FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) FOR NYSPSP.ORG

On March 28, 2022, NYSPSP launched a new and significantly updated website for online purchases of NYSPSP products.
The new website requires every shopper to register, whether or not they had previously registered on the prior NYSPSP website.
Registrations from the prior website do not carry over to the new website.

Website Requirements and Features

1: Is the website URL/web address still the same?

The web address /URL for the NYSPSP store website remains unchanged; www.nyspsp.org.

2: What are the minimum browser requirements? 

Below are the requirements for popular browsers:

3. NYSPSP.org has a different look and feel. What has changed?

The NYSPSP website migrated to cloud-based services. The new site is more user-friendly and offers many improvements, including:

• More intuitive searches that make finding products easier, whether searching by Item Number or by text contained in the Item names or Item descriptions.
• More efficient grouping of products; merchandise is grouped together by product family vs. each item being listed individually.
• Shoppers can create and maintain Frequent-Purchase Lists for easy repeated ordering.
• A Wishlist can be maintained to hold items outside the shopping cart, while browsing over a longer period of time.
• When signed in, items placed in the cart remain in the cart if you return to check out at a later time, or if you log in on a different device.
• Shipment-tracking information is displayed (when available).
• Easy access to printable PDF invoices for shipped goods.

4: How does the new search feature work?

The search function includes a type-ahead feature that suggests matching recommendations as you search for products.  Search results can be refined further by using new filters based on brand, product sub-categories, Preferred-Source Approved, etc.  You can also use a search wildcard -- the asterisk * -- at the end of search terms.

5: What should I do if I receive an error message or need technical support?

If you receive an unexpected error message or cannot access NYSPSP website, copy the error message if possible and contact NYSPSP Customer Care at customercare@nyspsp.org.

User Registration
 

1: I already registered on the prior NYSPSP website. Do I need to register again on the new website? 

Yes - All shoppers are required to submit a new registration in order to purchase on the new website.  Unregistered guests may browse the site but cannot place orders.
Registrations made at the prior NYSPSP website do not carry over to the new NYSPSP website.  However, when registering at the new NYSPSP website you may reuse the same email address as used at the prior NYSPSP website.  

If you have questions or need assistance, contact the NYSPSP Customer Care Team at 1-800-421-9010.

2: How do I create a new registration?

NYSPSP now categorizes shopper registrations as Business-to-Business (B2B) or Private Consumer (B2C).  Most NYSPSP shoppers will represent B2B, as they make purchases on behalf of a state/governmental agency or organization; or else on behalf of a private-sector company or business; typically their employer. 

For the fastest handling and approval of your registration, please make the appropriate choice.  State/Governmental shoppers are requested to use their official work-issued email address when registering; choosing to use a personal/home email address will delay or prevent approval of your registration.

• Visit the NYSPSP.org homepage and click the “Register” link in the upper menu bar.
• Select the type of shopper that best describes you:
   
  • State/Governmental Business - Individuals purchasing directly on behalf of a NY State government organization or agency (state-level, local-level, or public entities such as school districts, city-or-county administrations, and NYS private benefit corporations, etc.) should select the “State/Governmental Business” option.
  • Commercial Business - Individuals purchasing directly on behalf of a private-sector business (whether nonprofit or for-profit) should select the “Commercial Business” option.
  • Private Consumer - Individuals purchasing only on their own behalf, entirely for their personal use should register under the “Private Consumer” option.
     
• At the next screen provide first and last name, valid phone number and email address (which will become your User ID.)
  The email you specify must be able to accept emails from “customercare@nyspsp.org”, including emails which contain embedded links.  (Some I.T. organizations may internally block these types of emails from reaching your inbox.)  If you are not receiving the expected emails from NYSPSP, check your spam/junk folders, add customercare@nyspsp.org to your “safe senders” list, and check with your organization’s I.T. department to ensure NYSPSP emails (with links) are not being blocked from reaching your inbox.
   
  • If you selected “State/Governmental”, or “Commercial Business”, choose the organization / agency / company for which you are purchasing; you may type a few letters of the name to view matching results. 
  • Note that if you routinely purchase on behalf of more than one listed organization, select your primary choice from the list, then click the checkbox for “I purchase on behalf of another Organization.”  A text field will appear allowing you to enter the names of the additional organizations; the NYSPSP Customer Care Team will perform additional steps to complete your registration so that your User ID will have access to the multiple organizations.
  • If you selected “Private Consumer”, and you are requesting Tax Exempt Status, you must upload proof of Sales Tax Exemption; the NYSPSP Accounting Department will review your Exemption before approving your registration request.  Private Consumer shoppers will be subject to Sales Tax if a valid Exemption is not provided.
     
• After submitting your registration, you will receive an email acknowledging your request.  Once your registration request is approved, you will receive an email containing a link to set your password; please be sure to set your password promptly; the link will expire in approximately 24 hours.
  If your registration request cannot be approved, you will be notified via email.

3: Can I use the same User ID email address when I register on the new NYSPSP website?

Yes - You may use the same email address used at the prior NYSPSP website; your email address will become your User ID for your new registration.

4: Do tax-exempt shoppers need to reapply for tax exempt status?

Registrants in “State/Governmental” or “Commercial Business” will inherit the established taxability status of their parent organization(s) automatically.

“Private Consumer” shoppers who register indicating Tax Exempt are required to provide current documentation of tax-exempt status during registration.  Private Consumer accounts will be placed on an ordering hold until tax-exempt has been verified by the NYSPSP Accounting Department. For specific inquiries, contact NYSPSP Accounting Department at 1-800-421-9010.

5: Will I need to re-enter my credit card information when registering on the new NYSPSP website?

Yes – Any credit card information input on the prior website will not be transferred to the new NYSPSP website.

Orders and Accounts
 

1: Can I access invoices and order history from an old account? 

As of March 25, customers cannot access the online order / invoice history related to transactions placed on the prior website.  To request this information, call the NYSPSP Customer Care Team at 1-800-421-9010.

2: If I placed an order at the prior NYSPSP website, will my order be fulfilled - or should I place it again?

All orders placed via the prior NYSPSP website will be processed, shipped and billed as usual. The new website launch won’t interrupt or cancel orders placed on the prior website.  There is no need to submit a prior-website order again at the new website, unless you specifically wish to receive another separate delivery of those same goods.  For specific inquiries, contact NYSPSP Customer Care at 1-800-421-9010.

3: Is payment card information on the new nyspsp.org secure?

Yes - The new NYSPSP website meets the latest technical and operational standards set by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to protect data provided by cardholders.  Credit cards are “tokenized” immediately upon entry into the website, via NYSPSP’s external credit card processor, thereby bypassing NYSPSP’s servers.  The token (which is only meaningful within the external credit card processor systems) is then masked to show only the final 4 digits, which correspond to your card’s final 4 digits.  The real 16-digit card number is never housed in any of NYSPSP’s systems nor visible to any NYSPSP staff.

4: I place orders for more than one organization / Account; how do I get access to those other Accounts?

The new website uses an updated Business-to-Business (B2B) customer model versus considering each registered shopper as a stand-alone Account.  If you regularly purchase on behalf of multiple organizations, agencies or entities, NYSPSP can grant your User ID access to them from a single sign-in. 

During registration at the new website, after selecting the appropriate organization to start out with, use the checkbox option to indicate that you also purchase on behalf of other organizations; you’ll be asked to provide a listing of the additional organizations so that NYSPSP can grant access accordingly.  You will be notified when the full access configuration is completed.

If you completed new registration choosing only a single organization / Account and later realize you need access to other Accounts, please contact NYSPSP Customer Care Team at customercare@nyspsp.org to have your User ID modified with the additional access you require.  (Also see Question 9 below for further details on how to use your multi-Account access once logged in.)

5: When I place my order, why do I see available “Ship To” addresses that I didn’t personally enter?

Within a B2B Account (State/Governmental, or Commercial Business), the NYSPSP website displays all addresses accumulated for that organization, from any other NYSPSP.org shoppers in that same organization; making it easier for shoppers in the organization to ship orders to common locations used by the organization.  
You can quickly select an address during check-out via the address filter field - type a few letters or numbers of the address you wish to use, to filter out other addresses.  Shoppers may also input new addresses whenever needed; during the checkout process, or ahead of time from My Account > Address Book.  When you provide a new address, it is validated against U.S. postal address information.  The website may therefore propose an alternative address (such as including ZIP+4 information.)  You may choose to use the Suggested Address, or to retain the address exactly as you keyed it in.  However, invalid combinations of City, State, Zip will not be accepted.

6: During checkout I’m required to provide a Purchase Order Number; what if I don’t have one?

The majority of shoppers at NYSPSP.org represent State/Governmental B2B Accounts, nearly all of which have internal Purchase Orders for their buyers to reference.  Please provide that Purchase Order Number during checkout.  If you do not use internal Purchase Orders within your organization / Account, a value must still be entered during checkout – please use the current date such as: 031622.

7: What happens after I place my order?

Upon placing an order, the website displays an Order Confirmation page.  You will also receive an Order Confirmation email.  The website assigns a unique Web Reference Number for each order. 

Shortly after, a Sales Order Number is also assigned; it will appear in Order History searches, as well as on the Invoices for shipped goods.  Either number can be used to search your order history online, or in communication with the NYSPSP Customer Care Team.

8: Can I search for and view invoices from my orders placed on the new NYSPSP.org?

Yes. When signed into your Account, use the search function under My Account > Invoices, and provide search criteria: date range, invoice number, sales order number, etc.
*Note that shoppers cannot access invoices this way for orders placed at the prior NYSPSP website. To request those historical invoices, email accounting@nyspsp.org.

9: I have more than one organization / Account associated with my User ID; how do I place orders for the different Accounts?

Once your User ID has been set up with access to multiple Accounts, you can switch between your assigned Accounts whenever you are logged in.  When logged in, the currently-active Account will appear in the upper right of the webpage.  To switch between assigned Accounts, click the “Change” link to view a listing of your Accounts.  Choose the desired Account from the list; you’ll be asked to confirm your change.  Once confirmed, the selected Account becomes the active Account (shown at the upper right of the webpage).

When logged in, each of your Accounts maintains its own Address Book of relevant Shipping and Billing addresses.  Each of your Accounts reflects the specific pricing of items applicable to the Account.  Each your Accounts maintains its own Shopping Cart. 

The image below illustrates switching Accounts; upon logging in, the shopper is in the Yonkers Fire Dept. Account.  Then, switches to the Yonkers Parks & Recreation Account.