Just For Him Problems

homeatsea · Mar 9, 2013

Does anyone know what "problems with credit card companies" JFH is dealing with that is preventing them from accepting MasterCard purchases online? I have been dying to try the Middle Earth Pipeweed blends from the outstanding reviews they have received as well as my love for J.R.R. Tolkien and his writing but for various reasons MasterCard is my only means of purchasing tobacco. I'm incredibly disappointed that I can't get my hands on this stuff.
Is there any other online vendor that sells the Middle Earth Pipeweed series?

john218 · Mar 9, 2013

As rothnh said, call them and see if you can work something out.
Or you what you could do is see what credit cards they accept and get a prepaid credit card to use for the purchase.

They are readily available at supermarkets and the big chain drugstores, among others. They are available in amounts from $25 up.

brdavidson · Mar 10, 2013

Or setup PayPal with your Mastercard

05venturer · Mar 10, 2013

I had the same issue ordering Hobbits Weed from Tewksbury, ended up sending them a money order. What is the deal with Mastercard?

pstlpkr · Mar 10, 2013

Captainprophesy, posted this four months ago, and may address the issue.
Just For Him Credit Card Issue
And this is from Jessica (Hotlips) one of the owners of Just for Him addressing the issue as well.
Hotlips from Just For Him
I hope this helps.

: puffy

:

zonomo · Mar 10, 2013

I ordered a pipe from them and got a call that they didnt have their website updated so the pipe I ordred was not available. They're very nice and professional people. I like them a lot.

john218 · Mar 10, 2013

I just checked their site and they appearantly take Visa, American Express, Discover and Paypal.

It looks like using Paypal or a prepaid credit card as I suggested earlier is the easiest way around this problem.

zonomo · Mar 10, 2013

I don't know if any one cares but I owned a small business for about 10 years - A Kickboxing Studio. Each CC company has what's called a "discount rate", which is the rate % they charge for a certain transaction. The discount rates actually change based upon perceived risk. So if you have the person's address but not the 3-digit security code, the discount rate rises. So, with Mastercard, it could be something as simple as their AVS (Address Verification System) doesn't like the zip code or the format of the way the website formats their addresses. I my experience, Amex was the hardest to work with (and most expensive) and Visa was the easiest.

zonomo · Mar 10, 2013

I still don't get it. Why put up with this at all? Why not just dump honoring MasterCard?

I just read the thread from HotLips at JFH and this is definitely an issue from MC. Essentially they are lumping tobacco purchases in with porn and gambling, which are considered risky. Furthermore, they are lumping pipe smokers in with cigarette smokers. Roth hit it squarely on the head and if I were in this business, I'd drop MC like a hot potato and go with Visa, Discover, Amex and PayPal. I pray to God that the other CC's and gateway companies (such as Authorize.net and PayPal.com) don't try to cut into this perceived risk.
Finally, one of the reasons they can do this is simply because they can. We will always have people who smoke, look at porn and gamble. So you essentially have a "forever industry" and people WILL buy these things no matter the cost.

misterlowercase · Mar 10, 2013

offtopic

(but interesting)
...proof to the oft stated fact that Tolkien's favorite tobacco was Capstan Blue,

here he bought a pound:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20135/lot/221/
. . . . . . . . . . .

zonomo · Mar 10, 2013

Thats super cool misterlowercase. Huge Tolkein and CS Lewis fan.

simnettpratt · Mar 11, 2013

Sweet. That receipt sold for $2,050 BTW.

admin · Mar 11, 2013

I can't speak for Just For Him, but I do know that Mastercard is charging an initial fee of $2,000, and then $1,000 thereafter annually for merchants that want to process online tobacco sales with them.
I learned this in the set up of http://www.briarbid.com/

homeatsea · Mar 11, 2013

I took the advice and gave them a call. For me the easiest route was just to set up a PayPal account with my MasterCard. Now I've got a big TAD order on the way. Thanks everyone for the input!

homeatsea · Mar 11, 2013

Also, misterlowercase that is a very cool receipt. Thanks for sharing!

zonomo · Mar 11, 2013

Mastercard.... Boooooo

cigrmaster · Mar 11, 2013

I personally think that any on line retailer of tobacco has to bite the bullet and pay the fees to Mastercard. It is simply the cost of doing business in today's world. I would never limit my customers ability to pay with a card of their choice and make it difficult for them just because of some fees. I even accepted Amex even though hardly any of my customers used it just because I never wanted to inconvenience my customers. I think JHM is being incredibly short sighted by not accepting Mastercard. It is their business and they can run it however they want, but if it were my business I would simply pay the initial 2 grand and the 1 grand a year so my customers have their choice of how they want to pay.

zonomo · Mar 11, 2013

So Harris - good feedback but let me give you perspective from a former small business owner (for 10 years). It's simple dollars and cents. I ask, If pay the $2 grand up front and $1K every year thereafter, will I make 3x, 4x or 5x return on that investment? ie: I'd have to make $6K, 8K or $10K of NET NEW additional revenues as a result of this decision. I was faced with this same question regarding Amex and I decided that it was not worth it to my business. I can honestly say that I didn't lose one single sale as a result of this decision because most people either used a different CC or wrote a check (PayPal in today's world).

zonomo · Mar 11, 2013

Also, it wouldn't surprise me at all if other credit card companies follow MasterCard's lead on this.

They will if there is money to be had here, which there is. People will always pay for porn, tobacco and gambling. Its just a matter of time. Stock up!

cigrmaster · Mar 11, 2013

roth the initial fee is 2000.00 then it is only a grand a year, not sure where you are getting the 7000.00. I can only speak for myself and how I ran my business and I always tried to make it easy for my customers to choose their preferred method of payment. Obviously JFH does not feel they need to carry MC because they have dropped them. Only time will if that decision was a wise move. In today's world many people only have their debit card for on line purchases and if that is a MC then they would bypass ordering from JFH. My business card is a Visa and my personal is a MC, plus I have other CC's but if I only had one MC then I would not order from JFH. How many people are in that boat? Is their decision costing them customers, I think it is.
z, I owned one of my businesses for 20 years and it didn't cost very much to carry Amex. I think it was like 8 bucks a month plus the fees, which were higher than MC and Visa but certainly not enough to not allow my customers to use it. Being an Amex car holder for over 30 years I used to take offense at businesses that did not allow me to use it. I love their point system and have received many free airline flights over the years. When I moved to Florida in 2003, I was able to get 5 of my 6 tickets for free because of my points. That was back when 20,000 points got you a free ticket, now it is 25,000.

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