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HomeNewsArchivesWalmart Ships to V.I., but Arbitrary Restrictions Remain

Walmart Ships to V.I., but Arbitrary Restrictions Remain

A screen capture from the Walmart online store showing some innocuous items restricted, but others allowed.Walmart is indeed still shipping to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and some recent difficulties appear to have been corrected, but a wide array of seemingly innocuous and apparently arbitrarily selected items are unavailable for shipping to the territory.

More than one Source representative successfully ordered items from Walmart’s online store in the past few days, and received a notice confirming the order and giving an estimated arrival date.

And Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen’s office, following up on a slew of recent complaints, contacted the company and told the Source that Walmart representatives assured them it was still shipping, but would look into why customers seemed to be having trouble.

"While we don’t have an official statement from Walmart as to what occurred in response to our inquiry, our office has been informed by our constituents that they are now able to resume their online purchases," said Aesha Duval, a legislative assistant to Christensen, in an email Monday.

"Some are still reporting issues with certain items and we will continue to work with them and Walmart on those products. In the meantime, we are happy to have indication from V.I. customers that they are able to complete their purchases," Duval said.

In a follow-up phone call, Duval said, "We are hearing from our constituents that the bulk of stuff – household and cleaning supplies and such – that has resumed."

An order placed Nov. 5 found a majority of items selected to be unavailable for shipping to the territory, but many items readily available, with no discernible logic or pattern.

Books were unavailable for shipping, while a 24-roll pack of toilet paper was available, so neither weight, size nor being made of paper seemed to be a factor. Blank reporter notebooks are also unavailable for shipping to the territory, so the concern, if any, would not appear to be a copyright matter.

Razor blades can be purchased and shipped here, but Scotch tape cannot. Baseball hats are unavailable but underwear can be purchased. Toothbrushes are fine, but ballpoint pens were rejected. Lysol brand spray disinfectant was OK, but a replacement Brita brand water filter that is smaller and lighter than a spray can was not allowed. A tiny headphone jack splitter was banned, as were an array of other electronics, but a Sony Walkman with its headphones went through without a problem.

Duval said Christensen’s office is still working with Walmart officials to resolve these issues. The Source will continue to try to get Walmart to comment and to provide some explanation for the seemingly nonsensical restrictions on their sales to the territory’s residents.

Efforts by the Source to get official comment from Walmart have been unsuccessful thus far. A customer service representative who gave his name as "Adam" could not connect to, name, or give the email address of any company official able to speak on the record and suggested writing a physical letter to a customer service office in San Bruno, Calif., which is on its way. The Source will continue to check both with Walmart and Christensen’s office to try to get more answers.

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