posted on September 16, 2000 06:25:15 PM
I live in Canada and signed up at Gunpoint when they went international. Didn't advertise it but accepted at the request of the buyer.
Everything is fine (so far) except in the notice from Ebay telling me that the payment had been made, there's this charming sentence:
"IF THIS IS AN ORDER FROM A NON-U.S. buyer, please be aware that credit card
transactions from buyers outside the U.S. generally carry higher risk of
fraud. "
posted on September 16, 2000 06:28:02 PM
Hello fellow Canuck, I agree, that spiel could be better worded. Then again, if you just got screwed on a transaction that involved some con artist in Indonesia, at least you could say you were forwarned.
posted on September 16, 2000 06:35:57 PM
You Canucks can't seem to catch a break with online auctions, can you? It's hard for me to understand; great people, lovely country, what gives?
I sure would like to sell some swords to all of the disgruntled Canadian bidders for the coming uprising, but your government has posted a big "NO!" sign at the borders. They will not allow anything that even remotely resembles a weapon into the country, including fencing foils!
Some of us Americans still think you are great people. Keep smiling and stay warm up there, eh?
posted on September 16, 2000 07:13:18 PM
There is no administrative need for Canada and the US not to have a common government. It would be as simple as merging two banks. However it would also result in the same large number of lay-offs as duplicate services were merged. What politician ever voted himself out of a job? Not allowing weapons in this technological society is pointless. Anyone with a LITTLE thinking ability can assemble really nasty devices from a electronics catalog and a hardware store.
posted on September 16, 2000 08:02:02 PM
Fine. Then why not break it down even further. Obviously, due to the nature of statistics, there are certain states that have more credit card fraud than others.
How about something like this "IF THIS IS AN ORDER FROM A New Jersey buyer, please be aware that credit card transactions from buyers from New Jersey generally carry higher risk of fraud."
posted on September 16, 2000 08:52:24 PM
macandjan: Assuming that you are serious that there is no need for 2 governments between Canada and the US, please consider the possibility that Canadians may have fixed views about keeping their own government. I think it is called nationalism.
posted on September 17, 2000 05:12:56 AM
smw -
We almost acquired you in 1812 ... I think the plans for the 200th anniversary include re-enacting the events. Maybe this time.
posted on September 17, 2000 05:45:15 AM
MERGE Canada and the U.S.?
Can anybody say "confederacy vs. republic"?
A chunk of my family is Canadian. My ancestors (gratefully) settled parts of Quebec and Ontario after the American Revolution. I spent much of my childhood in Ontario. Despite Ms. Dion (whose grating ubiquitousness more than compensates for any offensive American products forced on Canadians), I still have warm feelings in my heart for the Folks Up North.
But I can't say anything good for EITHER side's prospects in a "merger".
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Sep 17, 2000 05:46 AM ]
posted on September 17, 2000 07:24:52 AM
I guess that credit card fraud really is a problem in some countries...dunno about that applying to Canada though.
We spent a couple weeks on a Mediterranean cruise this summer. It was interesting to see which countries our credit cards were accepted in. In almost every country we visited, the cards would work once. Then we'd go to use the card a second time and it was like a crap shoot whether or not it would go through. Apparently banks are not familiar with the idea that one might GO somewhere and use their cards.
Did fine in all the Italian cities except Naples. Athens was a bust. Istanbul was the worst - don't think anyone in our family got one to work there ever. The merchants in Turkey are used to this though, and we had a couple that were even willing to take personal checks from us...one for $800.
I do agree that Billpoint's wording leaves a LOT to be desired. Non-U.S buyers...geeze.
posted on September 17, 2000 02:12:50 PM
Actually, the issue outside of the U.S. (though really only in certain countries) is that credit card payments are not authorized electronically. So, for example, if I get a Visa check card in the U.S. backed by a checking account with only $100, I can go to, say, Kuala Lumpur (not to pick on Kuala Lumpur) and use it like a credit card to charge thousands of dollars, assuming I'm at a merchant that doesn't check electronically. By the time the "bill" gets to my bank, I could have closed my checking account and disappeared. This happens much more frequently outside the U.S. than inside the U.S., which I'm guessing is the reason behind the warning. Still, my guess is it happens even less often in Canada than in the U.S. so go figure...
