I just got this email from Gene at OutWestTobacco.com, and I thought everyone here should know...
This eMail has some specific information for our customers who have previously used MasterCard for purchases from http://www.OutwestTobacco.com.I also feel that all of our customers should be aware of what is going on, so bear with me and read on.
To our customers who have been using MasterCard to purchase tobacco products from us:
MasterCard has informed us that they will no longer allow us to process transactions using MasterCard
unless we register with them. The catch is that they charge a $1,000.00 annual fee to register.I feel this is excessive, that it is extortion and I have chosen not to meet their demand.
This is yet another effort from the anti-tobacco movement to deny mature adults a simple pleasure in their life.
This leaves you with a choice of using a different credit card or to pay by check or money order. If you use the
check/money order method of payment we must make the decision to either immediately ship the product and hope the
check clears so we get paid, or to delay shipping for a reasonable time to allow the check to clear the bank and then
ship the product.To use a different card on future orders:
(1)please call me with your card number. It is not safe to send
your credit card number in an eMail. Our toll free number is 1-866-285-6046.(2) You can enter your other credit card number when you place your next order by completing all of the information in the
shopping cart check out as if this were your first order.If you want to pay by check, you can either call me and I will make a note in your file, or at the bottom of the
check-out page on your next order you can enter in the Comment Section, "I will mail a check".Please rest assured that whatever method of payment you use, your accumulated to-date purchases will be preserved so
you will continue to receive your earned discount on your next purchase.At OutwestTobacco.com we specialize in quality, affordable pipe tobacco and briar pipes for mature adults. Availability
on the internet is important to you because, for a variety of reasons, so many local tobacco shops have been forced to close,
making it difficult for those who enjoy the simple pleasure of smoking a pipe to obtain pipe tobacco.Restrictions like those imposed by the corporate policy at MasterCard are just some of the obstacles we face on an on-going basis.
We have been, and continue to be confronted with government regulations, absurd tax laws, mis-leading propaganda and corporate
policies that have a common goal of eliminating tobacco from the face of the earth.Unfortunately, all of this effort by the "Anti-Tobacco" crowd, done under the guise of "Preventing the sale of tobacco to minors"
and "Eliminating a cause of death" is done without a thorough knowledge and understanding of the issues and the industry.
The result is that rules, regulations and policies are made in such a broad sweep under a big umbrella, using false and mis-leading
data and information to support it, that mature adults are subjected to the same rules and regulations as teen-agers.Do you know of an under-age teenager that smokes a pipe?
The bottom line is that we at OutwestTobacco.com are subject to rules, regulations and exorbitant taxes that have a direct adverse effect
on the price and availability of your pipe tobacco and that affects you and your pocketbook!Enough is enough. Contact your Representative, Senator, corporate executives that make these absurd decisions and anyone else you
know that should be aware of what is going on.I appreciate your business and I would like to hear your comments.
Gene A Crawford
1-866-285-6046 (Toll Free)
manager@OutwestTobacco.com
http://www.OutwestTobacco.com
as if I could kill time without injuring eternity. -- Thoreau
