[DTFdowntofund]

Agreed. Instead of acting shady you should be not only building reputable relationships with your funding houses but with your merchants as well. When you do right by folks and you keep it honest they have a tendency to stick with you. & remember that an ISO's bread and butter is that renewal game; the amount you'll make in the long term versus choking them out on a ridiculous junk fee in the first round is always substantially higher. You're talking to business owners and they understand better than anyone that nothing in this life is free.. so if you level with them about the cost and your fee they will almost always be understanding and ultimately appreciate your honestly which only helps you in the long run.

I also know guys who will sacrifice their comms, even significantly, if it will close the deal; because hypothetically if there are 4 diff shops with the same approval, who do you think merch is going to close with? The guy who pitches him a rate that's 7 points less than the others.

And most funders won't allow past a certain percentage for PSF's or additions to their set up fee, but regardless if they do or not it's going to cost you that merchant or potentially even endanger the repayment if they don't net enough (this is really high risk stuff I'm talking about, but I have seen guys wack a 3k origination fee on a guy we funded for 10k).

Someone pointed out that certain places will allow you to add to their contract set up prior to drafting, and it's true.. I've done that before, which is also segways into another lesson of being aware of every funder's specifics from product space to buy rates, terms, commission allowances etc. It's key to know where you have maneuverability and how to place deals so that they not only get funded but it maximizes profit for you too. After all.. we all play this game to get paid right?