Should I grab this merchant account deal?

[CyberRookie]

Ok FutureQuesters, help me surf the murky waters of merchant accounts!  Here's a deal I've negotiated with a salesman who's breathing down my neck to sign up...any good?

Authorize.net at $295 purchase
$10/mo secure gateway fee
$10/mo statement fee
$50 appl fee
2.35% and .035 per transaction

There's no shopping cart software included - can I get that free or cheap elsewhere?  What did I miss?  Do it or don't?


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CyberRookie 

[ecomexpert]

what deal? $295 for what purchase? nowadays plenty of merchant services do not require activation fee at all. i have had quite a few merchant accounts and all i need to pay is some $20 monthly plus transaction percentages. for shopping cart, you can use the open source free zen cart.