Shopsmith Forums

I've had a bandsaw table extension on backorder since November - I don't pay that close attention to the balance on my card but with such backordered items I've had in the past, they don't charge me until it actually ships, so my guess is it's as described above as being a verification check of sorts...in your case with a pre-paid card, my guess is that sort of card makes things happen differently for some reason.

I have patience and understanding for SS on the backorder situation, I just wish they would send me a periodic e-mail update on the item, even if it's just an automatic generated response that the item is still backordered but they didn't forget.

AIUI a debit card account will be debited any time a pre authorization is received which effectively reduces the future available balance. That reduction will be reversed if no actual charges are presented(at some future time).

This be one of those things that come along for the ride with a debit card account. As long as no service charges are accrued by you and the balance is restored before actual purchases there be no reason to be concerned.

I wonder if SS gets charged for those 'pings'?

All this(and much more) is the reason I do not use debit cards(even the 'gift' variety). I do not need another 'account' to keep track of(watchdog for spurious charges).

This is from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_hold


A debit card works slightly differently. Similar to the previous example, if one has a balance of $100 in the bank and used a debit card to make a purchase at a retail store for $30, then his available balance will immediately decrease to $70 as a hold on the $30 is enacted. This is because the merchant has obtained an authorization from the individual's bank by swiping the card through its credit card terminal. However, the actual balance with the bank is still $100, because the merchant has not actually collected the funds in question. However, unless this authorization hold expires without being finalized the user cannot access that part of their account. The actual balance will not be reduced until the merchant submits their batch of transactions and the banking system transfers the funds.