Problem with TME and PayPal?

[Veteran68]

Not sure if this fits better in this forum or in something like Buy/Sell/Wanted. I didn't see a forum specifically for vendor questions.

Anybody having a problem recently with TME when ordering from the US and paying with PayPal? Since Monday 7/3 I've been trying to buy a Brymen 869S, taking advantage of the July 4th 15% off sale promo (been on the fence about one for years, and this promo tickled my impulse bone). I completed the checkout to the point of generating the pro-forma invoice and attempting to pay. Being in the US, the only real option is PayPal (unless I go to the trouble and expense of a bank wire). No problem, I use PayPal almost every day. But every time I try to pay, the PayPal window pops up only for a second and then I get this error about a problem on their end. I've tried this from multiple browsers and computers, and even my phone. I've deleted cookies in between attempts. All the same result, as shown below. So it truly does appear to be a problem on their end, not mine. I've contacted them both by email and their online contact form, but haven't heard back from either as of now. I'm wondering if since I'm in the US, my contact attempts are being routed to the Atlanta sales office, and maybe they're out for the holiday week or something?

[Caliaxy]

I haven’t bought anything from TME lately, but my impression is that they have a branch in US now, with a much more limited selection of products. Notably, no Brymens whatsoever. They still list them on their European website, but once they figure you are ordering from US, the Brymen multimeters disappear from their offerings. It seems to me that gone are the days when we could get Brymen multimeters from TME 20% cheaper than our European friends (as we don’t pay VAT).

Please let us know if they get back to you.

If you want a Brymen, you could try ordering one from Welectron.

[J-R]

I've never seen Welectron not have the best price for Brymen to the US.  Current price comes to $210USD delivered, $220 for the + edition with carrying case.  So $262.50 from TME seems a bit steep.

HOWEVER, Welectron is currently out of stock.  Maybe the BM867s would be good enough?  It's about $50 cheaper.  Or you could order now and wait...

[tatel]

I also got problems with Paypal yesterday. Exactly like you, it showed a message about a problem on PayPal's site. But I wasn't purchasing from TME but fron another seller. It looks PayPal is having some troubles?

[Veteran68]

I haven’t bought anything from TME lately, but my impression is that they have a branch in US now, with a much more limited selection of products. Notably, no Brymens whatsoever. They still list them on their European website, but once they figure you are ordering from US, the Brymen multimeters disappear from their offerings. It seems to me that gone are the days when we could get Brymen multimeters from TME 20% cheaper than our European friends (as we don’t pay VAT).

Please let us know if they get back to you.

If you want a Brymen, you could try ordering one from Welectron.

They have a sales office in the US (Atlanta, right down the road from me actually) now, but not sure it's actually a store or warehouse carrying inventory. I'm definitely on tme.com and not tme.eu, and also have my location set to US, as noted in the screenshot below (click for full size). As you can see, it doesn't drop the Brymen meters for me, it accepts my order and everything. I just can't pay for it with the PayPal option.

I've never seen Welectron not have the best price for Brymen to the US.  Current price comes to $210USD delivered, $220 for the + edition with carrying case.  So $262.50 from TME seems a bit steep.

HOWEVER, Welectron is currently out of stock.  Maybe the BM867s would be good enough?  It's about $50 cheaper.  Or you could order now and wait...

Thanks for the suggestion. I've looked at Welectron before but never ordered from them. Even with 3% for PayPal and adding the USB kit, the + edition comes to $264 delivered which is a great price! However as you point out they're out of stock, and the shipping time is quoted as 58-60 days. I've heard they can be slow to ship, so I don't know if this quote includes the backorder lead time or is in addition to it. But I'll keep it in my cart as a backup option in case TME doesn't work out -- I feel committed to TME now that I have an invoice and commitment to pay, but if they're not going to LET ME PAY...

Really looking for the full features of the 869s, so not interested in the 867s. If I'm going to splurge on a meter I don't really need, I'm going for the higher end.

I also got problems with Paypal yesterday. Exactly like you, it showed a message about a problem on PayPal's site. But I wasn't purchasing from TME but fron another seller. It looks PayPal is having some troubles?

I use PayPal almost every day (multiple times since this order) and have not had an issue with any other site. This particular error looks like it's on TME's side (with PayPal), and not on PayPal's side with me.

[Veteran68]

They finally replied that the problem must be on my end, LOL. A popup blocker or firewall rule or something. Nope, that's not it. Being an IT guy notwithstanding, I've tried this from multiple locations and networks, multiple computers (Windows and Mac), multiple browsers (Chrome, Edge, Safari), and even my phone. All have the exact same result -- PayPal popup opens, then quickly closes, and I get this error.

I told them as much and said if we can't resolve this today, to cancel the order and I'll just backorder from Welectron. I also happened to mention how much cheaper Welectron was, even if they are backordered.

[J-R]

My experience has been good with Welectron, but I would suggest getting a status update on their stock for the BM869s before deciding to order.  I'm surprised they don't have them in stock, so I'd want to know more about that situation personally.

[thm_w]

Paypal checkout works fine here.

You might want to try making a new account or something, or pay as a guest through paypal (I think thats an option?).

[Veteran68]

My experience has been good with Welectron, but I would suggest getting a status update on their stock for the BM869s before deciding to order.  I'm surprised they don't have them in stock, so I'd want to know more about that situation personally.

After several more attempts, I gave up and ordered from Welectron. That seems to be the only other option as far as a legit reseller of Brymen meters. If it doesn't ship, then it wasn't meant to be I guess. I was just scratching an itch anyway, it's not like I *need* another meter. I haven't counted recently but I'm probably up to 15 now, lol.

Paypal checkout works fine here.

You might want to try making a new account or something, or pay as a guest through paypal (I think thats an option?).

The Guest thing might have worked, I didn't try it. Not really interested in going through creating another account. I've had this PayPal account since 2000, so 23 years now, and I use it heavily. I also paid Welectron with PayPal today, and it worked fine with them. I've probably used it 3-4 times since Monday when I first ordered from TME and it works everywhere else. As I mentioned, I tried from multiple computers, networks, and browsers across multiple operating systems and even my phone. Every one had the exact same behavior. I guess PayPal does not want me doing business with TME...