I don't use the PayPal Payflow Pro. I'm sure there are some advantages to it, but I'm fine with the basic. I forget the exact name of the service I have with them, but the cost is only a % of the transaction and I don't need people leaving my site to complete the transaction. I think PayPal takes about 3%
I also have a merchant account through an authorize.net reseller. I think it cost a couple hundred to set up and they also take a % of each transaction as well as a transaction fee. It's a little less though similar to what PayPal takes.
The hard part of the merchant account is getting them to accept you. I felt like I had to jump through hoops before they would accept me, though at the time I was just getting started in business and didn't have much equity in anything.
If you're hesitant to spend the money now just set up the basic PayPal where they don't charge you anything beyond the transaction fee. I think once you are selling you'll find either Payflow Pro or a merchant account is the better option and saves you money, but in the beginning the basic PayPal will work and it's the easiest thing to set up.
|