Interesting ordering from Ray...

[Corey872]

Cliff notes: 
Alibaba seems to be acting weird in the latest Firefox versions.  When I finally did get to my order (using IE), my card was declined.  My bank reported many stolen credit cards being used on Alibaba, so they gave me a security hold until I called in and verified.  Almost left me stranded alongside the road.

Saga:
Trying to get a few more smart strings on order for Halloween, so a few days ago I went to Alibaba and pulled the trigger on Ray's store.  After confirming shipping, the web page ask me to log in again (?)  Tried...no luck...blank page.  Went back tried to do the order again...ask for log in again...back to the blank page.  I should mention this is in Firefox 12, 13, 14 or what ever the heck it is this week.

So I think, 'well, maybe site maintenance, I'll try later' - which I finally did.  No luck, same thing.  Then emails start showing up...pay for order...pay for order....  Thinking something amiss, I loaded up IE and went back to Alibaba.  Then I find I have three pending orders!  So sent a note to cancel the two 'errors' which Ray did.

So while in IE, I go to pay for the order I actually want..but 'bank card declined'...'bank card declined'.  Then I noticed a note something to the effect of...'can not accept corporate or credit cards at this time'.  Thinking it may be another site error I close everything and go to bed for the night.

Heading to work this morning and notice the low fuel light is on, so I pull in to my station to get some gas (actually E85, but that is a whole other story).  So I swipe my card at the pump...'card declined, see cashier'.  She can't get it to work either, so I fork over the little bit of cash I had and hit the road.

I'm starting to put things together when I get a call from the bank.  Turns out they claim a lot of stolen cards are used to order from alibaba.com so they put a security hold on my card.  After assuring them everything was legit and thanking them for their vigilance, everything is back to normal.

So, hopefully this will be helpful info for anyone getting ready to make an order.

[dandyman]

Yeah, I've run in to the same thing when ordering... It's a good thing that the card companies are keeping an eye out, but a pain in the rear when it's happening...

I finally asked Ray if I could order thru PayPal... Works much better (don't have the cc companies involved)... Have never had a problem with any order that I sent thru PayPal... YMMV...

Dan

[jnealand]

Many of us have experienced the same thing.  The only good way to order is to send an email to Ray with what you want and he will email you back with an invoice and a paypal address.

[jeffcoast]

I had the same issue when I ordered from Ray, and took a call to the CC company and they fixed it right away. I would recommend just calling the security department of the cc company before you try to pay for the order and they can put a temporary block on their security for you to keep it from happening.

[mykroft]

using a CC instead of PayPal will get most ppls a foreign transaction fee also....

Myk

[PJNMCT]

Many of us have experienced the same thing.  The only good way to order is to send an email to Ray with what you want and he will email you back with an invoice and a paypal address.

+1

[Steve Gase]

+1

[CW]

I agree, paypal works great with Ray.  I just ordered my second order this year this way, no issue.

Craig

[Corey872]

Ok - mark down one more happy customer.  Emailed for the paypal option.  Payment clears late Sunday night (here).   Get a call from DHL this morning trying to track down my whereabouts to get a signature and deliver the package.  Turns out the best meeting place is just a block from where I work...25 miles from 'home'.  So a quick meet-up and I've got a few more strings of nodes to start burning in!  Buy Sunday, in hand Friday...not bad!

Super fast shipping - all things considered.  Though I really wish there was a cheap 'slow boat' option.  If I could save some $$$, I'd happily wait a few extra weeks!