Paying by Paypal when non-US credit and debit cards are not accepted

Many US online stores do not accept non-US debit and credit cards. Assisted purchases usually add 5-15% extra cost. Some online retailers do accept Paypal, but it hasn't help much to customers outside the USA, because few stores ship outside the USA. The biggest problem was that Paypal allowed you to ship to the same country where you billing address was. This may helped Paypal to avoid scams, but was a big problem for customers who lived outside the USA.

Today I tried to pay for my order in the Homesav private shopping club selling mostly furniture and home decoration goods. My Russian Mastercard debit card was rejected no matter whether I was using real billing address with a US state and zip code or a virtual USA address (from my shipping forwarder Shipito). I tried to pay with Paypal and was very surprised that Paypal didn't ask me to choose a shipping address.



So I paid for my Homesav order using my Russian Paypal account and entering Shipito address for shipping. Will try with more shops to find out whether Paypal won't be limiting customers by asking to choose a shipping address.

Have you tried to pay for your orders in US online stores by Paypal recently? Were you asked by Paypal to choose a shipping address?

Ideel (Ideeli) error: Invalid Transaction Type. Contact us if you think you have received this message in error.

I've been using Ideel private shopping club (flash sale site, fashion sale site, private sale site) for about 2 years. Never expected to have any problems paying with my debit and credit cards issued by Russian banks, especially after making 18 purchases with my Russian Mastercard debit card. But a couple of days ago I got the following error when using my new Mastercard: "Invalid Transaction Type. Contact us if you think you have received this message in error."



It appeared that Ideel doesn't allow to enter addresses outside the USA for both billing and shipping, so entering my complete real billing address in Russia was not an option. I tried to enter my real name, real street address and to use the rest from my Shipito virtual address, but it didn't work. Then I tried to use my US virtual address for both billing and shipping to no avail. Then instead of checking out I went to the account settings and tried to add my card from there. I was getting the same error no matter what address I was using.

It appeared that many customers from Russia and other countries have faced the same problem. This happens because Ideel verifies that the billing address provided matches the one on record with your bank. You need to contact Ideel support to disable this AVS system.  Then you should be able to check out using a foreign credit or debit card.

How you can prevent debit and credit card fraud

Craig made a comment that someone has stolen his credit card and sent $4,000 worth of items using a shipping forwarder. Here are some tips that can help you to prevent debit and credit card frauds:

• Enable SMS (text message) notifications for all your debit and credit card transactions


• Use a separate debit/credit card for online transactions. Use another one for major online transactions.


• Replace your debit / credit card once or twice a year.


• Always check the web-site before making any online transaction (google for "web-site name fraud" and "web-site name complaint" and check the results).


• Be especially careful when making online transactions using free Internet access, from a hotel,...At least make sure that the SSL protocol (https://) is used or you use a reliable Virtual Private Network (VPN).


• Do not make any transactions from computers of other people and organisations (in a hotel, Internet cafe,...)


• Always have a phone number of your bank, so that you can notify your bank about fraudulent transactions and block your card. Find out whether you can use online banking or mobile banking for blocking your card if needed.


• Pay with Paypal, Skrill,... instead of using your debit or credit card.

I also recommend to be careful with software that you install onto your computer and web-site that you visit.
If you use Windows, I recommend to have a reliable firewall and an anti-virus. Personally I make online transactions in Linux or Mac OS only (I do not purchase anything from Windows, Android or iOS). Linux live CD can be a perfect solution for that.

What other methods to you use to prevent debit and credit card fraud?

Sierra Trading Post problem: Your order is being held. The name and address of the credit card holder does not match the bank's records.

Sierra Trading Post is one of the best online stores offering sporting goods and outdoor gear. It allows to save 35-70% every day.

I tried to make an purchase at Sierra Trading Post and ship my order to my package forwarder Shipito. I used Shipito virtual address for shipping and billing. I was able to make it, but then my order was put on hold:

[caption id="attachment_1861" align="alignnone" width="583" caption="Sierra Trading Post: Your order is being held"][/caption]

Subject: "Please Respond: Order #EXXXXXXXX On Hold Pending Response"
Message:
Your order is being held.

Customer Number: PXXXXXXXX

Order Number: EXXXXXXXX

Dear Vasya Pupkin,

Thank you for your recent order.

Unfortunately, it is being delayed because:

The name and address of the credit card holder does not match the bank's records. Please call your bank to confirm your billing address, then contact us by email or phone to provide updated information.

Please contact us immediately to verify your foreign credit card billing address.

Please refer to your order number and your customer number when responding to this letter.

Your merchandise will be held for 7 days. If we do not hear from you, we will cancel your order. If you have already taken care of this over the phone, please disregard this notice.

We apologize for the delay, and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Sierra Trading Post
Customer Service Department

It was easy to resolve the problem. I just had to contact support once. I have explained that I was paying with my Russian debit card, but used my Shipito virtual address in Torrance, California for both shipping and billing. I also added that this worked fine in other shops including similar once like the Department Of Goods and Altrec (which is true).

Got my order without any problem. Luckily our ski pants and underwear had come before this year's abnormally freezing temperature affected us. So we've been enjoying them this winter.

Happy shopping!

p.s.
Use the following link to register at Sierra Trading Post and you will get $10 just for signing up:
www.sierratradingpost.com/invite~3095691/outlogic/