Why Lenovo doesn't want us to buy their laptops?

Seriously, Its SO difficult to order from their website. They deliver only to US addresses. They sell only to US or Canadian credit cards.

I have a US address. I have AMEX with US address... yet it wasn't issue in the US and so my order is being delayed for two days now for 'authentication'. This happened to me before and this only means that someone will be in touch with me to tell me that my credit card was declined!

Why doing this?

My first order was rejected because I had US shipping address and Credit card with Kuwaiti address.
Second order declined because I had US shipping address and US billing address but card issued in Kuwait. I've been told only AMEX will work if they're issued abroad.

Will this third order be declined? US shipping address, US billing address... AMEX... but issued abroad.


hmmmmmmmmm

 

Well it is their own business decision to deal with certain addresses, credit cards, issuing country. It might be stupid, but they probably do it for fraud reasons. They get to decide if they want the foreign revenues...or if it is worth it to them. However wouldn't calling Amex help the situation?

 

if this order get declined i will call amex and ask them to sort it out with lenovo. but it doesn't feel like its fraud issue... it feels like they just dont want certain countries to buy their laptops. you know like japan/sony few years ago when they put some restrictions on the sales of ps2 because it had chips that can be used in guided missiles!?!
i doubt serious 'foreign revenues' is a matter here. its about respect to the consumers. i'm sure they make billions and billions from customers in the US or abroad who deal with lenovo directly and don't just go to the online store and so we're considered nothing. but for ****'s sake.. how far do i have to go just to put my hands on a laptop?

I just hope its worth it once it comes here and not defective like so many laptops i've been reading about over here.

 

It's not any better if you're in Canada. I had a nightmare of a time getting my T60 a few years ago. The US site is 10 times better than the Canadian site. The Canadian site is a lot better now, but it is still 1990 usability. While I'm happy with my T60 I will not replace it with another Lenovo because the ordering process is a nightmare. I had my eye on the HDX16T but looking at the HP site I'm turning away from that as well. It seems that you can only get decent service or ease of ordering if you're an American. It's very unfortunate because the US is not the world. Especially, with the way the US economy is sinking.

 

It isn't unusual for companies to only sell in certain markets. They can either use their monopolies, control supply easier...or maybe they don't have the support in place. And you sort of say it yourself. If foreign revenues are too small, perhaps they don't invest in selling to other places. Perhaps it isn't worth it to them. If you want to consider that respect....ok...but they are a business. They can make good and bad decisions. You can be mad about it but you can't really blame them from the standpoint of you having a hard time to order a laptop if it is against their selling policies or whatever. Even though they do sell a number of places around the world.

You might just have to have someone import it for you. It sucks, but if you can't get it through traditional channels that's unfortunately the situation.

 

let me put myself in Lenovos place

- hm, some guy wants to buy laptop from us, OK. Let me see: US address, fine; was not issued in US .. well how come? If the buyer has US address, it's likely to have US credit cards as well, yet in this case it's not. Sounds trickie, maybe the card is fake and he's trying to use it and to ship the laptop to somebody in US who can ship it back to him. Or, the credit card department may not transfer the money when we bill them. Or the transfer may get approved at first, but denied upon further investigation. Are we going to have the actual address of the buyer - no. Or, we have different policies for US and other countries, thus different prices. Denied. Next.


if you have a card issued from Kuwait, then why don't you order shipping to Kuwait ? .. what's up with the US address anyways, do you live in US ? If so, how come you don't have US checking or credit card ?

 

For a big purchase you should always call your credit card company. Anyhow, if you card was declined that's not Lenovo's fault. Right? Call your bank man.

 

ahhh I see, you want to cheap out.

 

toshiba didnt want me to buy from them. it seems like a general policy for htem to prefer large business. i dont blame them, bulk orders, less callcenter-staff/salesman per dollar.

they claimed they couldnt find any public record for me living at my address. well, im not registered to vote here, i dont have a land line phone, and i havent committed any crimes...

and yeah, it didnt matter that they were gonna ship to the billing address, which is in the uS..

 

Or have the option of buying things that are not available where he lives, even if paying a premium ( != cheap ).

Mind you, many people who endeavor to get them may be richer than me and you (considering you an average person), and have a more specific knowledge to get customs and everything else straight. Not like us who just click and get it delivered to our door for $29.99 UPS ground, .

Still, I agree, they probably do that for a mix of fraud protection and market division strategies (keep the local market --- if any --- protected from intelligent customers who try to better plan their decisions), I guess.

 

Lenovo Customer Service is horrible. I ordered 2 Lenovo S10s in August and they just shipped. I email and called multiple times to have a printer removed from each order and the removal of the item was confirmed each time but the item still shipped. I just went ahead and refused delivery for both. They seem pretty lost over there.......

 

Why do you seem to think it's your inalienable right to order from the US when you don't live here? Lenovo has the right to set whatever conditions they want on an item they are selling, which would include not shipping notebooks overseas or accepting foreign bank issued credit cards. If you're unhappy with Lenovo's pricing structure why not take it up with your government, which is likely where the problem lies. Lenovo is business to make money and if they could find a way to sell it cheaper where you're at they probably would. If you can work the system to get what you want I got no problem with it.

You're straining my credulity. What was it like before it got a lot better, 1980? The site looks pretty much the same as the US site to me.

 

All US websites I've dealt with, including Apple, Amazon, and HP do do require US shipping address and sometimes US credit card. I have never had problems with them as long I had a US billing address on my credit card.

Now you have to think out of the box a little bit... Do you have to be a US citizen living and working in the US to be able to purchase a laptop from them? Clearly this is what their website implies. I have a US shipping address, and I have a US billing address on my credit card... shouldn't that be enough for them to understand that this can't be a trick because the billing and shipping address matches?

Don't tell me the card has to be issued in the US. If someone is working in the US for few weeks or few months or visiting the US for whatever reason is NOT going to set up bank account and go to issue credit cards from your scam banks.

I don't see what 'my' government got to do with this issue. In Kuwait we don't have taxes... Dell, HP, Gateway, Fujitsu, and other brands are sold over here WAY MUCH CHEAPER than in the US. I do, however, want a ThinkPad tablet PC. which is not available in Kuwait... they do have the R61i and its sold for $3000 !! make any sense? Dell has contracts with most of the government organizations here in Kuwait, and yet they're still the cheapest. why? Apparently Lenovo's policy is to keep individuals away as they're going to demand a lot of technical support.

I have been ordering stuff online since 1997 and I have never had problems as much as the one I'm going through right now with Lenovo.

And judging from your reply... you sound like a McCain fan =p

 

What makes you think Lenovo has an inalienable moral right to discriminate against people who, by the fortune of birth, do not live in the United States?

Just because you happen to live between Canada and Mexico does not mean you are fundamentally entitled to more rights than everyone else.

 

Ask AMEX to add one of your USA address.

 

This issue is not really that complicated.

It's not a conspiracy against non-US citizens. Lenovo is just trying to do due diligence to minimize fraud.

Obviously if a credit card is US issued with shipping and billing addresses all within the US the process is going to be smoother than when you introduce foreign countries in the mix.

It's not that your order was rejected, but it did set off flags (and rightly so) that need to be cleared before billing and shipping.

If Lenovo did send out laptops willy-nilly sure the legitimate buyers would be more happy, but everyone would be paying higher prices due to more fraud. It's a lot harder if not impossible to investigate fraud cases in a foreign country.

 

Really...? This is not a human right at all. Lenovo is a business. They can do what they want with regards to who they sell to and who they don't (more or less...). If it is a stupid decision that is theirs to make and for their management to realize. Stop assuming you have the right to buy whatever you want if someone doesn't necessarily want to sell it TO you.

 

Actually, its illegal by LAW to deny sale of any product on display. For example, if you walk into a store and pick an item then the sales man refuse to sell it to you just because he doesn't want to then its illegal.

Now, I understand the fraud worry thing, but how come ONLY Lenovo has this strict thing? I know Apple do the same thing but they do it because they DO have agents and distributors abroad who try to sell their products. And at the same price. This is not the case of Lenovo.

 

yup, already added the address. thats why i'm frustrated. anyhow i asked my account representative to sort it out with Lenovo. hope things work out well.

 

What law would that be? And your explain provides little context to your issue. The situation is different from a physical store COMPLETELY. And secondly they refused you on the grounds of payment method/check right? So how is that "illegal." Seriously...you're being a bit disillusion about all this.

 

Why dont you look it up instead of trying to be a wise ***?

 

Because there is not a law that says lenovo cannot refuse sale to you under your aforementioned circumstances. That is different from advertising that you have an item in and selling it on those pretenses when in fact you never had it. That is common online. However, in your scenario the situation is entirely different.

 

yeah -_-

but its pissing me off never the less. purchasing online used to be a fun experience. now its horrible. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE.

and judging by how busy their phone lines are... apparently i'm not the only one suffering

 

I don't see where you have been slighted. Lenovo has the right to set whatever conditions they see fit for the sale of their items. If they truly are selling the R series for $3000 while others selling at more reasonable prices, it seems kind of dumb to me. Maybe they don't care about your market or they consider it too small to be worth the effort, but that's their right. What are you going to do about it? Your power in your relationship with Lenovo is to take your business elsewhere until they get the message.

Lastly, watch the potty mouth. Act like an adult if you want to be taken seriously. The censor shouldn't have to catch it.

 

Your reply is worthless. Thanks for wasting my time.

 

You know I have to say coming from someone who lives on the other side of the earth who'll never meet, that kind of hurts.

 

so WHY lenovo?

 

I don't think this thread is worth continuing...