Each college has an Amazon Business Account through which all Amazon purchases made for business are required to be made. Benefits of the Business account are:

• Free Two-Day Shipping on eligible orders over $49 (learn more)
• Free standard shipping on eligible orders over $25 (learn more)
• Pricing and quantity discounts on over 8 million items not available through other amazon accounts
• Sales Tax Exemption on purchases
• Custom reporting for your transactions
• Access to a specialized Customer Service team

To sign up for an Amazon account contact ap@gmhec.org.

To access the Amazon account, please always use smile.amazon.com and choose as the organization you will support your college.

Personal Use? The Amazon Business Account may only be used for business purposes to avoid violation of tax exemption regulation.

Shipping Address: Enter your departments shipping address.

Payment: At this point you need to have a College purchasing card to be able to purchase on Amazon.

Returns: are handled the same way as on consumer accounts (albeit word on the street is that the business support teams might be a bit more lenient with free returns...)

Reporting: The Amazon Business Account allows for reporting on what was purchased in the past by user. If you are an administrator, you can also run reports on purchases for your department.

Amazon Customer Service: (866) 486-2360 Monday- Friday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. EST and Saturday & Sunday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST. Amazon Business general Help & FAQs.

• After contacting ap@gmhec.org, you will receive an email invitation from Amazon to join the business account. Click the “Accept this invitation” button in the email.
• Then click the “Continue” button.
• You will be prompted to enter your name, your college.edu email address and to create a password.
• Click on “Create Account”.
• You’ll see an “Almost Complete!” window.
• Click on “Complete”.
• Amazon will send you an email confirming the creation of the account.

• Once you receive the email invitation from Amazon to join the business account, click the “Accept this invitation” button in the email.
• Then click the “Continue” button.
• You will see the screen: “Sign in to the account you will use for business.”
• Enter your college.edu email address and Amazon password for this account (if you don’t remember the password, click “Forgot your password?” to reset the password).
• Click on “Sign In”.
• On the next screen “Choose an account option”, click on “Create a separate account” to separate your personal purchases on Amazon from any business purchases. This action will create a new (personal) Amazon account under a different (personal) email address.
• Click on “Continue”.
• Enter the email address you want to use from now on for personal Amazon purchases.
• Click on “Save and continue”.
• You will be prompted to enter your name, college.edu email and to create a password for the account to buy for business on Amazon.
• Click on “Create Account”.
• You’ll see an “Almost Complete!” window and you can choose to copy your address book and payment methods. Be sure to only use a college shipping address and only the college’s purchasing card as a payment method for the business account.
• Click on “Complete”.
• Amazon will send you an email confirming the creation of the account.

• After contacting ap@gmhec.org, you will receive an email invitation from Amazon to join the business account. Click the “Accept this invitation” button in the email.
• Then click the “Continue” button.
• You will be prompted to enter your name, your college.edu email address and to create a password.
• Click on “Create Account”.
• You’ll see an “Almost Complete!” window.
• Click on “Complete”.
• Amazon will send you an email confirming the creation of the account.

Generally, the colleges are exempt from Sales tax except in California and thus sellers should not charge sales tax.

– If Amazon was the seller:

• Call (888-280-9552) to have the sales tax refunded

– If 3^rd party seller:

• On amazon.com go to “Your Account” and to “Your Orders”.
• Find the item that was charged tax and click the “Contact the Seller” button.
• Enter as the subject “Tax Exemption Refund Request”.
• Include the order number and amount of sales tax charged.
• The seller is required to respond within 72 hours.
• They may ask for some additional information, if not, they typically just issue the refund.

If you have any issues contacting the seller, or other questions, contact the Amazon tax team at (888) 280-9552.

As a general matter, the Consortium colleges do not pay for personal prime membership.  Amazon does now offer a prime membership for educational institutions. Here are the benefits of that Prime Membership. At this point, Middlebury College has purchased business prime for all its users.

• If you currently have a prime membership associated with you and your business amazon account, please cancel your prime membership pro-actively by calling Amazon Customer Service at (866) 486-2360. Amazon will refund the prime membership fee based on how many months of the annual membership have already been used.
• Please be cautious not to sign up for prime membership. Currently, Amazon offers on it’s business account prime membership to users and it’s a bit to easy to accidentally sign up for it.
• If you have Prime at home, you can link your personal prime account to your business amazon account. Then you’ll receive the benefit of Prime, i.e., free shipping on small orders, on the regular Amazon business account.
• "Prime Exclusive Items": are a limited set of items sold by Amazon that can only be purchased with a prime membership. In these cases, those items are often available from 3rd party sellers as well (just without the 2-day prime shipping). If your order is above the current threshold for business accounts, you can still get 2-day shipping.

The Consortium contracted on behalf of its member colleges with SecurShred for any paper shredding and electronics recycling and destruction. SecurShred should be used:

• If certified secure destruction is required for paper shredding and electronics destruction.
• For recycling services and scanning.
• They offer either locked consoles in your workplace for regular pick up or pick up of boxes for shredding.
• They provide consulting on what documents need to be treated how per regulations like Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbanes-Oxley, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Vermont's Protection of Personal Information Law and others.
• For sustainability efforts:
  • They weigh our waste.
  • Power of Three program: SecurShred shreds, sends shredded paper to local pulp mill in Glen Falls which transforms the shredded paper into tissues, which Foley Distributors weighs and sells back.
• Contact SecurShred at 802-363-6009 for more information or visit their website; or contact procurement@gmhec.org for questions on pricing and pickup.
• To book an off-cycle shredding event complete their online request form.

To set up an account or questions about products and prices contact:
Sherry White
sherry.white@wbmason.com
888-926-2766, ext. 8869

Please provide the following information:
- your college
- your department
- your phone number
- your fax number (if you use one)
- the location the office supplies should be delivered to, e.g., your room, your departments mailroom, etc.

Once your account has been set up, you'll receive a welcome email from W.B. Mason with your account login information. Tips on how to use the website can be found here and and when you log in to the W.B. Mason website.

Once your account has been set up it will only be inactivated if you or the account administrator request it.

You can use the Comments Field for information useful for yourself, e.g., if you order for several people, add the person’s name for whom you’re ordering a specific item.

You can use the Special Instructions Field to clarify where to deliver for example paper directly to a copy machine versus your office.

Swap and Save is a program offered by W.B. Mason were they identify products purchased in the past that have a cheaper equivalent. When you order one of those products identified as substitutable, the website will bring you to a "Swap and Save" screen and offer you to swap the more expensive product for the cheaper one. See here for an example.

Delivery when you order by 4 pm the day before:
Office Supplies and coffee: next business day (unless special order)
Technology: 2-3 business days
Furniture: 7-10 business days

At the Middlebury Institute in Monterey: Delivery is Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays
Note: there is no coffee or water service available from W.B. Mason at MIIS

For questions regarding order status, returns, product information, or a change of address, phone, or fax number, contact our customer service representative:
Sherry White
888-926-2766, ext. 8869
sherry.white@wbmason.com

After 6pm EST, please call 888-926-2766, x2 for Customer service.

For questions regarding pricing, renting a coffee brewer or installing a water cooler, contact Cheyrl Foster at 802-443-5800 or procurement@gmhec.org

Note: Champlain and Saint Michael's College, plumbed and non-plumbed water coolers are ordered through W.B. Mason

At Middlebury, for non-plumbed water coolers, we are honoring a contract with a small, local supplier: Misty Meadows

To set up an account or questions about products and prices, contact Deb & Jeff Perry via email or at 802.236.8080.

Delivery is every other Monday.

Courtyard by Marriott on 177 Hurricane Lane, Williston, VT

Valid: September 20, 2023 - December 31, 2024

Rates:

• $179 - September 20, 2023 - October 31, 2023
• $119 - November 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024
• $179 - April 1, 2024 - October 31, 2024
• $119 - November 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024

Rate plan applies to all standard guestroom types and lengths of stay. Blackout dates may apply.

Request the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium corporate rate to receive your discount. Can be used by Champlain College, Middlebury College, Saint Michael's College and the Consortium. Rate Codes are:

• GRJ0 GENR GREEN MOUNTAIN HIG EDU
• GRJ1 QNQN GREEN MOUNTAIN HIG EDU

For detailed services, features and amenities, visit: marriott.com/BTVWL

Reservations can be made made via direct phone call to 802-879-0100.

Reservations may be cancelled without penalty prior to 4pm on the day of arrival. A cancellation number should be obtained from the reservations agent for reference.

Courtyard Marriott on 309 Court St/US Route 7

Valid Dates: January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024

Rate: $99.00

Rates are not available on weekends and not valid for suites.

Reservations can be made by calling the hotel's main number: 802-388-7600 or 888-7775. Please ask for Reservations and request the Green Mountain Higher Education corporate rate to receive your discount. May be used by GMHEC and its Member institutions (Champlain College, Middlebury College, and Saint Michael's College).

Cancellation 48 hours prior to day of arrival.