They want me to ship them my credit card!

They certainly are. It's strictly forbidden.
What they're asking for is a bank transfer instead.

Edit to add after re-reading the posts : I don't think they're really asking @Nemo to send their card, but rather clumsily trying to explain one has to actually come to the shop with their credit card to do the stuff (because it's not their mother language), or preferably to do a bank transfer. It's how I understand the different emails we've been shown with my french brain

Q

 

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I ran into something similar with Nomos. They wanted a wire transfer and I use Credit cards, but my bank could not figure out how to transfer it after almost two hours of attempts..........plus the bank wanted to put a currency exchange fee on the deal in addition (another 5%)

I told them either accept my CC with an appropriate fee or cancel my bid. I also told them that an auction house that cannot accept CC should put that in the first line of their terms since this is the 21st century.

They accommodated me and did not even charge me the CC# fee.

As was mentioned in another thread, there are so many dealers and so many coins, there is no need to shop where people make shopping difficult.

 

From my point of view, this sure is a frustrating situation. Yes, I would be unhappy (to put it very mildly) too if anybody expected me to physically send in my passport and/or credit card only in order to complete such a purchase. I am in Germany, and have bought coins from various European dealers - never have I been asked to do any of that before. As mentioned in that earlier topic, the ID check may make some sense as a non-EU residence will have an effect on the VAT/sales tax. But sending in a card? No way.

Yes, our credit cards have - and use - that chip (even in the US some or most cards now have it). But whenever I make an online purchase, all I submit is my credit card number, the expiration date and the security code. In such a situation, neither the chip nor the stripe is read. Extra security measures may include a text message with a transaction specific code (TAN), but that's it.

Of course I could make the payment via a plain regular bank account transfer too. Problem is that, once the payment has been made, it would be much more difficult to get the money back in case anything goes wrong with the shipment ...

Side note: Nothing wrong with accepting PayPal. But I use it only in cases when other means of payment are not an option.

Christian

 

You're right Christian, I do pay on the internet with my credit card all the time without getting there : just giving the 16 numbers, expiry date and security code, as you mentioned. But that is if only they have the appropiate device to enter those on the website. Otherwise you have to go the bank transfer route

Q

 

So, if that's the case, I think the solution's perfectly clear: ask them to send you their card reader! You run the transaction, send it back to them, everyone's happy.

 

Brilliant idea !

Q

 

They are either idiots or very smart. If they can't figure out how to do a card not present transaction (with support from their card processor), they're the former. If they are using this obfuscation to "cleverly" decline to take the additional risk of a CNP transaction, they're the latter. I can't figure out which, so I fall back to:

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity

 

If I recall correctly (I've had a merchant VISA/Mastercard account in my distant past) some merchants are only authorized to charge transactions when the card is present. This may be the case here.

Obviously, you cannot send them your credit card. If you're unwilling to wire transfer the amount -- a perfectly understandable position on your part -- tell them that you'll have to cancel the transaction. Since their terms DON'T state that you must present the credit card in person, you're perfectly within your rights to refuse to send them the card. It's their problem to fix, not yours.

 

None of what you describe sounds right. Passport, send the your actual credit card, large buyer's fee, transfer costs. I'm sorry, but no matter how good the coin is I'd let this one go. I would just notify them that de to the problems THEY have caused in accepting payment for the coin(s) you are withdrawing your auction bid. What can they due, they're in France (figures). If I didn't know better this whole thing sounds like a scam to let them get their hands on your credit card.

If you just have to have to the coin and can't live without it, go down to Walmart and get a payment debit card, fill it with the money needed, and send them that. Even then, you have no protection if they don't follow through and send you the coin.

 

To me it just sounds like they really don't care if you follow through with the purchase-- they only care about dogmaticallly following their rules.

Cucumbor said they are an old auction house. I guess they've been in business all those years and figure their customer base is big enough without you. Unless the coin is an absolute must-have, I'd bail on the transaction without feeling a bit bad about it.

 

Absolutely Never send the card. A wire transfer can be used. In Canada it is a major pain because of currency restrictions (I found That out the hard way) If you know somebody in Europe, another dealer in Europe or a major US dealer, or someone like that, I could try to have them deal with the problem. Beyond that I really do not know.

 

I appreciate so many of you taking the time to weigh in on this topic, the opinions are appreciated.

Since I lack the the ability to communicate, even clumsily, in another language, I'm happy to give them the benefit of the doubt that they don't really want me to mail them my card. That being said, I think I'm going to stick to my guns with either a credit card / paypal transaction or no deal. I sent them another email asking them to please stand by the terms they set for the transaction.

 

Many banks have already replaced their debit cards with chip cards - they were out way in advance of working chipcard readers in stores - but be that as it may, how is your card having a chip in the US (or wherever) going to make any difference in the auction house's ability to use the CC number? That is a situation in which the physical card must be plugged into the reader. What those places which have no problem taking your credit card number are doing in the age of chipcards, I really don't know.

 

do not send the card

 

I have a wee pile of those little fake credit cards they send in adverts in the post that I'd be happy to send. Heck, I have used them in a dummy wallet before and had my real wallet in the front pocket when I was overseas.

 

That's not true - use Google translate. As long as you do your English at about a fourth grade level it translates it perfectly fine.

 

True, but then a dealer would (probably) simply state that, with online orders, paying with a credit card is not an option. This case is odd either way.

@Burton Strauss III – Google Translate delivers results that are kind of OK when you need to understand what a foreign language text says. I would not use it (well, not when it comes to business matters) to "produce" a French text based on what you submit in English ...

Christian

 

This is the exact reason I am always careful when I buy coins online. The customer service could be crap.

 

I don't think there is any chance that the credit card is going anywhere.
Anybody remember the credit card "readers" of old? The card would be put into the reader and a "cover" of sorts would be pulled across and back again. This would leave an imprint on the carbon paper below, you would get a copy, the merchant kept the other. I suspect that is the reader these people have, and below is what I think they might look like.

 

Gosh, this is a tough spot to be in if you really must have the coin. If it were me, I'd negotiate a price reduction because there has been a misunderstanding due to their own terms of use and send a wire transfer. That is if you can't walk away from the transaction. If you can live without it, I'd advise you to do so.