Many, many years ago, I found myself in a heated argument as to whether Algeria was a state. Yes, friends, the person on the other side of the argument may have thought of Alabama or Arizona instead. Back in the days before Google it took a trip to the nearest bookstore for an atlas to prove that Algeria is in fact a country on the other side of the world. Unfortunately this wasn’t an “academic” discussion… that person had racked up about $100 in calls to Algeria thinking they were simple long distance calls. [aside: Hey, remember when you paid for long distance?] For all those who think the sad state of education is a recent phenomenon, I would point out that this was back during the Reagan years. And it was at a highly ranked private college.
But, I digress.
Getting back on topic
Recently, one of our chat operators intercepted a slew of calls from people in Africa asking to buy different items. Here’s a typical one:
Greetings I would like to buy five weBoost products and send them to Senegal. What payment methods do you accept?
It’s not clear why those items aren’t available in Africa. I do know that cell boosters made for North America just don’t work anywhere else. It’s a matter of different frequencies being used. Still, this discussion wasn’t for nothing. It did bring up the question of where SolidSignal.com will ship.
Our shipping policies
We tell people that we ship to the 50 US states. That’s the vast majority of our business. In some cases, we will ship to the US, Canada, Mexico, and outlying islands off the US coast. For the most part, shipping beyond that point requires customs approvals that we’re just not prepared to get. We specialize in serving our friends here on the North American continent, that’s the big takeaway.
Some items like cell boosters and satellite equipment, in fact most electronic equipment, cannot be shipped outside the US unless it is specifically approved for use in those other countries. It’s the governments of those countries that are to blame, not US regulators. Everything that transmits any sort of electronic signal, whether intentionally or unintentionally, needs to be approved by the governments of the countries where you want to sell it. Antennas have no ability to transmit so they are safe.
Get what you need from Solid Signal
So it’s true, our friends in Australia and the UK won’t be able to shop at Solid Signal. (Although, I know a lot of you out in those countries do read The Solid SIgnal Blog, and I sure do appreciate it!) For those in the US though, we’re open to serve you and we have over 40,000 parts available, including many that you won’t find anywhere else online. If you need a special order, call us at 888-233-7563. If we can find it, we’ll sell it and ship it to you.
