sports store

[Woodrow]

Went down to the local sports store and bought my fishing and hunting tags, when I tried to pay with my Visa they said no. I guess that it costs the store a service charge to use Visa and since they dont make any money on selling tags they wont accept credit cards. Irretates me more than anything since they make more than enouph money on the other stuff they sell in there. Has anything like this ever happened to you out there?

[BCLongshot]

They make money and if they want to be that way go somewhere else.

It's the same if they try to do an interac charge, I say bye.

[coyotebc]

I've gone to a couple of different places over the years that wouldn't take a credit card or interact on liscences and tags.
I've had them tell me both that they loose money on the sale, and I have also heard that the liscences are such a pain with accounting that they use cash only to simplify the bookkeeping.

[Elkhound]

I've gone to a couple of different places over the years that wouldn't take a credit card or interact on liscences and tags.
I've had them tell me both that they loose money on the sale, and I have also heard that the liscences are such a pain with accounting that they use cash only to simplify the bookkeeping.

Thats what it is like at the 2 places over here as well

[bsa30-06]

Thats what it is like at the 2 places over here as well

Same here , i bought my license and bear tag last week cash only.

[bochunk2000]

Wally world let me pay with a card, no problems.
Steve.

[dana]

Just be happy you could buy the licence and tags locally. Had to make several trips 1 1/2 hours south to Kamloops to buy tags. No one locally had a grizzly tag. No one locally had a cougar tag either. No wait that was a lie, one place had a cougar tag but no additional sheets, so I couldn't buy the tag because my book was full.

[BCLongshot]

dana

You actually changed the way I look at it and you are right.

That doesn't happen very often but living here you don't have to go far to get anything.

[todbartell]

haha, well losing $ on a transaction, isnt good business. IIRC most tags/licenses profit range from $0 to $1.50, even on a $80 tag

losing 3% or whatever doesnt seem that big of a deal but when you add up 2000+ deer tags in a year, 1500 moose tags, 2000+ hunting licenses, 3000+ fishing licenses, etc, well it adds up

[cowboy-up69]

Same at our shop, no credit cards at all.

[JoshLedoux]

look at it this way, if a fella comes in and needs his new license for the year and wants all the standard tags ie: spring bear, a few mulies, couple whitetail maybe a cat or two, then you've got an employee spending 30 minutes writing out a license. Come hunting season that same employee will spend his/her entire day writing licenses and not making money. the cost of selling licenses is not cheap, its more of a service than anything else, I'm greatfull I don't have to run from one side of town to the other looking for a place that will still sell licenses.

[bsa30-06]

look at it this way, if a fella comes in and needs his new license for the year and wants all the standard tags ie: spring bear, a few mulies, couple whitetail maybe a cat or two, then you've got an employee spending 30 minutes writing out a license. Come hunting season that same employee will spend his/her entire day writing licenses and not making money. the cost of selling licenses is not cheap, its more of a service than anything else, I'm greatfull I don't have to run from one side of town to the other looking for a place that will still sell licenses.

I agree.I've been buying my license and tags from 2 different stores over the years and both have always been cash only for them.My former hunting partner lived in lytton and usually had to go to lilloet or hope to get his LEH's , license, tags , ammo , and just about anything else he would need.As a matter of fact the store in hope had to order his ammo in before he could go and get it.He shot an old 257 Roberts and had trouble finding ammo up that way for it.So with the number of stores i have to choose from to get my license and tags and pay cash for them i don't worry about it, however they are all more then happy to take my credit card for everything else i buy:lol: .

[Gateholio]

Most stores are cash only for lic and tags...

Harden the **** up and stop at a bank machine next time:lol:

[bigwhiteys]

Try going to Island Outfitters when the new licenses come out... They might have 20 or 30 guys waiting for licenses, and they bring on extra staff just for that 1 or 2 week period when everyone rushes in.

They let me use my CC or Debit everytime... Usually because I also have some ammo, some targets, and other items thatI am buying at the same time.

If a store say's no credit card then I tell them to dock me the 3% or whatever it is they are charged... Never had a problem.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[tuchodi]

One reason that they ask for cash for the license and tags are that they have to pay up front for all the tags and license they buy so not only do they use there money which doesnt make any income for them they make nothing on the tags when they sell them to us. I have no problem paying cash for them. Its nice to have local hunting shops where we can shop so to help them out a little is ok by me.

[cdub]

At least you have somewhere to buy them. In Parksville on the Island untill last year you could not even buy a fresh water liscence or hunting. Only salt water was available.

[one-shot-wonder]

they make nothing on the tags when they sell them to us.

They do make a royalty on tags/licences, small sure but they do make something on them.

I usually get my tags and licences at Crappy tire or walley world because the local shops bitched too much about the Credit Card charges in the past.......nobody does the cash thing anymore, except for dealers of course!8-)

[JoshLedoux]

Any money you could possibly make on a tag is lost in the time writing it out.

[Duster]

Well my view on this is that yes we really dont make any money on licences or tags etc,the reason why some shops will say cash only is because visa/mastercard charges 2% on the transaction,but with licences today if you get your freshwater,hunting,tags etc...that could be well over 100 dollars for most people,and alot of people dont carry that kind of money on them,so we never have asked for cash on these types of things,and yes it takes along time to write these things,but it's a service we provide and it gives you a chance to interact with the customers aswell,and alot of customers do purchase a few things aswell when the get there licences written up.

[J_T]

I understand why a store often won't accept a credit card payment for something they are not getting a cut of, however, if they are running a good business, then Government is providing that business an opportunity to have people at least come through the door, and it is up to that business to entice people/hunters/fishermen to spend additional money.

Getting clients in the door is number one. Government provides that opportunity by offloading the sale of tags and licenses. Now granted Government saves operational costs by not having to pay someone to fill them out, but that is the nature of a Business to Government relationship.

If it isn't working, change it. I wonder how many Businesses won't be happy when I'm buying my license and tags online and I'm not coming in. I wonder if in hindsight they'll be wishing they let someone use a credit card?

Maybe the business goes to the bank and strikes a deal with the bank for credit cards. Perhaps the business owner uses the credit card transaction as a lost leader and it becomes a write off.

If they aren't accepting credit cards, and you have the option of going somewhere else, then perhaps you might shop around.

Give your business to someone that "wants" it.

[todbartell]

if you dont have $38.16 in your wallet or on your debit card, to buy a hunting license, maybe you should reassess your financial situation, or learn how to use an Interac machine :lol: The airmiles you gain off $38 wont get ya very far

[Timbow]

Its happen to me once out of town. I just buy where it's convienient to me. Before buying my licences I will ask the store owner if he accepts interact or VISA, if not I just say thanks and move on. But on that note I will usually buy every tag I know I want at one time and usually before I leave Quesnel.

[Fisher-Dude]

IIRC when I was reading the financials for the MoE last year, they paid out $700,000 in vendor fees. Seems like a lot, but when you consider the volume that goes thru the Crappy Tire/Wally World stores, it isn't much at all. As has been stated above, if you don't have the cash or that much room on your debit card, it's time you reassessed what the hell you are doing...how ya gonna pay your butcher, Chevron, and all the rest lined up for your hunting dollars??? 8-)

[Wildman]

same here, they wont even accept bank cards at our sports shop for tags/licenses

[Sieg-MM]

Just came back from a local hunting store in town. They had two reasons for only accepting cash: (1) of course the 2% fee adds up tag after tag (2) Not all tags are purchased, some go unaccounted for because of theft. In the end the company will make just a few pennies on royalties. The cost vs. benefit is hardly even worth selling tags. It's the people looking to purchase spotting scopes, rifles and such is where the stores make the $$$.