Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I am a 3M employee or retiree. What happened to the 3M Employee eStore?

A:  The Employee eStore is a secure ordering application available 
only to current or former employees. Login requires a user id and 
password. To go to the Employee eStore, click here.     
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Q: What's the benefit of buying here rather than through a distributor?

A:  Our research tells us that many people visiting 3M.com wish to 
purchase a 3M product, and prefer to purchase on-line immediately. 
eStore makes it convenient and easy to order a wide variety of 3M 
products at list price. If you are looking for additional services, 
products, or volume pricing, you may wish to contact a 3M authorized 
distributor.      
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Q: The ordering form asks me if I want 3M to share my name with a distributor. Why would I want to do this?

A:  3M authorized distributors can enhance the buying experience for 
eStore customers by offering additional services, quantity pricing, 
and 3M products that are not currently included on eStore. The 
distributor may also have a branch in your area that could give you 
quicker service.     
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Q: Are all 3M products available on the eStore?

A:  No; we are progressively rolling out different product categories 
on the eStore.  However, we do not intend to offer all 3M products on 
the eStore.  The products excluded from this web site are available from 
3M's distributors.     
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Q: Can I mix products from the different areas in my Shopping Cart?

A:  Yes; one of the goals of the eStore is to make products from 
different 3M business units accessible in a common location. Products 
from all eStore catalogs can be put in the same cart, and ordered 
together. Where some products have a shipping charge, it will only be 
charged once for your entire order.     
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Q: When I put a product in the Shopping Cart, previously selected products are removed. What's going on?

A:  The eStore uses "cookies" or small information files that are put 
on your computer to maintain the list of items in your cart. Firewall 
software and browsers can be set to reject all cookies, in which case 
the eStore has no way to "remember" which products you have already 
selected. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) also perform this 
"service" for you. If you think one of these situations applies to 
you, it can be cured by allowing the program to set cookies on your 
computer. We can help with specific suggestions in some situations. 
If you would like us to suggest a fix, please send us a note via 
Contact Us describing the problem, and tell us
   - The name of your ISP.
   - What firewall and browser you are using.
   - The level of "cookie controls" you have set in these programs.
We will respond with our suggestion of how to change the settings of
your firewall and browser.     
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Q: I want to order a product I can't find on eStore. How can I request it?

A:  The home page of the eStore has a function available for visitors 
to request that a product be added to the eStore. We will include these 
requests in our planning for the next area into which the eStore will 
be expanded. We cannot respond to individual requests to handle 
specific products. For quick response to needs on specific products 
you do not find on the 3M eStore, we recommend you contact your usual 
distributor, or use the Where To Buy function on 3M.com to get the 
name of an appropriate distributor.     
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Q: What areas will the 3M eStore expand to next?

A:  Management of the eStore is considering many different 
alternatives, looking for those that will be most helpful in serving 
visitors to 3M.com. There is no announced expansion area for the 
eStore at this time. We will consider suggestions made through Contact 
Us as we plan expansions.     
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Q: My credit card was not accepted. What should I do?

A:  Please use the "Contact Us" link on this page to send us the 
details of the problem.  We will review the information and try to 
determine a solution to the issue.     
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Q: Does a customer service telephone number exist for the 3M eStore?

A:  3M's eStore Customer Service can be contacted via phone at 
1 800 234-8068. We can also be reached thru our highly developed 
Internet Reply System that directs all online questions to the 
right people in 3M who will have the answers. Our online "Contact 
Us" feature is the way to access this system.     
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Q: I was charged sales tax and should be tax exempt.

A:  All transactions on the website are treated as taxable. 3M operates 
in all 50 states; therefore, we are required to charge sales tax in any 
state where we have a presence. We are unable to handle tax exempt sales 
at this time.     
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Q: Can I order here with my regular 3M account number (existing customers)?

A:  No. Sales on this website are available only through credit card 
payment using the Terms and Conditions of this site.     
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Q: Why do I see "Yahoo!" and "yhst" in the pages of the 3M eStore web site?

A:  3M has an agreement with Yahoo! to host the eStore on its servers. 
This provides a very robust platform for our web store, and also high 
confidence in the security of customer credit card information that is 
processed there.     
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Q: Why do I see a long line of gibberish characters by most of the products I've ordered?

A:  This line is the link to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) 
for those products that have them. Clicking on the link will take you 
to the most current MSDS on 3M's web site. If this doesn't work for you, 
copy the complete link (usually it is 2 lines long, both of which you 
need) into the "Address" box in your browser. The link is so long 
because it will take you directly to the specific document in question. 
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) regulations require 
3M to ensure that industrial users receive an MSDS with their purchases. 
Some products do not require an MSDS, and in that case, the column will 
be blank.     
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Q: What is 3M's service promise for products ordered from this website?

A:  In-stock items should be shipped within 2-3 business days. You 
will be notified at the time your order is being processed if an item 
will not be available due to backorder.     
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Q: Will all my products be shipped together?

A:  3M stocks products in different locations to maximize efficiency. 
Some heavier products are stocked at their manufacturing location. When 
ordered, these products are shipped directly to the purchaser, 
eliminating the need to transport the product to a staging location. 
In-stock items will be shipped as soon as possible; backordered items 
will be shipped as they become available.     
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Q: I ended up submitting two orders, because I forgot something in the first one. Can these orders be combined?

A:  Unfortunately, our order filling system doesn't permit us to 
combine orders. Furthermore, each order is authorized for a specific 
dollar amount on your credit card. Thus, if we combined orders we would 
not be able to post the full charge against your card.     
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Q: My order included item(s) that were damaged. What can I do about this?

A:  Send a message to Contact Us giving details of the issue. Please 
include information identifying the order, or attach a copy of the 
confirmation e-mail you received when the product was shipped. A 
Customer Service Representative will send you the appropriate 
information.     
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Q: My shipment contained an incorrect item or was missing an item. What can I do about this?

A:  Send a message to Contact Us giving details of the issue. Please 
include information identifying the order, or attach a copy of the 
confirmation e-mail you received when the product was shipped. A 
Customer Service Representative will send you the appropriate 
information.     
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Q: I've decided I don't want one of the items I purchased. How do I return it for credit?

A:  Please consult the return policy for details regarding the return of goods 
purchased on the 3MeStore.  The 3MeStore return policy can be viewed here.     
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Q: What are the shipping rates on the 3MeStore?

A: Current Shipping Rates are:
Total Order Amount      Shipping Charge
  $00.00  -   $49.99	        $2.50
  $50.00  -   $99.99		$3.00
 $100.00  -  $499.99		$5.00
 $500.00  -  $999.99		$8.00
$1000.00+                       $0.00 
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Q: My order was placed x days ago, and I still haven't received it. What's going on?

A:  The 3M eStore confirms all orders via e-mail. First, please check 
to ensure that you did receive a confirmation. Once the order has been 
confirmed, it may require up to 7-10 days for it to reach you. If you 
received a notice that your order was shipped, it will include a UPS 
tracking number that you can use to trace your package(s) on UPS's 
web site: http://www.ups.com. In many e-mail programs, you may just 
click on the tracking number and it will take you right to UPS's site 
and fill in your tracking number for you. If you still believe there 
is a problem, please send a note explaining your situation to Contact 
Us. Please include information identifying the order, or attach a copy 
of the confirmation e-mail you received when the product was shipped.     
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Q: I'd like faster delivery, is there some way I can pay for and get premium shipping, such as air delivery?

A:  The eStore today offers only one delivery method - UPS Ground. If 
you are interested in air freight, please let us know. We will factor 
customer interest into decisions about what we should develop next for 
the eStore.     
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Q: How are prices on 3M's eStore determined?

A:  The goal of the 3M eStore is to provide customers with the 
convenience of online purchases. In general, the prices on the 3M eStore 
are at or close to 3M's manufacturer's suggested list price. 

If price is a concern, we encourage you to call a 3M Distributor, who
can typically offer a reduced price when material is purchased in 
quantity. 

Where to Buy on 3M websites lists authorized distributors by location 
around the US.     
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Q: I would like to order a larger quantity of an item after trying it out. What quantity discount can I obtain from the 3M eStore?

A:  The 3M eStore is not optimized to service high-volume purchases, 
and does not offer quantity discounts. The Where to Buy function on 3M's 
web sites lists authorized distributors by location around the US. 3M's 
distributors listed there are typically able to provide you with lower 
prices on quantity purchases.     
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Q: I'm in Alaska or Hawaii or outside the United States. I can't check out of the eStore. What's going on?

A:  At this time, the eStore is only enabled for the 48 contiguous 
continental United States. We hope to offer coverage for other 
geographical areas soon, but a variety of legal and logistic 
considerations make it impossible to do so at this time. 3M has offices 
in Alaska and Hawaii, and subsidiaries or affiliates in more than 60 
other countries, and serves customers in nearly 200 countries around 
the world. We encourage you to contact the office 3M location nearest 
you to find out about purchasing the product(s) you are interested in. 
Other contacts are noted in "Contact 3M" at the bottom of each page of 
this site. Note that the eStore is a continental United States site 
(for sale in the 48 contiguous States), and so presentation of any 
product here does not mean that the same product will be available 
from other 3M locations around the world.     
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