commerce transactions or (iv) sales resulting from outbound telemarketing.
4722 - Travel-Agencies and Tour Operators Merchants in this category are retail travel agencies that primarily provide travel information and booking services. They act as agents on behalf of travelers in booking and ticketing transportation (air, tours, cruise, rail and auto rental) and lodging accommodations. This includes tour operators that arrange and assemble tours for sale through a travel agent or directly to the consumer. Bus charters and tour bus operators are included in this category. Although travel agencies and tour operators may conduct much of their business in a non-face-to-face manner, they are not considered direct marketing merchants because they do not directly solicit their business primarily through direct marketing activities.
Merchants in this category typically offer their services via outbound telemarketing calls in which the merchant initiates "direct" contact with the consumer in an attempt to generate a sale. The merchants may also send direct mail communications such as postcards or letters requesting or offering prospective customers an incentive to call the merchant. Alternatively, merchants in this category may offer their services via mailings, magazine or television ads, or through other direct marketing methods that include either a toll-free telephone number or an address by which prospective customers may respond. Travel-related services may also consist of discount travel clubs and subscriptions to travel services and/or travel-related newsletters from which subscribers may select prepackaged trips. Discount travel clubs and subscription services often require an annual membership fee that may be billed to the cardholder's account each year until canceled by the cardholder or the merchant.
5964 Catalog Merchant Merchants classified under this category initiate "direct" contact with consumers and are often described as "mail-order houses" or as the "mail-order industry," offer their merchandise via catalogs, and accept merchandise orders from customers by mail, telephone or fax. These merchants offer no means by which customers may purchase the product in a face-to-face manner. One hundred percent of the merchant's business is conducted in a non-face-to-face manner. Catalog merchants maintain a customer database and sell merchandise directly to consumers via catalogs. A catalog is a multiple-page paper document which is sent (mailed, faxed, or otherwise delivered) directly to the prospective customer. The catalog displays and describes merchandise and includes a mail-order form and/or telephone number for placing an order. (A one-or-two-page flyer or brochure is not considered a catalog.) A catalog may also be an electronic catalog in which merchandise is displayed via cable TV, or via a videotext catalog accessed by consumers through computer modems. To be classified as a Catalog Merchant, the merchant must meet the above description and have no face-to-face sales.
5965 - Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant Merchants classified under this category are catalog merchants that also operate one or more retail outlets. The description of a Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant is exactly the same as for a Catalog Merchant ( 5964), except that the Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant also offers a face-to-face environment for its sales. Retail sales are defined as transactions in which the seller and the buyer are face-to-face. Catalog sales exclude saleswhere the order is placed at a catalog desk or elsewhere in a store, even in response to a catalog or other direct response communication received by the customer, these are considered face-to-face transactions. Catalog sales do include transactions in which the product is delivered to a store for customer pick-up as long as the order was placed and paid for via mail, telephone or other non-face-to-face means. To be classified as a Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant ( 5965), the merchant must meet the Catalog Merchant ( 5964) description and operate one or more retail outlets. All retail sales must be processed under an appropriate retail merchant category code (for which a separate and unique merchant name and merchant identification number are required). Typically, catalog merchants with retail outlets are set up as two separate businesses, each having a unique name and merchant identification number.
5966 - Outbound Telemarketing Merchant Merchants classified under this category sell products using outbound telemarketing methods. Outbound telemarketers contact prospective buyers by telephone or a mailing (other than a catalog) that instructs the cardholder to call the merchant in an attempt to generate sales. This category excludes charitable organizations that conduct outbound telemarketing. Charitable organizations must be classified under code 8398 - Charitable and Social Service Organizations, regardless of the manner in which the contribution is solicited.
5967 - Inbound Teleservices Merchant Merchants classified under this category provide one or more audiotext /videotext services that customers access via telephone, fax or over an open network such as the Internet. The contact with the merchant and subsequent transactions are initiated by the customer. This category applies to merchants that sell information services over the telephone or the Internet as well as to products that may be sold through the service. "Information Providers" are included in this category code. An Information Provider (IP) is a company that offers for a fee services, such as polls, sweepstakes, "rap lines" for singles, sports scores, stock market quotes, horoscope readings or other audiotext/videotext services.
5968 - Continuity/Subscription Merchant Merchants classified under this category sell subscription products or services via "direct" mail. These merchants may offer consumers a series of products (e.g., one book a month for one year) or the annual renewal of a single product. When paying by bank card, the cardholder's account is billed for the service on a continuing or periodic basis (e.g. once a month, twice a year) and the service continues until the subscription or series ends or until the cardholder or merchant terminates the agreement. Included in this category are direct mail book clubs; record, tape, DC and video clubs; collectible series programs (stamps, coins, limited edition books or other book series, plates, china figures, etc.); magazine subscriptions and credit card registration services companies. Also included are newspaper subscriptions. However, newspaper classified ads that are sold via Direct Marketing methods must be classified under code 5969 Direct Marketing - Other Direct Marketers (Not Elsewhere Classified). Examples of recurring transactions excluded from this code are: utility payments, private athletic club monthly dues, and insurance premiums. Recurring utility payments must be classified under code 4900 - Utilities - Electric, Gas, Water, Sanitary. Recurring monthly payments to an athletic club must be classified under code 7997 - Membership Clubs (Sports, Recreation, Athletic), Country Clubs, and Private Golf Courses, and recurring insurance premiums must be classified under code 6300 - Insurance Sales, Underwriting, and Premiums. Other recurring payment transactions must be processed under the appropriate category for that merchant type.
5969 - Other Direct Marketers Merchants classified under this category sell products or services through a variety of direct response methods that include an order form or an address and/or telephone number the customer may use to place an order by mail, telephone or fax. These merchants often utilize mass-marketing techniques such as brochures, radio and television direct response ads, and TV "infomercials" (extended length TV commercials with a talk-show format). Generally, merchants classified under code 5969 offer only one or two products per promotion such as kitchen cutlery, household gadgets, weight reduction products, sports equipment, cosmetics, specialty records or books that are available only through television or advertising.
7995 - Betting Merchants classified under this category are engaged in the sale of lottery tickets or gaming chips points. Many US based credit card issuers, hoping to reduce consumer gambling debts, are refusing to process authorization requests from merchants in this category.
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