Okay...thanks everyone...
I tried booking the PREMS ticket again, and this time it showed the option to print at home...
So I purchased 2 return tickets from paris to Bordeaux, Oct 18 to Oct 22.
The Oct 18 at 12 noon was $25 each, and the return on 22nd at 12 noon was $45 each....Still not bad...I didn't want to return around 4-5pm on the 22nd for the $25 PREM tickets...

Now my next question, I am trying to print the ticket....And have generated the ticket....It tells me to click on the printer/pdf document icon to download the ticket....But when I click on it, I am getting a page not found error???

anyone seen this before???

No, I haven't seen that message before. Do you have Adobe Reader software? You need that to download the ticket. If you don't have it, you can get it free, right there on the page where you download the ticket. Otherwise, I'd pick the option to print later, and go back and try it again when your computer's feeling better.

I tried x2 again today to buy ticket to P/U at station. It is not a prem. I get all the way to the end of the booking putting in cr card number and click. Then it gives me a techical error message. I also get an email saying my card was not charged because the booking could not go thru due to a technical error.

I am going to Deauville/Trouville on the 8AM train on a Friday morning, late Sept. I guess if I can't buy before I go, I will just buy a ticket when I arrive on Wednesday before.

It must'be been the website..
I tried again, and now I am able to print the pdf..

The ticket is in black and white and in all French right?

Doesn't look very official to me???

Yes, the ticket is in black and white, with a picture of a girl on it, plus your name and the train info. No, it doesn't look very official, but it is.

Hi Commie

I too live in Canada and have very few good things to say about the ease of using the SNCF web site.

Last May I printed Prems Paris -Avignon and they worked like a dream.

In the beginning of August I started trying to buy a one way Prem from Paris to Lyon (I was just on the inside of the 60 day window so could only purchase 1 way) and I could never get past the ordering part on the SNCF site. It just stayed stuck and wouldn't allow me to purchase.

Several wonderful people on Fodor's suggested that I try Mozilla Firefox as my browser rather than Internet Explorer. Voila! that made the difference at the start of August. However by the time I learned this my Prem price was gone. (I should have posted here right away).I did however get the ticket.

Fast forward to August 22. I need to purchase my return Prem and also 2 regional tickets from Lyon to Roanne.

Using Mozilla as browser I put all my info in only to have the SNCF site time out on me constantly for 2 days!!!!

Internet Explorer by the way wouldn't even allow me onto SNCF at this time.

I kept trying to buy my returns with Mozilla and finally got through, imput my credit card info and got an error message saying that my card was no good.

I was determined not to lose the Prem price for my return by waiting so I tried again using my husband's card and it worked immediately. I got 1 ticket,the Prem.

I still had the problem however of needing my 2 tickets Lyon-Roanne. Since the tickets are not TGV or Prem but for a RER train they can only be picked up in France and the retreiving credit card and the purchase card must be the same.

At this point the error message for my card was still appearing (there is nothing wrong with my card). I had attempted to purchase these tickets for close to 2 days (at different hours)
but always got some sort of glitch.

Yesterday morning (Aug. 24th). I had 5 minutes before leaving the house. I entered the info that will forever stay burned into my fervent brain and I GOT MY TICKETS 1ST TIME!!

The SNCF gets my vote for the most exasperating site when planning a trip!

I'm glad you were able to overcome whatever traps they set (ha) to avoid allowing us to buy seats. ~o)