This sometimes trips people up because they try to sign in as a “Returning Customer” when they have been a VSN customer for a while but have never registered to use the Online Shopping Cart. If this is your first time using the Shopping Cart, choose “New Customer” to register. It will go to a new screen and then ask for your shipping and billing information and your email address.

The Online Shopping Cart is not connected directly to VSN’s subscription database, so it won’t know how many issues you have left on your subscription or what you’ve ordered outside of the Cart. If you are renewing a subscription for yourself, choose “Subscriptions”, then “Renewal (for self)” and “Add to Cart”. Enter your Account Number at checkout if you know it. (You’ll find it on your renewal reminder notice or your issue envelope.) I’ll renew your subscription behind the scenes and confirm by email.

See previous question. In most cases, this just means that you need to register on the Shopping Cart for the first time.

If you are sure that you have used the Online Shopping Cart before but can't remember your password, click on the Forgot Password link in the blue sign-in box to have a password reset emailed to you.

The State field is a drop-down field. Most people are fine with these, but every now and then, someone can’t seem to use them successfully. Here’s how it should work:

There should be a blue box over to the far right end of the yellow State field with a V arrow. If you click on the yellow field or the arrow, it should open up a larger box with a list of different states. Then you can use the blue scroll bar on the right of the field to scroll down to your state and click on the state to choose it.

If for some reason, you simply can't do drop-down fields on your computer, you can alternately print out one of the print-and-mail order forms found on the Shop page of VSN’s main website, fill it out with your address and credit card information, sign it and mail it to VSN.

The Online Shopping Cart is set up to use email to keep you informed. When you place your order successfully, you’ll get an automatic confirmation email. When I actually charge your credit card, you’ll get another email to confirm that step. You’ll get another email when your order ships or your renewal order is completely processed. I also might use the email address if there is a problem or a question about your order.

I do not sell, loan or otherwise share email addresses. I won’t use your email address to harass you with spam. If you order a subscription, I may send a single email when it is time to renew, so you have an easy convenient link to the Online Shopping Cart. (This is not something I’ve set up now, just something I’ve considered for the future; it was an idea well received in the Readers Survey at the end of 2008.)

I’ve noticed that most declines are almost immediately followed by a successfully authorized order being placed. This tells me that most declines are just simple typing errors. The easiest mistake to make (and the easiest to overlook) is choosing the credit card type. For example, if you leave it set to Mastercard, and you have a Visa, then no matter how carefully your type in the account number, it’s not going to go through! (I’ve done this myself; it’s a very easy mistake to make.)

If your card is declined and you know it is good, check that you’ve entered the correct card type. Check that every digit of that l-o-n-g account number is typed correctly. (Some people find checking the digits in reverse order is helpful in seeing errors that are otherwise missed.) Check that you’ve entered the correct expiration date and the three-digit number from the back of the card. You also need to be sure you entered the billing address the credit card uses.

If you have checked all this and it still won’t work, call your credit card company to see if they have put some type of security block on your account that is keeping the order from going through.

Please NEVER email credit card information (to VSN or to anyone else). This is a very insecure way of handling credit card information. For your own protection, I will not accept any credit card orders via email. If you wish to place an order by credit card, please either use the secure Online Shopping Cart or print one of the print-and-order forms on VSN's main website, fill it out, sign it and mail it to VSN. VSN also accepts US checks or money orders by mail.

No, the print-and-mail order form is specifically designed to conform to the credit card company’s requirements for credit card mail orders. To place a credit card order, please either use the secure Online Shopping Cart or print one of the print-and-order forms, fill it out, sign it and mail it to VSN.

To order back issues using the Online Shopping Cart, first use the Back Issues page on the main VSN website to decide on the specific back issues you want. Make a note of the issues and count them up to get the total number of back issues you plan to order. Keep in mind that for back issue orders that will be shipped within the US, there are three pricing tiers: 1-4 back issues, 5-39 back issues or 40 or more back issues.

Go back to the Shopping cart and pick US Back Issues, Canada Back Issues or Overseas Back Issues, depending on where they are to be shipped. (Click on “More Information” under the option that fits you.)

Then select the Recipient (for self or for a gift). Once you do this, the quantity box will appear. The default number in the quantity box is 1. Change the quantity to the number of back issues you would like. Then add it to your cart.

When you are finished shopping, check that the items in your shopping cart are correct and the number of back issues you have entered is what you want. (Orders are final as of shipping and non-returnable, so you want to be sure you order correctly!)

Then check out. List the specific back issues that you want in the back issues text box at check out. Please be sure that the number of issues you enter here matches the number of issues you actually ordered!

Once I receive your order, I will process your credit card. Orders placed on the Online Shopping cart and paid by credit card are typically shipped within 24 to 48 hours (not counting Saturday, Sunday and holidays.) You will receive email confirmations of your order receipt, credit card processing and order shipping so you will know exactly where your order stands. For larger back issue orders, you may also receive an email from the US Postal System confirming that your package was shipped using their system.

If you searched for either a BACK ISSUE or a TOPIC you hope to find in an issue,check the Issue Index on VSN's main website for the list: www.vampstampnews.com/back.html

(Back Issues are listed generically here on the shopping cart. Once you know the month/year of the back issue you want to order, you order the back issues by quantity and then type in the month/year(s) when you checkout.)