I received notice today that I need to review (in the next two days, it turns out). Following the link to the payments page, and selecting 1 year of charter membership, I’m taken to a page where I’m to select my method of payment.
To pay for your subscription, please click the order button next to your preferred payment method and follow the instructions on the following page.
Subscription: Straight Dope Board Charter Membership
Duration: 1 Year
Cost: US$7.48Only problem is, there’s no button for credit card, which is how I’ve always paid. The only button is for PayPal, and I have no PayPal account.
Have you stopped taking credit cards? Can I mail someone a check or something?
You don’t need a Pay Pal account, you just enter your visa number when you go to the Pay Pal site. Unless you think that PP is some sort of Illuminati front or something.
The snark is completely unnecessary. I didn’t realize PayPal processed credit card payments. When the text (which I quoted) said to select the method of payment, I took it to mean what it has meant at every site I’ve ever purchased from. But thanks anyway.
Admins: Is there any way to put text on the subscription page indicating that credit card payments can be processed by PayPal? I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing a lot of these posts in the next few months otherwise!
Not an Illuminati front, just a horribly run company with laughable data security that would make a Nigerian banker cringe. I for one am very disappointed it’s now the sole renewal option.
This isn’t intended as snarky, but I’assuming you mean “renew” not “review”.
The reason I ask for the clarification is because I’m wondering why a Charter Member needs to renew in January. Shouldn’t your subscription end in May? Mine goes until 5/19/09. Why would it differ for any other Charter Member?
I again wish to express my extreme displeasure and concern that PayPal is the only option. I want to give them my credit card number even less than I want to give them other ways to make my information available to thieves.
I regret that’s the case, but giving your credit card number to us would be no safer. Jerry explains why:
“PayPal purchased the largest (and most trusted) Internet credit card processing company in existence, Verisign, on November 18, 2005. The Reader always used Verisign for credit card processing and continues to use the rebranded PayPal equivalent of the same service today for all our in house credit card transactions (including SD merchandise transactions). That means every single SD credit card transaction since the fall of 2005 has gone through the dreaded monolith PayPal.”
By and by I’ll post a sticky explaining the situation.
