Many  businesses sell goods that fit the micro-payment category (under $5) and wonder if they can make online selling a reality. However, the reality is that since payments online are made using credit cards, costs incurred for credit card processing  really narrow the profit margin. A great Ecommerce Times article explains how and why  online micro-payment can work.

Since most micro-payment models are sensitive to convenience and cost of processing, new merchants may feel confused about when is the right time to shop for a credit card processor. FeeFighters encourages new merchants and merchants with smaller credit card volume to begin shopping for a credit card processor at the point when volume hits $1,000. Until this point, using a processor may not be worth the money.  FeeFighters encourages its small volume users to go through the auction process  keeping that number in mind.

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