Waters.com eCommerce Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to register on Waters.com to buy products online?

Yes, all users who want to make a purchase must have an account on Waters.com.

How do I register on Waters.com?

Click on Create Account in the My Account menu in the site header. It is recommended that you use your company or business email address for your registration. 

Will you need additional information before I order online?

Yes, we will need your shipping and billing address information to verify your account before you place an order. You will add your address information during the checkout process when you place your first order. There will be a short delay in order fulfillment as your account information needs to be validated.

Can I have multiple registrations on Waters.com?

Your email address is your unique identifier on Waters.com. Every email address may only have one registration.

How do I find products to buy on Waters.com?

All orderable products can be accessed from the Shop menu in the site navigation or from our Shop All Products page. Orderable products may also be found via product pages on Waters.com.

What is a SKU?

SKU (stock keeping unit) is an ecommerce industry standard terminology for buying single units online. The SKU listed is the same as the product part number you will see on the product labeling.

Why don’t you use the term “part number?”

All our products and materials have part numbers. The SKU terminology allows us to differentiate between part numbers that can be purchased online and other part numbers that are used in a variety of other contexts.

Why are some products missing images?

We have tried to ensure that the majority of products have at least one standard image. We are constantly working to update our product listings with more images.

How do I see my account pricing?

If you are not signed in to Waters.com the product List Price will be displayed. Once you are signed in you will see Your Price which reflects your customer-specific, contracted pricing. If you have a discount on a product, you will see both the list price, crossed out, and Your Price.

Why is Your Price sometimes the same as List Price?

Your account may not have customer-specific pricing for all items. 

Can I share my cart with any email address?

Yes, waters.com will validate the format of the email address, but you do not need to be a current customer to send or receive this email. The only restriction is that the sender and receiver cannot be the same email address.

Do I need to have an account on waters.com to share cart?

No, it is not required to have registered on waters.com to use the ‘Share Cart’ feature. The only difference for registered users is the ability to see customer-specific pricing and prepopulate the sender’s email address for you. 

Does the email I am sharing the cart with need to have an account on waters.com to receive and open the share cart?

No, the recipient does not need to be registered to receive the email. However, they will need to register if they want to convert their cart into a quote or an order online.

Can I share my cart with an email address that is outside my country?

Yes, however the language will be based on the location of the sender. For example, if a United States customer sent an email to Mexico, the email would be in English, not Spanish.

How does the Share Cart pass the cart information over to the new email address?

The email itself will display a summary of the items in a visual format. Also, a csv file will be attached and that file will contain the Waters SKU#, Product Title, QTY, and unit price.

Will my cart share my pricing with the individual I share with?

Yes, the pricing in the csv file will reflect the price shown on the sender’s screen. This includes any customer-specific discount or promo code savings.

Do promotions carry through if I have a promo in my cart and then share?

No, the recipient would have to add a promo code themselves to take advantage of the savings.

How do I know that I have shared the cart successfully?

You will receive a popup window to confirm. In the future, we will also ‘CC the sender so they also receive the email.

Do I receive an email to say that My Cart was shared?

Currently no, but we will ‘CC the sender in the future. That way, the recipient also has a sense of security and trust in the email they are receiving is legitimate.

What happens to my cart once I share it? Do the products stay in my cart or does my cart “empty”?

No change happens to your cart: you can choose what you want to do with it. You may convert it into a quote or an order or choose to clear the cart entirely.

Where will the Order History show up if I share my cart and someone else purchases the products for me?

Any order placed will show up for person who places the order. There is no plan to link that order to someone who shared a cart.

What validation are you doing on my file when I upload a spreadsheet?

We check to see that the spreadsheet is the correct file type (.csv) and that your file contains no more than 50 rows of data. 

How do I fix errors with my Quick Order spreadsheet upload?

Check to confirm the following:

• The file format is a .csv.
• The column headers are: “SKU_NUMBER” and “QUANTITY."
• There are no spaces between products (i.e. a row with no info in it) and remove any empty rows in the file before uploading document. Blank or negative values in the quantity field will be interpreted as “1.”

Why can't I add add a particular SKU to the Shopping Cart?

Not all products are available for sale on Waters.com. If you mis-key the SKU number or enter a product that is not sold online, you will get an “invalid SKU number” message. If the added product has approached the end of it’s lifecycle, it will add to your Shopping Cart, but we will inform you it is no longer available or has a replacement.

What does “Savings” in the Order Summary include?

We show the combined total of any customer discount (the difference between List Price and Your Price) and promotional code savings in one line.

How can I tell if a promotional code is being applied?

When the promo code is entered in the Have a Promotional Code? field in the Shopping Cart or during Checkout, an accepted promotional code will appear in a gray box below. Clicking on Details within that box will give specific Terms and Conditions. The promotional code discount will be added to the Savings line only if the user is signed in.

I applied a promotional code – why am I not getting a discount?

If a promotional code is incorrectly entered, expired, or already used (in some cases), the promotional code discount will not appear in your Order Summary. Promotional codes might not apply to your Shopping Cart if your customer discount is higher than the discount applied in the promotional code, or if you have multiple promotional codes that apply to the same items.

Why don’t I see Shipping & Handling or Estimated Tax calculated in the Shopping Cart?

Shipping & Handling is estimated in the Shopping Cart based on your default shipping address and shipping method. It is recalculated as part of Checkout as choose shipping options. 

Estimated Tax is calculated as part of Checkout. Estimated Tax may change depending on your shipping options and/or if you are tax exempt.

Why am I not able to proceed to Checkout?

Your Waters account may be blocked from ordering products online. There are multiple reasons why your account may be blocked. Customers that experience such blocks should Contact Waters for assistance.

Why do I have to remove products from my Shopping Cart before continuing to Checkout?

If an item is no longer available to purchase it to be added to the Shopping Cart with specific messaging to indicate why it is not orderable. There will be a recommended replacement item, if one is available.

I have Out of Stock items in my Shopping Cart. Are they included in my order if I checkout?

Yes, all products in your cart will be processed with your order and delivered once they are back in stock.

If I leave the site and come back, will my Shopping Cart still contain the products I added, and if so, for how long?

Yes, items will remain in your cart for up to 30 days. If there is no activity after 30 days, the products will be removed.

How do I share my Shopping Cart with a colleague?

To share your Shopping Cart you should use the Download Cart option and share the spreadsheet with your colleague. The receiver of the downloaded Shopping Cart can then upload the file on the Quick Order page and add the items to their Shopping Cart for purchase.

Can I create an account and checkout at the same time?

Yes, the account will need to be created and validated by Waters before your first order can be processed. 

Why do I not see the saved Shipping address I am expecting?

If you do not see the saved shipping address you expect, you may be associated with multiple Waters customer accounts. You can Switch Account in the My Account menu during Checkout.

Can I edit an address during Checkout?

Yes, you can add a new address or edit your existing addresses during Checkout. This change will apply on the current order and go through our address validation process which may delay order processing.

Why does it take time to validate a new address?

All new addresses need to be validated and verified before it is added to you customer account. This usually takes anywhere from 2-24 hours and the processing of your order may be delayed.

How many credit cards can I save?

You may only save one credit card for reuse during Checkout.

Why would I want to attach a document during Checkout?

Some business processes require a Purchase Order or Tax Exeption Certificate document to process an order. By offering this as part of the Checkout process, it will allow the order to be processed more quickly.

Why might adding a comment during Review Order delay my order?

Every order with additonal comments goes on hold and needs to be manually reviewed by our team. Please, only include comments if it is neccessary for us to process your order. 

When can I see orders in my Order History?

Orders will be available immediately after you receive your order confirmation. If you are a new customer and your account needs to be verified, there may be a delay while your first order is processed before you can see it in your Order History. 

How can I reorder products that I have ordered before?

You will see Reorder options on both the Order History page as well as on any Order detail page. 

What does the Reorder button do?

Clicking on Reorder will add all items from your previous order to your Shopping Cart. 

If a product from a past order is no longer for sale, it will still be added to your Shopping Cart with a message noting that item is no longer available. The item that is no longer for sale is required to be removed from the Shopping Cart in order to proceed to checkout.

How do I create a quote online?

Follow the simple instructions on our Request a Quote page: first, shop on Waters.com and add items to your cart, then navigate to the Shopping Cart, and select Request a Quote to get your quote instantly.

How do I find a quote I’ve already placed?

Hover over My Account in the top navigation, and select Quote History to find your quote and place your online order.

How long is my quote valid?

Quotes are valid for 30 days, but they must be converted to an order prior to December 31 to take advantage of current pricing.

Why isn’t my account pricing applying to my quote?

Please note that if you’ve just registered for an account, it can take up to 48 hours for your account to be activated. Once your account is activated, you will see your account pricing reflecting in new quotes that you create.

What’s the difference between requesting a quote and placing an order?

A quote is used as an intermediary step before committing to an order. They are often used to confirm a price or get internal approval before purchasing.

What pricing is used for the quote?

You must be signed in to Waters.com to request a quote. The quote will reflect your customer-specific pricing. If your account does not offer a discount on a particular item, the quote will show List Price.

If you are a new customer and register on Waters.com as part of the quote process, the quote will not be issued until your registration has been mapped to your appropriate organization. This can take up to 72 hours for completion.

Is my Waters sales representative aware of a quote that has been generated on Waters.com?

Yes, every quote that is generated is forwarded to your sales representative.

If I have a quote that was generated offline (i.e. by my Sales/Account rep) is it possible to upload this quote document or convert to an order on Waters.com?

This is a future enhancement that we hope to have available soon.

Can I use promotional codes when generating a quote?

Yes, promo codes can be added as part of the quote process during Request a Quote. However, once a quote has been generated, a new promo code cannot be added to an official quote.

How long is my quote valid?

Quotes are good for 30 days from point of issue.

Can I convert my quote to an offline order?

We recommend customers to use waters.com to convert their online quote to an online order. If not possible, some regions support the conversion of the online quote to an offline order. Please contact your local sales representative for more information.

There are other places on Waters.com that allow me to Request Pricing. How is this different from Request a Quote in the Shopping Cart?

The Request a Quote functionality (not available in all regions) in the Shopping Cart auto-generates a price quote for ONLY products currently orderable on Waters.com.