We have this inter-class competition. And we are supposed to rewrite and portray MOV in the most interesting way or form. My class was assigned act 2 scene 3,4,5,6. It is where Jessica was talking to Lancelot, and then the masque. Please help, thanks!

Well the Merchant of Venice is already a comedy (anything where the main problem is resolved in a positive way is considered a comedy)

But you could always do it in a comedia del arte style with masques portaying each character (i.e. lancelot the fool, jessica the lover)

How can I get a Merchant ID, so that I do not have to pay sales tax on items I intend to re-sell?

I have a source for inexpensive computer expuipment that I would like to begin selling on Ebay. However I have to pay sales tax from the provider, unless I have a Merchant ID.

Anyone know how I can get a Merchant ID?
By the way I am located in California

Try your State Comptroller's Office. If this is not the state office for sales tax in your state, they will be able to direct you, but that is the office in Texas.

How to set up a merchant account to accept credit cards without a personal guarantor?

All of our buisness' equiptment and vehicles have been financed without personal guarantor. We would like to accept credit cards for our services, but will not put our personal numbers on the contract.

Some merchant account providers will allow you to use alternative forms of guarantees in place of a personal guarantee. These options include:

1) A corporate resolution - your business provides documents (balance sheets, third party prepared financial statements) that shows the business is strong enough to guarantee itself

2) Provide a letter of credit - a letter of credit basically is a loan that your bank promises to give you at a future date. The catch is you don't get to ask for it. The processing bank does, They can only invoke it if you owe them money and they are unable to get those funds from you. It is like an insurance policy.

3) A reserve - the processing bank will hold some of your funds in reserve to cover any exposure for loss they might have. 6 months or so after you close your account they give it all back to you. They may give it back sooner if you have processed for along time and shown to be a low risk merchant.

Keep in mind not all processors offer these alternative although most offer at least one of them.

I was about to make an online purchase when I noticed that the sales tax (for Texas) was being calculated after the merchant added the shipping cost. I was being taxed on the shipping and not just the goods. Is this legal in the state of Texas? If no one can answer, what state agency do I contact to find out.

It depends on your state. You can search "your state" and "taxation" and have to read a ton to find out for sure though. In Indiana they do charge for shipping (and also sales tax on clothes and diapers!).

What exactly is a merchant account? & what bank is the best as far as merchant accounts go?

I am a Passion Party consultant & I want to accept crredit cards but I keep hearing I should get a merchant account. What exactly is it & what are some of the fees? Which bank is best?

Thanks in advance.

A merchant account allows you to accept credit card payments from your customers and have the funds deposited into your banking account. You apply with companies that have relationships with processing banks. These processing banks do the work that gets you paid for your sales.

Accepting credit cards does have a cost to it. Typically a small percentage of your sale plus a small flat fee is charged for accepting a credit card payment. This amount is usually around 2% of the transaction's value +/- .5%. There is also usually a monthly fee associated with having a merchant account and this is typically $10.

Other fees that you want to avoid are: monthly minimum fee, set up, application fees, annual fees, and also make sure you are not locked into a contract. AVS should be included and should not cost an extra fee.

To process your transactions you will need a credit card terminal of some kind. The kind you will need will depend on how you plan to physically process your sales. If you can bring your credit card terminal with you to each party and have access to a telephone line and electricity you have a lot of choices available to you. I would recommend the Verifone Omni 3730 LE. It is small and easy ported and has the latest and greatest features built in.

If you can bring your terminal with you but won't have a telephone line or electricity then a wireless terminal may work for you. The Nurit 8000 is probably the best wireless terminal out there. Just keep in mind this option is more expensive then a regular terminal.

If you can't bring a terminal with you then use a manual imprinter to capture all of your sales and bring them back to a basic terminal at your home or office. Manual imprinters are very inexpensive and the terminals you can use with them are as well because they don't have a printer built in (you don't need one). I would recommend the Verifone Tranz 380 as it is small, easy to use, and very affordable.

As far as choosing a provider, well, there are a ton of them out there. I definitely recommending shopping around as the more you look the better the rates seem to get. I've linked to a comparison worksheet that should make this a lot easier for you to do.