On stockpiling after FDA deeming regulations

[Racehorse]

Most of the time I use a debit card that also serves as a credit card and I only put as much money in the account to make the purchase. That way if the card is ever compromised there is nothing in the account but a couple of dollars. Last weekend, I made a purchase from a vendor that I have purchased from for almost 4 years. My card was denied. I thought maybe I put the numbers in wrong, so I ran it again and the bank locked my card. I knew that I had more funds in that account than I needed for this particular purchase because I was going to make several purchases. It was the weekend so I went ahead and used a cc to make the purchases.

Sorry, but this makes no sense. You were unable to use your debit/credit card, but when you used your credit card, the purchase went thru.

This doesn't speak to a CC processor declining a purchase due to being ecig. Both cards would be using the same processor. (of that vendor).

The way the vendor has their shopping cart set up is what allows it to decline Cigar & Tobacco purchases, BECAUSE they have been informed by their processor that it is no longer allowed.

The fact that your order did go thru with the 2nd card would indicate that they have not adjusted their shopping cart software to comply with any kind of new rules.

MOst all ecig vendors use CC processor companies that process the cards, they are "gateway companies" (separate from Visa/Mastercard).

There are tons of internet sites like SmokingPipes that maintain online businesses. Tons. (they pay higher processing fees).

It does sound like either your address verification wasnt' taking on the 1st debit/credit card, or the amount of $ on it wasn't enough to cover the purchase.

I have also never heard of a credit/debit card being "locked" since I shop with one of those myself, specifically tied to a bank account that I ONLY use for on-line purchases. Either the purchase is declined, or it is not. This "locking" thing makes no sense, adn since the bank officer was unable to explain it either, it still makes no sense.

Anyway, panic posts like this until you know the real story just add to the problem IMHO.

 

[nk__]

Fantastic article in Australia where a professor writing an article for one of our major newspapers has spoken about the benefit of e-cigs and said that the ban on nicotine (which has been in place since before vaping was a thing) should be removed.

New Nicotine Alliance is a new Australian vaping activist group similar to CASAA and has put in a submission to government to consider changing the laws to allow the sale of nicotine in Australia.

If our little country can move in this positive direction by taking on board the evolution of knowledge on vaping then why can't the U.S.?

Nicotine vaping should be legal

Thanks for this. Finally some mainstream advocacy in AU. Make no mistake though, Victoria has passed a bill in the lower house that aligns e-cigs with all combustible tobacco regulations. There is a rally tomorrow outside parliament (Save Vaping Rally - Melbourne. August 16th) to basically beg the house of reps to reconsider.

To return to topic - Crown 2, Steam Crave 2, 1 litre of various flavours, etc arrived this week. Woo!

 

[Two_Bears]

I think there are a lot of things going on quietly behind the scenes that the public is not even aware of.
I had something odd happen with a purchase last week. I think the cc processors and getting ready to track or maybe halt transactions like Paypal has done.

Most of the time I use a debit card that also serves as a credit card and I only put as much money in the account to make the purchase. That way if the card is ever compromised there is nothing in the account but a couple of dollars. Last weekend, I made a purchase from a vendor that I have purchased from for almost 4 years. My card was denied. I thought maybe I put the numbers in wrong, so I ran it again and the bank locked my card. I knew that I had more funds in that account than I needed for this particular purchase because I was going to make several purchases. It was the weekend so I went ahead and used a cc to make the purchases.
Monday morning when I called to inquire why my card was being denied, she put me on hold and came back and quoted the amount that had been denied twice and said that those purchases were listed as 'Cigar & Tobacco now. That the processing company had just made some changes and this was a new category. She was very chatty and seemed a little nervous. I point blank asked her if the charges were denied simply because they were in that category. She stumbled around over that for a minute and then tried to reassure me that something that either I had done on my end, or something in the system had triggered a red flag, so the sale was denied and my card was locked.

HMMMMMMMM---I didn't buy it--My gut tells me that they are all getting set up to deny those purchases in the future because the processing companies will not process them if they are in the 'new Cigar & Tobacco category. If that is going on--then I am sure the USPS / Fed EX/ UPS etc. are all have 'meetings' as to how they will proceed.

Our problems may escalate sooner than we think--the vendors my have two years, but even though they have two years, if you can't pay for it, and it can't be delivered then...we have a problem.

That is one of the dangers of vaping stuff being reclassified as tobacco products.

 

[Two_Bears]

Sorry, but this makes no sense. You were unable to use your debit/credit card, but when you used your credit card, the purchase went thru.

This doesn't speak to a CC processor declining a purchase due to being ecig. Both cards would be using the same processor. (of that vendor).

The way the vendor has their shopping cart set up is what allows it to decline Cigar & Tobacco purchases, BECAUSE they have been informed by their processor that it is no longer allowed.

The fact that your order did go thru with the 2nd card would indicate that they have not adjusted their shopping cart software to comply with any kind of new rules.

MOst all ecig vendors use CC processor companies that process the cards, they are "gateway companies" (separate from Visa/Mastercard).

There are tons of internet sites like SmokingPipes that maintain online businesses. Tons. (they pay higher processing fees).

It does sound like either your address verification wasnt' taking on the 1st debit/credit card, or the amount of $ on it wasn't enough to cover the purchase.

I have also never heard of a credit/debit card being "locked" since I shop with one of those myself, specifically tied to a bank account that I ONLY use for on-line purchases. Either the purchase is declined, or it is not. This "locking" thing makes no sense, adn since the bank officer was unable to explain it either, it still makes no sense.

Anyway, panic posts like this until you know the real story just add to the problem IMHO.

The debit card may have been Mastercard. the cc could have been visa, disccovery, or American Express.

 

[Two_Bears]

IF is a big word.

I really think they are already awake and perhaps don't see things quite the same way as you do.

Race horse not to start a fight.

But if people care about vaping they SHOULD

1 Prep
2. Contact their representatives
3. Support law suits against the FDA
4 join one or more vaping alliances sychbas Casaa (SP), Vaping militia, Not blowing smoke, etc.

I sell some stuff on eBay, and about Twice a week Someone buys sonething i can't ship to them because it vaping related.

Singapore, Turkey, Australia and 5-6 other countries.

If people can't see the elephant in the room IT AINT MY PROBLEM.

We have an unholy alliance working together to kill vaping.

FDA
Big tobbaco
Big Pharma
States greedy for a new income stream of sin taxes.

 

[Bea-FL]

I was tge same way when i used nic. Been Nic free for almost 8 months

Congrats on being nic free. How long did it take you? I dont know if I ever will be. I'll be very happy if I can get down to 4mg and not turn into a monster.

 

[Two_Bears]

Congrats on being nic free. How long did it take you? I dont know if I ever will be. I'll be very happy if I can get down to 4mg and not turn into a monster.

It took about 2 1/2 years

I had gotten down to 3 mg from 18 then two bummed cigarettes got me again so i started at 12 mg and weaned myself off again.

The trick for me was slow baby steps.

 

[Two_Bears]

Race horse not to start a fight.

But if people care about vaping they SHOULD

1 Prep
2. Contact their representatives
3. Support law suits against the FDA
4 join one or more vaping alliances sychbas Casaa (SP), Vaping militia, Not blowing smoke, etc.

I sell some stuff on eBay, and about Twice a week Someone buys sonething i can't ship to them because it vaping related.

Singapore, Turkey, Australia and 5-6 other countries.

If people can't see the elephant in the room IT AINT MY PROBLEM.

We have an unholy alliance working together to kill vaping.

FDA
Big tobbaco
Big Pharma
States greedy for a new income stream of sin taxes.

Forgot one. Friends in Canada have reported that Csnadian Customs are seizing and destroying ejuice.

 

[logicalvaper]

I wouldn't call every vaper out there that doesn't want to DIY or rebuild an "idiot". I would guess that less than 10% of vapers DIY, so that's a lot of idiots.

People like my wife that work long hours, sit in traffic for a couple hours a day, make dinner and chase around a three year old until almost bedtime might not have the time. She would definitely not have the time to pull out the 100mg NIC, flavourings, syringes, PG/VG, etc. after putting our daughter to bed nor does she want to. She is lucky I make our juice but if I wasn't around, she would pay market price for store bought juice or smoke cigalikes. Not everyone wants to make their own coils and have a freezer full of NIC.

P.s. Vaping is not being outlawed. Things will be tough, but vaping is not going to be illegal any time soon.

I can appreciate this. I'm at home (disabled) and only use an eGo-T with the clearomizers and only use one brand of ejuice. I could be wrong, but because of how long the eGo-T and eGo-U have been on the market, as well as the clearomizers, I don't expect them to not be around.

As for the ejuice, no way am I a DIY'er but I'm not an idiot either. I'm stuck on one brand because it's perfect for me, so I'll spend a little extra if I have to so I can get it premade. It's still cheaper than cigarettes!

 

[dcdozer]

I was just about to order the basic EdgeStar 1.1 C.F. refrigerator / freezer when I ran across this in another thread.
What kind of damage did you encounter with these scratch & dents when they arrived? I fear buying damaged goods when all "Scratch & Dent" units will not carry any warranty and are not eligible for a "buyer’s remorse" return. Note: The original manufacturer’s warranty is not applicable

No damage that I can see. It just gets loaded up with frost very quickly. Think it may have a bad seal, but I can't seem to find it. Another poster said his was fine, so I may try again if I can't fix it. At that price it's worth the risk.

 

[Alexander Mundy]

I have also never heard of a credit/debit card being "locked" since I shop with one of those myself, specifically tied to a bank account that I ONLY use for on-line purchases. Either the purchase is declined, or it is not. This "locking" thing makes no sense, adn since the bank officer was unable to explain it either, it still makes no sense.

I have no clue why he had problems, but I have had a debit card tied to a bank account locked 2 times in the past. Both were due to filling up in town, immediately traveling to another state and filling up, then immediately traveling back and trying to fill up. No comparison to what he described but still I had to call to get it unlocked. What is more plausible (I've had this happen more than once) is that the transaction that was aborted caused a hold on funds which did not get released. This can happen at the vendors end and the vendor has to call and get the hold removed. It can be frustrating when you have to wait days to be able to use your money.

 

[Smoke_too_much]

Seems like a lot of much ado over nothing to me. Most of what I've liked hasn't been legal since the DEA starting telling lies about it 80 years ago and it hasn't put a dent in my enjoyment of those products over the last 47 years. Just wait until nic is being sold on street corners and the govt blames the inevitable poisonings on the black market instead of the real culprits, themselves. In fact I'm not looking forward to legalization since the govt has decided it wants to charge twice what the street corner dealers are asking. Its all about money, it always is. If you've got the money you'll get what you want.

 

[Koolkiz]

Banks can do a temporary suspend (locked) action on certain debit cards. They did it once to me. They also cancel your debit card without contacting you before and after. This just happened to me and SO. Is it right or legal? I have no clue.

 

[Two_Bears]

I have no clue why he had problems, but I have had a debit card tied to a bank account locked 2 times in the past. Both were due to filling up in town, immediately traveling to another state and filling up, then immediately traveling back and trying to fill up. No comparison to what he described but still I had to call to get it unlocked. What is more plausible (I've had this happen more than once) is that the transaction that was aborted caused a hold on funds which did not get released. This can happen at the vendors end and the vendor has to call and get the hold removed. It can be frustrating when you have to wait days to be able to use your money.

In your case with using the cards in differerent States could show fraud.

I once got a new card and immediately Traveled to another state. I got a phone call wanting to know if the transactions in Georgia was genuine or not.

What he was talking about some Credit card issuers (including Pay PAL) don't permit sales of cigars, cigarettes, vaping supplies, and that ceritain herb we are not allowed to talk about even if you get said herb at a legal dispensary and you have a card where you can legally purchase it.

I don't like to walk around with up to $200 cash but i have to because Pay Pal's stupid rules.

 

[Woofer]

Friends in Canada have reported that Csnadian Customs are seizing and destroying ejuice.

This is nothing new, it has been that way since before I joined ECF. I believe they (Health Canada) instructs Customs to turn back the shipment, not seize and destroy. FWIW.

 

[Racehorse]

The debit card may have been Mastercard. the cc could have been visa, disccovery, or American Express.

All that is passed on to the VENDORS' CC processor, which since it's the ecig biz, is most probably a gateway processor.

The reason is that few vendors would be willing to pay Mastercard, et al. the extra fees to be in the "high risk category".

There were a lot of posts about vendors trying to even FIND CC processors when all this vaping stuff started, plenty of posts about it in the archives.

So a shopping cart would not decline one CC and accept another one. I have never seen that. Ever. The whole point of getting a gateway CC processor if you sell wine, pipes, cigars, ecigs, etc. is to have a seamless checkout process with a company who allows people to buy what you're selling.

 

[Racehorse]

(including Pay PAL) don't permit sales of cigars, cigarettes, vaping supplies, .

Unbeknowest to many even Paypal has high risk groups that they allow to process certain things, but the fees are such that few vendors would use ..... which is why you never hear about it.

 

[Bea-FL]

It took about 2 1/2 years

I had gotten down to 3 mg from 18 then two bummed cigarettes got me again so i started at 12 mg and weaned myself off again.

The trick for me was slow baby steps.

Bummer on starting over. I started at 18 a year 1-1/2 years ago. I hope to be down to 5 by January if all goes well.

 

[JCinFLA]

Are some of you buying that "Scratch and dent factory lock 1.1 cu. ft. for $90" freezer because of its size? or because of its price? Because I got a 5 cu. ft. chest freezer, with multiple settings, with a 1 year factory warranty, for $157 last year. Costs about $18/year in elec. to run it, runs wonderfully, and I haven't even needed to defrost it yet!

 

[Two_Bears]

Seems like a lot of much ado over nothing to me. Most of what I've liked hasn't been legal since the DEA starting telling lies about it 80 years ago and it hasn't put a dent in my enjoyment of those products over the last 47 years. Just wait until nic is being sold on street corners and the govt blames the inevitable poisonings on the black market instead of the real culprits, themselves. In fact I'm not looking forward to legalization since the govt has decided it wants to charge twice what the street corner dealers are asking. Its all about money, it always is. If you've got the money you'll get what you want.

The idiot Bureaucrats who enact the stupid laws are never held accountable for the damage they cause. Their intentions were pure so they get a pass.