PayPal Stories Archive

After losing his wedding ring (and multiple replacements), Carbon6 founder and lead product designer John Easley decided he would make his own. But there was a catch: It had to be just right – comfortable enough to go unnoticed, strong enough to be worn while he worked, attractive enough to fit any occasion, and meaningful enough to never be taken off. This idea, coupled with countless hours of research, led to John developing his own process of molding carbon fiber rings.

 

Using his self-developed method, John combined the strength of carbon fiber with the flexibility of resin to produce a ring that met all of his criteria for comfort, function and style, while also serving as a subtle metaphor for the relationship he shared with his wife – no matter how strong two elements may be on their own, they’re always stronger when brought together.

 

Powered by a growing demand, the Easley’s turned one carbon fiber ring into an international online ring store.

 

 

However, the expansion came with unfamiliar challenges. As sales grew, Carbon6 struggled to manage a higher volume of payments. They also had limited payment options for customers purchasing rings, and suffered from high processing fees and a lack of transparency in payment reporting.

Carbon6 needed to establish trust and credibility with a broader base of customers – especially overseas. Not only were they tasked with trying to convince an entirely new market to spend hundreds of dollars on boutique rings sold from a small business, they were doing so as a virtually unknown brand.

In addition, Carbon6 had little experience in preparing for and generating sales during the all-important holiday season.

 

Enter PayPal. The suite of payment technologies offered by PayPal supercharged Carbon6’s limited in-house resources, so the process of managing higher payment volume became simpler and more affordable as it grew. The power of the PayPal brand also helped fuel Carbon6’s expansion into global markets, helping them build credibility and trust with new customers.

 

Solutions like PayPal Express Checkout and PayPal Credit* helped made it easier for Carbon6 to convert new customers. Express Checkout gave Carbon6 a scalable, easy-to-use checkout tool that allowed their customers in more than 200 countries to make purchases. And, it allowed payments to be accepted on any device which was key for the Easleys since 70% of their sales came from mobile traffic. PayPal Credit extended Carbon6’s sales reach even more, by giving their customers the flexibility to pay for rings over time, while Carbon6 still got paid in full upfront.

 

Today Carbon6 has additional advice for other small merchants looking to also capture sales during the critical holiday season: tap social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Easley offers: “Use Facebook to target key demographic audiences to let consumers know about new products and holiday sales. Instagram has been a great channel for us to share beautiful photos of our products to generate interest for the gifts people can give this year.”

 

PayPal also helped add clarity to Carbon6’s credit card processing. PayPal’s detailed reports took the guesswork out of calculating credit card processing fees and organizing credit information – a huge advantage during peak sales cycles. This newfound payment transparency, coupled with the fact that PayPal’s cost structure helped keep Carbon6’s processing fees down, meant managing the checkout process from start to finish became more cost-efficient as the Easleys continued to grow the company.

PayPal’s payment solutions for small businesses and reputation as a trusted global leader in payments has helped Carbon6 gain an edge in reaching and converting more customers around the world.

Learn how you can also get started with PayPal for your small business by visiting our page.