** Solved ** Trying to buy something from the USA - I want to pay them, I can't!

Feek

Feek

Feek

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/edit - solved - See here.

Following a thread last year about buying something from the USA, I'm back with a twist.

I'm trying to buy something from the USA. It's only about $70 but they originally quoted me $300 to ship it :eek:

The package is about 11" square and weighs around 2lb. Eventually we managed to get the shipping down to about $70 with a discount being applied to the item. Yes, it's still utter ridiculous but they've got it, I want it and nobody else makes it.

Their website isn't set up properly to calculate the shipping with the alternate method we proposed so we agreed that I'd get my card details to them securely and they'd put it through manually. They tried but the card was allegedly declined. I asked them to try again, the same thing happened. I had no notification in my card app that it had been declined, nothing. I called the card company, they checked and there was nothing on their system to show a declined transaction.

I went back to the supplier and they asked me whether the card is US based, despite us having been in discussion for around a month and them knowing full well I'm in the UK. No, of course it's not a US based card you stupid, insular Americans.

It turns out that their systems will only accept US based cards, despite the fact that their website FAQ specifically says they ship worldwide. They don't accept PayPal. They've told me it'll be on Amazon soon. Yeah, Amazon US which will be completely useless to me.

So unless I can get a USA based credit card, I'm knackered.

/end rant.
 
Feek said:
Following a thread last year about buying something from the USA, I'm back with a twist.

I'm trying to buy something from the USA. It's only about $70 but they originally quoted me $300 to ship it :eek:

The package is about 11" square and weighs around 2lb. Eventually we managed to get the shipping down to about $70 with a discount being applied to the item. Yes, it's still utter ridiculous but they've got it, I want it and nobody else makes it.

Their website isn't set up properly to calculate the shipping with the alternate method we proposed so we agreed that I'd get my card details to them securely and they'd put it through manually. They tried but the card was allegedly declined. I asked them to try again, the same thing happened. I had no notification in my card app that it had been declined, nothing. I called the card company, they checked and there was nothing on their system to show a declined transaction.

I went back to the supplier and they asked me whether the card is US based, despite us having been in discussion for around a month and them knowing full well I'm in the UK. No, of course it's not a US based card you stupid, insular Americans.

It turns out that their systems will only accept US based cards, despite the fact that their website FAQ specifically says they ship worldwide. They don't accept PayPal. They've told me it'll be on Amazon soon. Yeah, Amazon US which will be completely useless to me.

So unless I can get a USA based credit card, I'm knackered.

/end rant.
Click to expand...

Yeh that kind of thing is very frustrating, I had a similar set of issues buying some spares and trying to get them over here.

On the whole "absurd shipping" .. there is a site I came across which I am currently using for the very purpose of getting an item shipped to me from a company that does not ship to the UK. It's called MyUS.com.
It basically provides you with a "suite address" in their building in FL which you can get packages shipped to, they can then arrange to post it onto you for a much more reasonable cost using one of the various international couriers (DHL, FedEX etc...).

With regard to the card thing... Do you know any friends that are state-side and could perhaps make the purchase for you with their card and you transfer the money to their account?
 
I have no idea whether this will work. But could you open an account with an American bank which has branches here? Explain the situation and see whether you can get a suitable card. E.g Citibank.
 
Devilman said:
It's called MyUS.com
Click to expand...
When I first started talking to this company, I looked at myus as a possible shipping option and as soon as I started reading reviews of that site, I did a massive back step. If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you read up on them. You might decide differently.

Devilman said:
Do you know any friends that are state-side and could perhaps make the purchase for you with their card and you transfer the money to their account?
Click to expand...
I did wonder this but their site doesn’t work with international addresses using the shipping method we discussed so it’s not the most straightforward thing to do.
 
Feek said:
When I first started talking to this company, I looked at myus as a possible shipping option and as soon as I started reading reviews of that site, I did a massive back step. If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you read up on them. You might decide differently.
Click to expand...

Thankfully it's a low value item that is something that's not sold over here (just some fluid quick connects) so I'll see how I get on and report back in a few days (hopefully) :D
 
Postal order?
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Wait until on Amazon.com and then buy.

I've bought many items from the States this way, without issue.
 
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