Shop Talk

“Don’t look at me, I’m just a kid — bill my parents!”

Ah, youth. How free and easy it all seems. Especially after the launch of a new payments system, BillMyParents.

The system geared to teens and tweens — who ideally have good relationships with their hopefully indulgent parents — allows parents to approve purchases coveted by their kids and foot the bill.

The idea of the youth payment system is to capture some of the $40 billion spent by kids who end up shopping at traditional retailers only because without a credit card, they have no way to pay for stuff online, says the company’s chief executive, Jim Collas. Collas is the former chief technology officer for PC maker Gateway.

Whereas consumers have a host of options in online payments systems, including eBay‘s PayPal, Google Checkout and Checkout with Amazon, Collas says his system is the most convenient for parents and teens.      Parents pay 50 cents per total transaction after they approve and pay for their kids’ shopping lists that are automatically sent to them via email or text, and merchants pay a percentage to BillMyParents.      Currently, BillMyParents is powered by Amazon.com with Amazon’s shopping cart integrated into the website. Kids can access the entire inventory of the global online retailer.

BillMyParents, which is owned by Socialwise Inc, plans to have up to a dozen more retailers participating within nine months and the ultimate goal is for the BillMyParents payment button to be integrated into the online retailers’ websites.

Besides the retail angle, Collas sees a huge opportunity in the gaming world, which allows kids to buy virtual goods online — a market estimated at over $1 billion — as they play their favorite video games.      Through partnerships with online gaming sites like Artix Entertainment and social networks, young users will be able to share information, showing off what they’ve ordered and seeing what their friends’ nice parents just bought them. An opt-out is available.      Collas’ goal, he said, is to become “the de facto standard” for youth payment systems. He added: “We do expect to gain momentum very quickly.”

(Photo: BillMyParents)

from MediaFile:

Sony offers big PS3 price cut, if you can get the credit

With Black Friday only a few days away and projections for the holiday shopping season bleak, it's not surprising that Sony is making a price cut move on its PlayStation 3 video game console to lure cash-strapped shoppers.

Now, you can get a hearty $150 price cut on the PlayStation 3 console. The caveat: you've got to sign up for a shiny new PlayStation credit card first.

There's two ways to take advantage of the deal, it just depends how badly you want the PS3.

If you can't wait to get your hands on the console, go to www.sony.com/newpscard to get instant approval for the PlayStation credit card and the visit the Sony Rewards site to purchase the PS3. You'll receive a $150 credit for the PS3 after you've been approved for the card. What's more, gamers who receive instant approval for the credit card will receive a coupon from Sony for a buy one, get one free offer on any Blu-Ray DVD purchase.

For those who are slightly more patient, sign up for the card at www.sony.com/getpscard and use it at any Sony retailer to purchase the PS3. The $150 credit will show up on the next billing statement.

The offer from Sony comes after rival Microsoft cut the price of its entry-level Xbox 360 console from $279 to $199 in September - but with no credit card sign-up required. Microsoft also lowered the prices of its mid-range and high-end Xbox 360 consoles by $50 each.