Paypal Orders Question

[jmycr]

I have been running some tests before I go live with our site and one thing I have noticed. We are using the PayPal IPN and when a customer orders a product and is directed to PayPal but fails to complete the order I do not see where there is a record of this in Zen Cart. Is there somewhere where it states that someone started an order but the order was never completed?

Thank you,
James

[jmycr]

Does a customer HAVE to be redirected back from paypal for an entry to be made? I find this strange.

[DrByte]

If the customer doesn't already have a PayPal account, they do have to select whether they want to create an account or not, before the IPN will be sent to your store to acknowledge receipt of payment.

That's PayPal's design. Feel free to tell them your opinion of it.

[jmycr]

My concern is an entry into zen cart before the customer is sent to pay pal. There is no "order pending" entry entered into zen cart before the customer is sent to paypal. This is normal? or is there is a setting i need to change to see when a customer orders a product is sent to paypal but never finishes the order.

Thank you
James

[jmycr]

A Product ordering is saved when doing an offline payment but not a paypal. does it wait until a paypal payment is completed and paypal redirects back to the site to save the order info?

[DrByte]

A Product ordering is saved when doing an offline payment but not a paypal. does it wait until a paypal payment is completed and paypal redirects back to the site to save the order info?

The order record is generated when PayPal sends the payment notification ("IPN"="Instant Payment Notification") to your server.

If your store is not getting those notifications, then you either have a configuration problem or a communications problem between PayPal and your store. http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/PayPal

[jmycr]

So an order is not entered into the zencart database until after the user successfully makes a payment in paypal and the Instant Payment Notification Preferences in paypal is set.

It would be nice to have Zen cart creating a record of a customer checking out regardless of whether the customer finalizes the payment. And update the status accordingly if they successfully make the payment through paypal.

The reports section does not show proper data without this.

[DrByte]

The Zen Cart Development Roadmap includes a number of order-mgmt changes coming in a future release.

At the present time, no orders are ever stored until payment is completed (defined by the module itself), regardless of the payment module being used.
Thus your reports for orders by PayPal of by any other method will at least be consistent.

[windwoman]

I am having the same problem over the Labor day weekend I had about 6 orders go through paypal but not leave me a record of the order on zen cart.
I just followed all the instructions for checking the paypal set up.
Is this a bug in the newer set up? I am running the newest version and did not have this problem in the older one I was running.
WW

[crazycucumber]

I am having simmilar issues , although at the moment its seems to be a delay in recieving the IPN , anything from 30 mins to 6 hours . This is a PITA as we do not know what has been ordered and trying to ship next day delivery could be tricky. its a new 1.3.8a install using stock payapl IPN payments.

From what you have said , is it true that paypal waits for the customer to decide on haveing a paypal account or not , and could this be the 6 hour delay ?

If so , I will take it up with Paypal as that is out of order to run a buisness.