The Purchase Advantage Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I being charged sales tax on my order?
How can I tell whether my product is stocked or not?
How do I return a product that I mistakenly ordered or was not the product I ordered?
How do I know how much freight cost will be for my order?
Why do I need to fill in a username and password just to submit my order?
I need a product that I don't see on your website. How do I check if you carry it?
I want to pay with a method other than a credit card payment. What do you offer as payment methods?
I am a water products reseller or water service company and I am interested in distributing your products. Is there reseller pricing available?
A hold was put on my credit card for more than my order amount. What is going on?
Can I just call your 1-800 number to place an order?
Where can I get help with the application of a product?

Why Am I being charged sales tax on my order?

Siemens Water Technologies, the company behind The Purchase Advantage website, has physical locations in nearly every state and so we are forced to collect sales tax. If you are located in a state or country that does not have sales tax, you will not be charged sales tax. Because The Purchase Advantage web site can only calculate sales tax by state, your credit card will be authorized with the highest state sales tax possible for your state. Our fulfillment system will calculate the actual sales tax due and you will only be charged the legally applicable sales tax. If you are a reseller or other entity that is exempt from paying sales tax, you must fax a copy of a valid state sales tax exemption form to 978-856-3826. Please reference Siemens Water Technologies on your certificate if applicable. Once your exemption document is validated, sales tax will be removed from your order and will not be applied to future orders.

How can I tell if my product is stocked or not?

Individual product pages usually indicate whether a product is stocked in our Rockford, IL USA warehouse or shipped directly from the manufacturer. Products indicated as "stocked" are generally in stock although there may be a delay in processing your order if we are awaiting replenishment from our vendors. Many products that are stocked by the manufacturer are not stocked by us because lead times are very short. If you have an extremely time critical need, please contact customer support at 1-800-208-3554 to inquire about our current stock of any particular product.

How do I return a product that I mistakenly ordered or was not the product I ordered?

If you need to arrange for a return shipment for products that you incorrectly ordered or we incorrectly shipped, please call customer service at 1-800-208-3554 to arrange for an RMA number. If we have made a mistake in the processing, picking or shipping of your order, we will immediately ship a replacement product(s) and we will pick up the freight in both directions. If the mistake was the customer's fault, the customer will be responsible for a 25% restocking fee and the return freight. We appreciate your business but please understand that there are costs involved in picking, packing and shipping your order as well as putting your order back into stock. The restocking fee pays for us to restock your product. If our website or technical service staff gives out incorrect information, we will 100% refund your money, however the burden of picking the correct products is on the customer. If you have any question on whether or not a particular product will work with your system, please contact us here. Please do not refuse shipment on your order or send back product without an RMA number. The RMA number allows us to find and credit your account. Returns without RMA numbers may result in no credit or late crediting of your account.

How do I know how much freight cost will be for my order?

Actual freight costs are based on product weight and are shown during the ordering process but BEFORE your order is submitted to us for processing. You may view the freight cost and still cancel the ordering process. Shipping via Fedex ground and UPS ground is available through the web site and others are available once your order has been submitted. Fedex or UPS shipping is available only for orders 150 pounds are less. Orders greater than 150 pounds will be sent "LTL" which is ground truck freight, less than truckload size. Any order may be shipped using the customer's preferred shipping company. Customers that choose to have Siemens use their own shipping company MUST provide the name of the shipping company and their account number in the order information box during checkout - failure to provide this information may delay your order.

Why do I need to fill in a username and password just to submit my order?

We have customers create an actual account when ordering so that their address and order are properly saved for order processing. Creation of an account also allows us to potentially roll out future site enhancements such as viewing of past orders and retrieval of shipment tracking information. Credit card and other payment information is not permanently stored and cannot be retrieved from the website. Your information will NEVER be sold or distributed and you will never receive unsoliceted spam from us.

I need a product that I don't see on your website. How do I check if you carry it?

If you do not see a product you are looking for on www.thepurchaseadvantage.com, please contact us here to request pricing and availability on products that are not shown on the web site. Industrial and commercial customers will be connected with a local sales representative that can personally take care of your needs. When requesting product and pricing information, you need to give us enough information to determine the product type and model. Simply requesting a "blue filter for my water system" is not enough information. System manufacturer, model number, filter manufacturer, filter model number, quantity required and your city and state are all pieces of useful information.

I want to pay with a method other than a credit card payment. What do you offer as payment methods?

Siemens Water Technologies offers payment by credit card (American Express, Mastercard and Visa), wire transfer or purchase order. Credit card payments are preferred because they are securely accepted through www.thepurchaseadvantage.com and expedites the processing and shipment of your order. Wire transfer instructions are available by contacting us here and requesting the instructions along with a description of your order. Net 30 terms via a purchase order are available only for commercial and industrial customers and a credit application with company references is required. You may submit your order indicating payment with a purchase order. Customer service will contact you if your company does not have credit with Siemens Water Technologies and request that a credit application be filled out if required.

I am a water products reseller or water service company and I am interested in distributing your products. Is there reseller pricing available?

Siemens Water Technologies does offer a reseller program with special pricing to properly qualified water dealers and resellers. Please request dealer pricing here. Please include the name of your business, a description of your business, your city, state and country as well as products of interest. Siemens Water Technologies does not sign up dealers for our process water products. We operate on a buy-resale basis only, although special discounts are available for resellers and higher quantity sales. Please do not request special pricing for a quantity of one or two products, your request will likely be denied.

A hold was put on my credit card for more than my order amount. What is going on?

With credit card orders, it is our standard practice to put a hold on the card for 135% of the order amount to verify that there will be enough balance to cover any freight that needs to be added to the invoice. Only in the case where the customer selects the "Ship best way with cost added to my invoice" shipping option will any freight cost be added to the order value. Fedex and UPS shipping options allow the customer to pay an upfront shipping cost. The credit card hold amount is NOT a charge and you will not be responsible for more than the agreed upon order amount (except for the invoiced freight option already explained).

Can I just call your 1-800 number to place an order?

You may call our toll free phone number to place an order but the prices will be our LIST price and not the often discounted web site price. Customer service does not readily have access to the web site pricing and we want to give customer incentive to self service on the web site.

Where can I get help with the application of a product?

We have an applications support section that is designed to help customers solve common water quality issues. We try to update and add to this support section frequently. All advice shown in our application support section or given by our sales representatives should be followed at your own risk.