Tablets, Mr. Rico! Zillions of Them!

[billroper]

Well, four, actually.

All of the ISFiC credit card machines having decided to keel over and die, we're going to shift over to using Square for credit card transactions at the con this year. This will have some advantages and some disadvantages, but overall it should work out better in the long run.

And the happy news is that the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 seven inch version will run Square without a problem. And it was only $199 each, which compares pretty favorably with the cost of credit card machines. :)

We'd been looking at Square for a while, but the cost of the hardware was being a problem, since you can't really say to someone, "Hey, let's use your phone all weekend!" (Well, not if you're being reasonable, in any case.) And now the cost of the hardware has finally dropped to the point where Square is looking good.

We're going to try it out for Dodeka too at ConClave. For that, I've picked up a pay-as-you-go wireless hotspot.

Here's hoping I can get a signal...

Comments

[hms42]

I hope it works better than expected at ConClave.

[jcbemis.livejournal.com]

from Lisa Deutsch Harrigan (posted on JOF, Journeymen of Fandom on FB)
Con Running Notes (sorry this is late, we just got home from Worldcon) - Are you using Square? Something we learned at Worldcon reconciling the cash boxes. There needs to be several check boxes and information gathered when cash/check/credit card (Square) are received. First, there really needs to be a check box for cash, people still use it, and one of our forms didn't have the check spot, oy. A check box for Check, a place for check # is nice, but not mandatory. A check box for Square AND (This is Important) a place to write down the Last 4 Digits of the credit card. Square does not give you the name of the credit card holder, just the Last 4 Digits, so if you want to correlate anything you need those numbers.
A spot for notes (some things never fit the check boxes) is useful.
Learn from our problems. Some reconciliations took forever.
And we mostly got cash and credit cards. Some people still write checks, but they are happening less. And we got the occasional travelers check.
At Westercon 66,a much smaller con, where I was treasurer, we got almost all Credit Cards, cash, a few checks, and no TC.

[billroper]

Thanks for the info. We'll take it into account.

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

We (SanSFiS) have been using square for a few years both at fan tables and at Conjecture (about 200 members, more if combined with Conchord).

Several merchants at Comic-Con (the one with 100,000 attendees) use square or similar systems. So they are battle tested.

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

I see why you'd go with that, but as a purchaser, I hate it. They used it at Worldcon for site selection (I've run into it elsewhere, this is just the most recent, and most germane). Poor network contact through the metal building. People who couldn't use it (my favorite: the worker trying to use his fingernail on the screen. Nope, capacitive screens want flesh). And then the joke of a signature with a finger. OK, my signature is a joke on the best of days, but with this I might as well just make an X. Fun Fact: The self checkout at my local Kroger does insist on something with some wiggle. A horizontal line won't be accepted as a signature.

Oh well, it's the wave of the here-and-now.

[billroper]

I prefer a real credit card machine too, but they're pricing themselves out of the market.

I did, however, buy styluses for the machines that can be used to sign with, so the signatures should be a bit less humorous. :)

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

Can you get them with chains so they don't walk away? The styluses, not the tablets. Or take the REI route and glue a giant flower to the end.

[billroper]

I'm going to leave that up to the departments...

My dealer table has historically been pretty good at getting pens back. :)