Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth

Could someone give me a brief explanation of the differences between a Sale
transaction and a pre-auth/post-auth transaction . . . mostly I was just
curious as to which is preferred in which situations, if that makes sense.

Thanks!
Jay P.

Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth



According to all the agreements I've seen a SALE is transacted when the item
is ready to ship in 24 hours. A Pre-Auth holds funds if it will not ship
yet, and Post Auth is a FORCE of a SALE that has previously been authorized.
In most I've seen, Pre-Auths are good for 10 days (you can't hold funds for
a month).

Compare a SALE to what happens at the grocery store.

Compare Pre/Post to a hotel room - you arrive Friday and give them your
card. They don't actually charge it through until checkout on Monday.

Pamela

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of REBUS
> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 3:13 PM
> To: Jay Posey; [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [mru] Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth
>
>
> I don't know what a "sales transaction is" but pre and post auth
> are fairly
> simple concepts (sometimes referred to as Auth/Post and Auth only).
>
> In auth/post, the credit card company assures that the card information is
> correct and the funds are available, and then charges the amount
> against the
> card. Is usually cheaper if all your charges stick, however, if not (for
> example, you can't ship or are out of stock) you'll need to issue
> a credit.
> (Which of course, most CC companies charge for.) Also, too many
> credits and
> the CC company may drop you. In Auth only, the CC company only determines
> that the card is good and the funds are available. It then places
> a hold on
> the funds, typically for several weeks, and you must then "process" the
> charge through another means, either the CC company's proprietary
> transaction tool, or in some cases you can use Merchant Admin's "Process"
> order function...
>
> ...at least this is what I understand.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jay Posey <[email protected]>
> To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
> Date: Monday, March 20, 2000 10:21 AM
> Subject: [mru] Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth
>
>
> >Could someone give me a brief explanation of the differences
> between a Sale
> >transaction and a pre-auth/post-auth transaction . . . mostly I was just
> >curious as to which is preferred in which situations, if that
> makes sense.
> >
> >Thanks!
> >Jay P.
> >
> >

Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth



I don't know what a "sales transaction is" but pre and post auth are fairly
simple concepts (sometimes referred to as Auth/Post and Auth only).

In auth/post, the credit card company assures that the card information is
correct and the funds are available, and then charges the amount against the
card. Is usually cheaper if all your charges stick, however, if not (for
example, you can't ship or are out of stock) you'll need to issue a credit.
(Which of course, most CC companies charge for.) Also, too many credits and
the CC company may drop you. In Auth only, the CC company only determines
that the card is good and the funds are available. It then places a hold on
the funds, typically for several weeks, and you must then "process" the
charge through another means, either the CC company's proprietary
transaction tool, or in some cases you can use Merchant Admin's "Process"
order function...

...at least this is what I understand.


-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Posey <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, March 20, 2000 10:21 AM
Subject: [mru] Sale vs. Pre-auth/post-auth


>Could someone give me a brief explanation of the differences between a Sale
>transaction and a pre-auth/post-auth transaction . . . mostly I was just
>curious as to which is preferred in which situations, if that makes sense.
>
>Thanks!
>Jay P.
>
>