Just ordered from MA 2 days ago and it hasn’t shipped out. Do they usually delay a little? It says waiting for payment verification and they already took the money out of my account
Typically, everything ships very quickly (as you can see by the members' posts). We prioritize rapid deliveries, as we know that it is important to people. This is why we use only priority shipping and ship either the same day (if the order is placed before 12 noon Eastern Time) or the very next day (if the order is placed after 12 noon Eastern Time).
A few days ago we experienced a delay in cc processing. To make a long story short, the merchant account provider we use gained so much business, so fast, that they could no longer handle the amount of orders that were coming in. This is not a physical limitation issue, but has to do with the amount of processing space they have available to process credit cards. To put it another way, the number of terminals a merchant provider has will determine the amount of orders they can process at any one time.
Because this merchant provider grew so quickly, they outgrew their processing capacity and now have to add additional terminals (which they are currently doing).
So, the temporary delay doesn't have anything to do with us, per say, but is due to growing pains on the banks end. This bank has actually been around for 30 years, but they are fairly new to the high-risk side of things.
Many people don't fully understand how difficult it is to offer cc services when selling these kind of products. There is a very good reason why SO FEW chemical research companies accept credit cards.. In fact, we are one of only a handful...and we pay a LOT of money in order to make sure we can offer this service. Unfortunately, the merchant account providers involved in high risk cc processing, as well as the banks, all have to take steps to not only protect themselves, but to make sure things keep running smoothly. There is constant oversight, extreme regulation, unceasing documentation requirements, and a bunch of other things that MUST b done in order for all of us to continue allowing you guys to pay with credit cards. Remember, these research chemicals are classified as drugs when sold through pharmacies, so when selling them as research chemicals we have to jump through a LOT of hoops to make sure the wheels keep turning.
We bend over backwards doing everything we can to provide our customers with not only quick and easy service (by taking credit cards and using only priority shipping), but by selling U.S made, lab tested products. Every single one of these things make running a chemical research company WAY more difficult (and COSTLY) than running a typical research company (i.e. Chinese chems, no cc processing, no lab testing). In reality, it is darn near miraculous that people are even able to buy these products over the Net with a credit card...and then receive quality products in 2-3 days.
However, the problems associated with high-rick cc processing is not the customer's problem. It is our problem, so I completely understand the customer's point of view. They buy a product and want it now...and I don't blame them. That's why we work so hard to make this happen....and anytime we experience even the smallest hiccup (which is rare), we make sure to offer our customers some type of compensation for it (as we did with you). When considering company shortcomings within the context of customer satisfaction, my philosophy is simple. I strive to turn a negative situation into a positive one by providing the customer with a benefit equal to, or greater than, the shortcoming at hand. The goal is to make the customer happy that the shortcoming occurred (or at worst, is indifferent to it), thereby turning a negative situation into a positive one. Depending on the situation, we do this by offering additional discounts, free products, etc. For example, about 2 months ago we were nearly out of GW, but I continued selling it because my next shipment was supposed to arrive within 2 days. I ended up not receiving it for 2 weeks, so my customers ended up waiting 5-14 days to receive their product. Of course, all of these customers had the option of cancelling their order, but none of them did. So, depending on how long each person had been waiting, I provided them with either an additional, free bottle of GW, or a significant discount on their next purchase. To my knowledge, every single person ended up happy. I also learned a hard lesson that day, which is that I should NEVER sell something UNTIL I have the product in-hand, unless the customer is notified in advance or we are having a pre-sale or something like that.
On a side note, no money was withdrawn from your account. This is the entire reason for the delay--the inability to process the customer's credit card. Based on what the bank told me, this should be resolved either Monday (tomorrow) or within a couple days at the latest. Obviously, the bank isn't open on the weekend, so nothing could get done then, but we are waiting to hear back from them as soon as the workweek starts.
Most customers, like yourself, are understanding about things like this, but we do get some people that chew us out over it (maybe 2% of our customers, but most are very cool). Regardless of whether things are going great or there is a delay, one thing you can count on with MA Research is that we will always be straightforward with you. You will know exactly what we know, when we know it. It is very important to me that I am told the truth from my banks, manufacturers, labs, etc. I don't like being screwed around. I want to know the truth about what is going on so I can plan accordingly. Because I demand this from other people/companies in the industry, I give the same to my customers. With that said, everything will be back up to speed and on track this week.