Buying Maps
HINT: Before buying maps from the ScalableMaps store, you are welcome to try out free sample maps to see them in action.
If you have found a map in our store that you like, simply click on one of the Buy buttons that is shown on the map page. Some maps come in different formats and each available format has its own Buy button which also shows the price for that format:
Buy buttons for a sample map The prices on ScalableMaps site are in euros. PayPal, our payment processor, will automatically convert the price to your local currency and show it to you once you proceed to PayPal's payment pages (see sections below).
Once you click on the Buy button, you will be taken to a new page where you can once again preview the map, read the terms of use for the map and enter any additional information needed before the purchase.
In order to comply with the new European Union (EU) VAT legislation which took effect on January 1st, 2015, we need to know whether you are a EU resident or not.
If You Are Outside Of EU...
If you are not a EU resident or company registered in EU, you are not affected by the new legislation. Simply select the "I am (or my company is) outside of EU" option.
If You Are A VAT-Registered Company Inside European Union...
In this case you should choose the "We are a VAT-registered company based in one of EU countries" option on the form and enter your VAT number (please include the country code prefix) and the name of your company:
A screenshot of the Buy form
The VAT number and the company name you have entered will also be displayed on the payment receipt you receive from ScalableMaps after the purchase so you can use it as an invoice.
If You Are An Invidual (Private) EU Resident Or Non-VAT Registered EU Company...
In this case you should select the "I am an individual / not registered for VAT from one of EU countries" option on the buy form.
NOTE: The new EU VAT legislation prevents us from offering automatic download of purchased items to individual EU customers without incurring heavy cost both to our micro-business and to you, the customer. Since our mission is to offer maps at affordable prices, we have to handle such payments manually as custom map orders, which can mean up to 24 hours delay in delivering the map to you.
Proceeding With The PayPal Payment
Once you have entered the required information, click on the Buy / Order the map button. It will redirect your browser to PayPal's order summary page that shows the purchase order with the map you have chosen to purchase as an item:
Sample order summary on PayPal
In order to initiate the payment, you need to log in to PayPal's site. If you do not already have a PayPal account, you can create it by clicking on the Create a PayPal account button. Once you are logged in, PayPal will show your shipping address and the payment method. To complete the payment process, click on the Pay Now button.
NOTE: we do not receive or store the credit card information you entered on PayPal site. PayPal simply informs us that a payment has been made so we can proceed with the delivery of the map to you.
Receiving The Purchased Map
After clicking on the Pay Now button, PayPal should show you the confirmation that they have started processing the payment. Once we receive the confirmation from PayPal, an automatic delivery email message will be sent to you (this should happen within a few minutes of your purchase).
IMPORTANT: the delivery message is sent to the email address you used to log in to PayPal. Make sure you have access to that email account.
The delivery message contains the download link for the map and the payment receipt. The download link will be active for 3 days (counting from the moment of purchase), so please ensure you download the map within that period. In case you lost access to the map, contact us and we will get you another copy.
Missing The Delivery Message?
If you did not receive the delivery message, please check the Spam folder in your email inbox - some email servers tend to mark these email messages as spam. If you still cannot find the message (or you do not have access to the email account you used in PayPal), do not hesitate to contact us and we will make sure you receive your map.
Manual Orders
As explained above, if you are an EU individual or an non-VAT-registered EU company, we have to handle your map purchase manually as a custom map order. In this case you will first receive "Manual Order" email message with the payment receipt, and after we manually process the order you will also receive additional email message with the download link for the map.
Manual orders can also occur if you indicated that you are outside of European Union, but your IP points to a location inside EU. In this case the EU VAT laws mandate that we have to treat your purchase as happening inside EU.