Hi Lara, from working at the hotel, I know that when paperwork is processed it goes through the system in order to see if the Card is good.

With a credit card, that's the end of it.

With a debit card the processing actually creates a debit.

It can be reversed when the charge does not fully materialize, but in the interim that much money is no longer in the account.

after working at the hotel, I sold those credit card systems for awhile, and then I realized what a rip off they were... I sound disgruntled. Darn it. And I'm too tired to remember how to show it. But the service is very expensive with machines that are cheap but expensive when provided with plans...

Sorry... I should be sleeping, but I can't.

My suspicions were confirmed by some fellow workers in another business, later... I can't remember if you can find some of the info by Googling...

and, certainly your system may be a legitimate and good one.

ahhh, I get it. Thanks, Curious.
Now I know what was meant.
It is confusing!

Plus we're talking about different countries as well.
USA and Australia.

It's not all the same.

thanks for the input karen. it is a good machine and company. we have been with them since 1998. done many comparission shopping since then and nobody could come close to their rates. some who came to us..good grief...i couldn't even get a good reference on them. still...ugh. the cost of doing business is sure not in the businees' favor.

we get charged if somebody disputes a claim. even if we are in the right and the person doesn't get their money back.( um...just stopping payment doesn't cancel a membership somewhere ) we still get a huge fee!

I must have just been lucky then.

Last time I hired a car there were two different transactions. The card processed fine when I paid for the rental car hire but the company did NOT process my deposit. They kept that separate transaction in my file (it's processed on paper and signature required) and ripped it up at the end, therefore leaving me with that money for the deposit still in my account. The money for the deposit would only be used by the care hire place if there was a problem. I guess they're the ones taking the risk there, hey!

PS.

Curious, some card fees are much higher here than others as well, so some businesses with not take certain cards... Diner Card is one I think. Can't think of the others right now

ConsiderThis,
I agree with you not needing the gov't regulating supplements, but a source like Consumer Guide should take a look into this. Many of us would greatly pay a membership fee to get the real scoop. We don't know how many people have died from taking products from snake oil salesmen. Kettering Sloan cancer center has a good web site showing the results of clinical trial of some herbs,supplement. Look in the Herb link.

Hi Stagger, just about everyone over here also live off their plastic cards for just about everything, as you say, as long as you are on the ball and pay within the grace period and not attracting charges they really should be fine, no problems at all.
On the other side of the fence i know a few people that have multiple credit cards, they go absolutely crazy with them and are in deeply in debt, they juggle their cards around so one of them pays for the other and so on, defiantly not a smart move, they just keep burying themselves deeper and deeper.
I think that the prepaid Visa card that Lara mentioned sounds pretty good to me, i do think i will go for that one, seeing it has nothing to do with your own bank account and i will ditch the Paypal then.
My mobile phone is prepaid as well and works really good for me, oh, cell phone i think the US people say

To Considerthis:

I didn't read about the ebay problems. Wow, that stinks. Getting rooked by anybody, well that really stinks. I've been very lucky. I really don't remember anyone stiffing me. Everybody paid me via paypal and I give good feedback and I have excellent feedback. I've been lucky.

Thank goodness for that.

There are powersellers who make a fortune on ebay. I only wish I was one of them.

Bye for now,
Mel

Dear Curious:

I did stop at my bank the other day and apply for their Check Card, which is called a Debit Card by other banks, I think. It works the same as a paper check, and has the required logo on the back of the plastic card, in this case, VISA. It is swiped thorugh the store machine just like a Credit Card is. (I know that this service costs the stores fees.)

The only reason I wanted a debit card is that one grocery store I want to shop in only takes cash or debit cards. I don't like to stop at the bank for cash each time I shop for groceries, because it is time and energy consuming - and also, I don't like to carry large amounts of cash in our big city.

I have a Credit Card from the same bank, which is also VISA, mainly for convenience at other grocery stores, and in particular, the gas station, where I can use the automatic self service pumps any time of day or night.

I pay all Credit Card charges at the end of each billing period and so do not pay interest charges! For me, these cards are a convenience.

Shirley H.

card is a great idea. And it will allow you, Brian, some freedom in purchasing off the net. I buy many things... books, garden equipment, vitamins/minerals, and other odd things at times. But I have not done Ebay yet. And I do not have PayPal.

Our debit card came from our bank unrequested years ago. It comes off our checking acct...and is also a charge when used without the pin #.
Because I was so paranoid when it came, we started saving every receipt we get, even cash ones. My husband keeps them in a box clipped together by month. This was my way of having a sense of control, even tho the bank said we would not be held accountable for a theft of the number. Keeping the receipts has been very useful to us now, as we claim State income tax credit with them, and I have used them for price matching offers, and refunds of stuff that turns out defective after a short time. So we have actually made money keeping them so carefully. In all this time I have never had an issue.

So I hope you will be able to avail yourself of iherb. I was just there today in the wee hours getting some l-tryptophan. I see they have made the site easier to use, and the shipping is discounted and very low now. I only paid $1.52 for shipping. That is very new to me!