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What alternatives do you recommend?

dallasg3 2y ago
Snipcart?
notpushkin 2y ago
I’d cautiously use Stripe in a way that allows you to switch to another payment provider if/when needed. For SaaS applications, I think Lago is pretty neat, for example: https://www.getlago.com/ https://www.getlago.com/ (open source, YC S21) And for ecommerce, there’s so much solutions that I don’t know what to recommend. If you’re looking for something headless, I’ve heard good things about Medusa (open source): https://medusajs.com/ https://medusajs.com/
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago
  Lago is not a payment service provider. You cannot charge credit cards through them.
  - selcuka 2y ago
    Note the GP's first sentence: > [...] use Stripe in a way that allows you to switch to another payment provider You can still use Stripe via self hosted Lago, and replace it with something else if they ban you.
    - notpushkin 2y ago
      This exactly. Start with Stripe, swap them out if problems arise (or your MRR is high enough for you to be able to negotiate a lower % with other providers etc).
- Palmik 2y ago
  For one time payments, like in e-commerce, it's relatively trivial for even a small business to implement. For subscriptions, achieving portability is much trickier.
chasebank 2y ago
Use an agnostic payment vault like spreedly or hyperswitch and send transactions to whichever gateway you’d like. Every processor wants vendor lock-in, terrible for a business. I’m not sure there’s a great option for small ecom businesses with no dev team, though.
marcus_holmes 2y ago
I would store my data in a database that I control, so that it cannot be disconnected or altered by a service agreement change, or an API "upgrade". I would ensure that any payment processing can be done through a range of processors, so that if any one of them becomes unavailable my store is not affected and I can continue taking payments. I would also route payments through the processors dependent on cost. Some rails are more expensive for particular transaction types or countries, etc. Being able to switch between them at will is extremely useful.
- fgkramer 2y ago
  You understand the complexities and risks involved in maintaining the setup you’ve described? It’d be unreasonable for most folks who just want to sell regular products and deal with marketing and sales. Those become the biggest tasks once they start getting traction (ask any relatively successful indie hacker). Paying the processor’s fee is worth it for most
  - marcus_holmes 2y ago
    I agree, which is why most people just use Shopify and make all this their problem.

Snipcart?

I’d cautiously use Stripe in a way that allows you to switch to another payment provider if/when needed. For SaaS applications, I think Lago is pretty neat, for example: https://www.getlago.com/ https://www.getlago.com/ (open source, YC S21) And for ecommerce, there’s so much solutions that I don’t know what to recommend. If you’re looking for something headless, I’ve heard good things about Medusa (open source): https://medusajs.com/ https://medusajs.com/

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago
Lago is not a payment service provider. You cannot charge credit cards through them.
- selcuka 2y ago
  Note the GP's first sentence: > [...] use Stripe in a way that allows you to switch to another payment provider You can still use Stripe via self hosted Lago, and replace it with something else if they ban you.
  - notpushkin 2y ago
    This exactly. Start with Stripe, swap them out if problems arise (or your MRR is high enough for you to be able to negotiate a lower % with other providers etc).
Palmik 2y ago
For one time payments, like in e-commerce, it's relatively trivial for even a small business to implement. For subscriptions, achieving portability is much trickier.

chasebank 2y ago

Use an agnostic payment vault like spreedly or hyperswitch and send transactions to whichever gateway you’d like. Every processor wants vendor lock-in, terrible for a business. I’m not sure there’s a great option for small ecom businesses with no dev team, though.

marcus_holmes 2y ago

I would store my data in a database that I control, so that it cannot be disconnected or altered by a service agreement change, or an API "upgrade". I would ensure that any payment processing can be done through a range of processors, so that if any one of them becomes unavailable my store is not affected and I can continue taking payments. I would also route payments through the processors dependent on cost. Some rails are more expensive for particular transaction types or countries, etc. Being able to switch between them at will is extremely useful.

fgkramer 2y ago
You understand the complexities and risks involved in maintaining the setup you’ve described? It’d be unreasonable for most folks who just want to sell regular products and deal with marketing and sales. Those become the biggest tasks once they start getting traction (ask any relatively successful indie hacker). Paying the processor’s fee is worth it for most
- marcus_holmes 2y ago
  I agree, which is why most people just use Shopify and make all this their problem.