Sterlingtek

Tried this morning to order a couple of batteries I've been hearing so many good stories about. Filled out the order form on the site and clicked send....my crerdit card has been rejected...WTF ! Explored around their site and discovered this tidbit.... .INTERNATIONAL ORDERS (NON USA): Due the the high incidence of credit card fraud from certain areas of the world, we may ask you to purchase your item with a service that we use know as Bidpay, www.bidpay.com. We regret this state of affairs, but it keeps both us and you safe, please email us for details, or place your order and we will contact you if necessary.
I did not bid on any auction...I'm ordering from Sterlingtek...! Anyone else think this is a bit rude to "foreigners" in Canada (or elsewhere for that matter). I've travelled throughout Europe and not had ONE problem with my credit card being refused. I've ordered so much stuff from the U.S. over the years Canada Customs know me on a first name basis.... NEVER had my card refused. The part that pi$$es me off is that nowhere on the order form does it mention this.....you have to seek this info out. All you get on the order form at the bitter end is that your credit card has been declined ! NOT ANY MORE IT AIN'T...

That's sad. You'd think they can fix such things. Those batteries are really good.

I had no trouble ordering a bunch of batteries from them. And I do live in Finland. Funny that they would reject a Canadian card then.

Did you order on-line or did you phone them....?

Alot of companies do not ship out of country anymore. Not really rude, protecting their intrest...

If a company refuses to do business outside of their borders, then the pack of Mooks should be courteous enough to post a large sign on their website right up front saying "We do not sell to foreigners" ..! With free trade and international sales so commomplace these days, you must be retarded to try a policy like that...! A lot of businesses would love to have such domestic sales they don't need anyone else. I wonder what would happen if the Chinese said they would no longer ship product to a company in the U.S. ....just protecting their interests. RUBBISH...! It's a big, new world out here....!

corporallouis wrote in post #2836972
"We do not sell to foreigners" ..!

I would think if a company was apparently stupid enough to put this sign up I don't think they would be one of the best web-sites to purchase batteries from in the first place.

I can understand why companies choose not to sell out of the country because the legal jumbo just to try and get $50 back is not even worth pursuing.

I think the sign that would be put on a webpage would say. "Not accepting orders that originate outside the US".

Just as so many other people have I too have gotten products from Sterlingtek and I know they are true to their word and they back up their product. That's why so many people on here trust in their name.

Im sorry this situation happened to you but I would imagine they might take your order if you were to call them. I would think they could arrange some type of other payment option including through Paypal. In fact I think it states at the bottom of their webpage they have that capability, but Im not certain.

Ross

@metalman 1010.....
I'm just a little frustrated right now at Sterlintek and their on-line order joke. My credit card is 100% O.K. (even checked my banking institution) and after going through all the hoops on the online order form it tells me my credit card has been declined...then after rooting around their site I see they really do not want to use credit cards form "other" countries. Casts aspersions that me and/or my country is a source of fraudulent credit cards. Try New York if you want a box of credit cards for a price....we're no worse here than their own backyard. If we "foreigners" must call or whatever....just say so somewhere prominent. Do not have us fill out forms they have no intention of accepting. I still wonder why they have a drop-down menu for shipping outside the U.S. as they apparently do not for on-line shopping. I've heard SO much good about this company and its products I decided to try them out...only to face this fiasco of trying to order on-line. Man this is the 21st century...this stuff is usually so damn easy most places in the world....one should not be reduced to pleading to buy a product on-line. Too bad....I was looking forward to getting a couple of spares, but my grip also accepts AA batteries too and I've a bunch already...

They're not casting aspersions on you or your country, simply reflecting the difficulty in confirming an out-of-country credit card in a completely different banking system. Within a single country there's essentially a central clearinghouse for any given card company. However, once you try to verify a card from outside the country you have to potentially deal with all the card service companies in all the other countries you're doing business with. And that has some real business costs. B&H, IIRC, while they don't refuse out-of-country credit cards, require you to furnish identity proofing before they'll accept the card.

In this electronic age, verifying a VISA card is done in a blink no matter what the country......part of the convenience of using this type of card. I ran around Europe using my credit card at a lot of places without so much as a hiccup. I don't believe for one second they have that much trouble verifying my card. It was refused that quick it was impossible for them to even attempt a verification. I am firmly under the impression they just feign an on-line ordering application and hope you will get that frustrated you will call and give them a pulse to talk to. I have e-mailed them twice today asking what might be the problem without the courtesy of a reply. All those who have had good luck with them....enjoy it. I for one will NOT give them a second chance.....

I would do the EXACT same thing if I was Sterlingtek, they have to protect the overall health of their business. I have never been anything but impressed with Sterlingtek, they are great people to deal with. If they have to get a bit more information from some customers - so be it. If they have to deal with too much loss from certain orders - they may have to raise prices to cover some of their losses and then we all lose.

It almost sounds to me like they may be having a temporary glitch with their ordering system based on how quickly you mention they rejected your card. If that is case, then it is obviously not normal business practices and you should not judge their overall online ordering experience by it.

Yeah....do exactly as Sterlingtek and automatically refuse an on-line order because they're afraid to lose money on crappy customers. Lock the doors and draw the curtains then. That's a cost of doing business. If you offer on-line ordering....DO IT. Don't lead customers down a path filling out orders that will be rejected at the checkout. Up front tell foreign orders to call the toll free number or whatever....I have sent two e-mails to Sterlingtek today and both have gone unanswered. If I were to take their business practice, I would say I'm nervous about a business that doesn't answer my query about a sales transaction gone bad. MY money I'd have to send and I should worry if they'll fulfill their sales obligation. That door swings both ways. Business would never get done. I'm moving on from these people....once bitten...!

I can see why you would be frustrated, but I think that you are painting these people with too broad of brush strokes at this point. They are becoming almost the defacto source for replacement batteries and thousands of people per week are executing flawless orders through their system. And I am ALL for whatever they feel that they have to do to keep prices down for the majority of their customers.

One bad transaction does NOT a company make my friend.

What is your problem? They're protecting their money. There's a lot of credit card fraud.

Just paypal them!

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2839342
What is your problem? They're protecting their money. There's a lot of credit card fraud.

Just paypal them!

Agreed.