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Topic starter
Hey everyone,
I left a message on the board a few weeks back regarding how "mainlanders" regard us poor folks stuck over here on these INTERNATIONAL islands!!
From having my vet. back in Florida tell me I needed an international health certificate for my birds and dogs, to having the lady behind the counter at the passport office tell me I needed to register with the American Consulate upon arrival here (I got here on Nov. 16), I am flabbergasted how we are looked upon as a foreign country. Granted, some things may feel foreign to those of us who are still new to the islands ( I am on STX ).
I thought that if I passed on an email I received today, it would bring a smile (or perhaps a chuckle) to those who can appreciate the message.
I emailed WalMart about shipping some items that I was interested in purchasing. The response I got is a little shocking, but unfortunately, not surprising. Read on:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, Walmart.com is currently
only available in English, and all prices on the site are listed in
U.S.
dollars. Any orders placed with credit cards issued from banks outside
the United States cannot be processed.
We made the decision not to accept foreign credit cards in an effort to
ensure the security of our customers' transactions. Since we currently
cannot verify with a foreign bank that an order is being placed by the
actual cardholder, we believe this extra precaution protects our
customers from credit card fraud.
Similarly, we are also unable to ship to foreign countries, including
Canada. We do, however, ship to APO or FPO military addresses as well
as
addresses in American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam,
Marshall Islands, North Mariana Island, Palau and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
We do hope to expand our services to offer international billing and
shipping in the future. Until then, we greatly appreciate your patience
concerning this issue.
In response to your question regarding shipping cost, we would like to
inform you that the shipping cost for most items is based on the item's
size, weight, shipping method and delivery address. We calculate the
estimated shipping cost with our lowest-price shipping method and
assume
all items in your cart are going to one address. If you select a
different shipping method or multiple addresses, your actual shipping
cost may be higher. You will see your actual shipping cost during
checkout.
If we may be of further assistance, please email us at
help@walmart.com,
or call us at 1-800-966-6546. We're here to serve you from 7:00 AM EST
to 2:00 AM EST, 7 days a week!
Sincerely,
Richelle
Customer Service at walmart.com
Posted : December 13, 2004 8:39 pm
Trouble is, this is common. There are some places that do know who and where we are. Try Penney's to start with, as well as Amazon.com. They both ship here no problem. There are some Mail Boxes Etcs in the states that you could set up an account with for transhipping. I know that one of the mail box places in STT have a mainland address to have items shipped to. Maybe there is one in STX.
Can't help but chuckle about the foreign credit card!
Ronnie
Posted : December 13, 2004 10:58 pm
I'm confused, the email addresses Wal-Mart's unwillingness to ship to you b/c they understand that you are in a foreign country, yet the email also states that they do ship to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Did you point out this contradiction to Richelle?
Sometimes you have to gently guide the retailer to recognize that the U.S. Virgin Islands is exactly that-- part of the U.S.!
Posted : December 14, 2004 1:29 pm
There is an MBE in Sunny Isle on STX. They do a great job!
Posted : December 15, 2004 6:09 pm
That's not why they won't ship to the Island. They won't ship here because the card she used to buy the stuff with belonged to a foriegn bank. Did you try using a credit card not from a bank?
Posted : December 15, 2004 6:54 pm
Ah, got ya.
I had the same experience with Overstock.com.
Posted : December 16, 2004 3:06 pm
Topic starter
Actually, Michael, I haven't purchased anything yet. My inquiry was concerning what basis they used to charge for shipping orders, ( i.e. bulk weight of order vs. how many boxes were being sent, after I had placed an order). Again though, it shouldn't be a problem as I have a credit card issued through my bank back in Florida. Which, last I heard was considered part of the United States, just as St. Croix is.
The funniest part of the whole thing was the mention of all the orders would need to be placed in English, and only U.S. dollars are accepted.
Posted : December 18, 2004 2:37 am
This thread has me wondering which place is weirder: the USVI or the mainland.
Posted : December 18, 2004 9:41 am
