Why Dharma Doesn’t Give Free Terminals
While many merchant service providers give away equipment, it’s not always in your best interests to take it.
What’s wrong with free equipment?
Merchant account providers sometimes offer seemingly “free” equipment, but this is often a bait and switch tactic. The bait is the low-cost or free equipment, while the switch is the hidden fees, long-term contracts, or inferior equipment that gets pushed on the unsuspecting merchant. The merchant then ends up paying more for the equipment or for the services, often unknowingly.
Why is that considered bait & switch?
A bait and switch tactic offers one thing, delivers another, and often leaves you with unexpected consequences. So let’s look at “free” terminals.
The initial offer of free or low-cost equipment is the bait. Seems like a good deal, because let’s face it, terminals can be a bit pricey.
What they don’t tell you is that the cost of that hardware is still paid for by the merchant, just in another way. There may be hidden fees for equipment maintenance, repair, or upgrades that were not initially disclosed, or your monthly processing rates are much higher for the life of your account to pay for that terminal. Or to get the free equipment you are forced into signing a long-term contract that locks you into a costly agreement, even if you don’t use the equipment or the service. And sometimes they give out old or inferior equipment, that is not as reliable, user-friendly, or functional as the merchant initially expected.
So in return for that “free” equipment, you unknowingly pay more than anticipated, and may be stuck with expensive contracts or non-functional equipment, potentially harming your business. Even though it is much cheaper to simply buy the equipment upfront.
Why Dharma is different
Our pledge has always been low fees backed up by our commitment to trust and transparency. Rather than bump up our prices to cover our costs, or give you outdated equipment, we’d rather you get our amazing rates. With Dharma, you get lower- and fairly-priced equipment rates on the latest technologies. But we do know that sometimes the cost of a terminal can be a challenge for small business, which is why we offer interest-free payment plans over three months.
If you purchase equipment from us, we’ll fully download and test it. Most importantly, our equipment is “future-proofed” meaning it won’t be obsolete in six months.
If you’re thinking of buying equipment on the Internet, please read our FAQ on why that’s not always a good idea.