Buying Go Books Without a Credit Card

[usagi]

Hi! is there any way to buy from yutopian/slate and shell/whomever without using a credit card? I prefer paypal, bank wire, money order (but prefer paypal because it's faster).

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[Kirby]

I would suggest contacting them directly.

In the past, I have contacted people from both Kiseido and Slate&Shell. In both cases, they were pretty friendly, and I had the feeling that they were kind of "homey" operations. That is, they're not big, impersonal companies, but I think that you can talk with them and discuss your specific order easily.

An example of this is with shipping cost. I believe that only one or two shipping options were available on one of the websites. I called them and requested a different shipping method, and they had no problems with it at all.

So I think if you tell them your situation, they might be flexible with you.

[mohsart]

Being in the business, I cannot think they won't accept any payment method.
I myself set up a PayPal payment method just because some people prefer it, though I myself prefer Moneybookers or Bank Transfer. I really don't want to lose orders just because I cannot handle a payment method. One customer even wanted to send cash in a envelope and like why not? As long as I get paid...

/Mats

[pwaldron]

I have ordered by money order from them many times without problem.

[mohsart]

Doesn't the envelope option open a whole can of worms...

Please elaborate

/Mats

[usagi]

I would suggest contacting them directly.

In the past, I have contacted people from both Kiseido and Slate&Shell. In both cases, they were pretty friendly, and I had the feeling that they were kind of "homey" operations. That is, they're not big, impersonal companies, but I think that you can talk with them and discuss your specific order easily.

An example of this is with shipping cost. I believe that only one or two shipping options were available on one of the websites. I called them and requested a different shipping method, and they had no problems with it at all.

So I think if you tell them your situation, they might be flexible with you.

Both Yutopian and Slate and Shell were willing to work with me, and I've ordered around 4 or 5 books from each.

Wheee!

That was fun. Looks like my reading list is gonna be great this year

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[Gresil]

Back when I had no credit card I contacted Slate and Shell about Paypal and they (politely) refused.

[CarlJung]

Doesn't the envelope option open a whole can of worms...

Please elaborate

/Mats

The fact that you can't figure it out yourself makes you very likeable person.
(det svenska ordet jag sökte var sympatisk, och det verkar översättas med likeable).

[Mcgreag]

There are 2 problems with sending cash, if first if the Mats was dishonest. For one off sales on ebay that might work but he trying to build a business. Scamming your customers is not good for long time investments.

The second one is that the post office don't actually allow it and will not take any responsibility if the money is lost on the way. You have to send it as registered mail (REK) which adds 5€ or so to the cost.

[mohsart]

Right, well it's not an option that I promote or recommend, but this one customer wanted it.
If the payment don't reach me it's a no deal, as far as I'm concerned it would be equivalent to him dropped his money on his way to a tournament to buy from me IRL.
It's his choise, and he'll have to take precautions such as paying for a registered mail or risk having to pay again.
Admittedly, IF the money is lost in the mail he may believe that I'm scamming him, which may give me a bit of a bad reputation, as might have happened if I had just said no.

/Mats

[PeterHB]

The reputation hit from just saying no is minor. Being honest about what you can't deliver, so no stringing along, no false expectations raised, customer released to place an order elsewhere. So saying 'no' is actually a plus in my tally book.

Cash sent to you, then genuinely stolen in the post by a third party, so you refuse to deliver. Customer feels wronged (ironicly wrongly!). You feel he should have understood the risk and insured for it, or take the hit. Customer unfairly bad-mouths you to other people ( e.g. on the internet, where nothing ever disappears ). Reputation hit rather larger than 'minor', in my opinion. A can of worms better not opened, or even taken off the shelf.

[gowan]

The are costs to the vendor associated with credit cards and paypal. I know plenty of shops that won't take American Express but will take Mastercard and Visa. Paypal charges the vendor 3% I believe. Bank wire transfer usually has a substantial fee for the payer. I've seen many shops that won't take credit cards or that charge the payer a fee to cover the credit card costs. Sometimes the profit margin is too small to allow the vendor fees.

[mohsart]

A good point, if the situation comes, I'll have to consider delivering anyways.
And probably say no to future requests of this payment method.
My experience is that most Go players are quite honest and I've accepted delivery before payment before, though it's nothing I offer or accept without a good reason.
Anyways, all this is a detour from the subject and it was never my intent to hijack the thread, I just wanted to point out that we sellers usually are quite eager to sell and even if the webpage says payment with visa ONLY, there is probably a way around that.

/Mats

[mohsart]

Around 3% for PayPal and Moneybookers (and other similar), it depends on the volume.
I have a fee for PayPal to make more people use Moneybookers, so my volume there goes up and the fee goes down.
The charge for bank transfer may be different for different countries, I believe I typically pay around €5, maybe €10 for payments to out of Europe, which of course is a lot if you buy one book.
I don't know about CC directly, I just use Payal/Moneybookers for those payments. It seems like it would take a much larger volume to make it worth using (high monthly costs, low per transaction cost).

/Mats