Ecommerce sale process credit card at time of sale or shipment?

 Is there any law governing when to process a credit card to collect for a sale, at time of sale or shipment date?

Hi Al,

I believe that each state actually dictates this law and in some states it depends upon the type of product you are selling.  For example I know that in one state if you sell agricultural goods such as sod, trees etc via mail order or online, for those products you cannot charge the customer until the order is shipped because of the fact that if the customer orders during winter, the crop might not ship till next spring and because of weather that crop might not be able to ship at all.

I would check with your local commerce department or if you are signing up for a merchant account some where they should be able to provide that information for you for your state.

Joe

The company that I buy calanders from charges my cc in June for oct. shipment. Also, in the case of brick & mortat, is an item sold even if not yet paid for? Example: if someone orders by website and is not billed, and customer walks in to buy last of that item, who gets it? Also some sellers take payment and then order & drop ship the item

I have heard several different things--from needing to process the order within 72 hours of charging the card, to having to wait until you ship the product to process the card. It all depends on the laws in your state (if there are any), but generally I think the best practice is to charge within a 'reasonable timeframe' of when you ship. Obviously 'reasonable timeframe' is debatable, but I try to process within 3 business days of charging.