Hey Gang,

Those of you who tried to purchase a Gutter Bar via Credit/Debit card over the last few days may have run into issues checking out. This is because our credit card processor had been giving us issues and earlier this week, they notified us that they would be shutting down our account due to the types of products we are selling (which they consider high-risk due to the latest vaping regulations included in the recent Omnibus Bill). This will affect not only Gutter Bars but our other brands as well.

In response, we immediately submitted an appeal request to the credit card processing company to review their decision, but they haven’t gotten back to us yet. Now that it’s been a few days, we are under the impression that they are going to be moving forward with shutting down our credit card processing account.

When they shut down the account, they will be placing the funds in the account on hold. These types of holds are notorious for being extremely long, sometimes up to 6 months. To avoid any issues with funds being held, we are going to have to refund all orders that were paid via debit/credit card.

The problem we’re facing is that over 80% of the orders placed were paid with a credit card and the ETH funds generated from the remaining ~20% of total orders would not be nearly enough to cover the cost of the project. This has put us in a very difficult position that is forcing us to shift gears rather quickly.

After discussing the issue internally with our team and lawyers this week, we’ve decided to put the entire project on hold while we assess the situation. Starting tomorrow (3/28/22), we are going to refund all orders, whether paid in ETH or via debit/credit card. If you paid with ETH, you should receive a full refund within 24 hours. If you paid via credit card, please allow up to 3-5 business days for the funds to be returned to your bank account.

This was a very difficult decision for us to make, but we felt it would be the best decision for our community and the longevity of the project.

Please note that this does not mean we are closing the project completely or terminating the brand by any means. 

Our plan is to go direct to wholesale with a non-limited edition line of products within the next 30-45 days while we find a credit card processor who specializes exclusively in cannabis/hemp products that we can use to process online retail orders. Once we find a new credit card processor, we plan to re-launch the retail website, which will be available to adult consumers in the United States.

I am sorry to have to deliver this disappointing news, but unfortunately, these types of things happen; however, we’re looking at this as nothing more than a hurdle that we will need to overcome and do that we shall.

I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and greatly appreciate your understanding of this important matter.

Stay tuned for additional news in the coming weeks.

If you won a Gutter Bars giveaway, you will be able to claim free product when we re-launch the retail website and we will also give you 0.035 ETH. To claim the 0.035 ETH, please contact @GutterBars on Twitter with your coupon code.

Best regards,

Aarontc, Co-Founder of Gutter Bars