Good to hear sales are back up and conversions are at a high. In CCBill's defense, most don't think that declines cost CCBill money. By my estimate from the cost of gateway look ups and overhead, I'd say around $.10 per decline however, it could be more. Their business model does not pass this charge along. If they don't approve the transaction, they not only do not make a profit, they loose money.
Another interesting note on conversions and traffic over the past few years. I have seen a dramatic rise in decline rates and if you speak with any major bank (which I have) they will tell you this rise is overall among all credit card users. Reasons: Bad Economy= lower credit limits,maxed credit limits and reduced daily transaction limits.
If 10% of the country is unemployed and another 10% are under employed (making less than what they need to survive) it goes without saying that they are leveraging their credit cards.
In the end, when I see a rise in decline rates reported, I usually also see from my 30,000' view, a decline in digital sales across the board while at the same time, traffic levels remaining high.
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