Is this possible???

[mc12345678]

True - but on reflection, using the 'Auth' facility in Paypal is probably the neatest solution in my situation because:

- Until a customer places an order I do not know what items they have purchased, and until I know that I cannot get an accurate figure for shipping charges (if the order is to be shipped as opposed to collected, in which case I simply deduct shipping from the collected amount), and the charges will be based on the total size as well as weight. Further, I would get quotes from any one of 3 different couriers depending on the weight and size of the package, as well as its destination - and this takes time.

For this scenario what is needed is a facility for a customer to be able to store an order without paying for it, and for me to get the shipping cost then amend the order prior to them paying for it - and this facility is not available (as far as I have seen) in Zen-cart.

I've read the posts following the above, but for some reason this one sticks in my mind. Do you still think that functionally (not literally) there is no process that is a part of ZC (or easily/freely added) to it that will allow a customer to place an order without money leaving their hands, providing you the time you need to do what you need/want and then to modify the order and collect funds?
Perhaps there is some other related setting that is to be modified to make it all work the way it should. Ie purchase should come in as pending or a low status level.

After posting this, more of the conversation came in. I agree also with twitch to solve the problem to make it work and work right, but I am also seeing that there may be a trade off accepted by the OP. Then again, someone is offering their input, why not answer the questions asked and maybe get something of benefit out of it.

[DivaVocals]

I've read the posts following the above, but for some reason this one sticks in my mind. Do you still think that functionally (not literally) there is no process that is a part of ZC (or easily/freely added) to it that will allow a customer to place an order without money leaving their hands, providing you the time you need to do what you need/want and then to modify the order and collect funds?
Perhaps there is some other related setting that is to be modified to make it all work the way it should. Ie purchase should come in as pending or a low status level.

After posting this, more of the conversation came in. I agree also with twitch to solve the problem to make it work and work right, but I am also seeing that there may be a trade off accepted by the OP. Then again, someone is offering their input, why not answer the questions asked and maybe get something of benefit out of it.

It's called CUSTOM CODE.. which will be needed to process the payment AFTER the order has been placed.. Tell me how this is BETTER than authorize and capture.. Because from a process POV it's the SAME process..

Now of course if you are suggesting the following workflow:

1. The customer places the order
2. The shopowner finalizes the order totals with the correct shipping
3. The customer must come BACK to the store to PAY

There's no upside to this process, and it will probably result in LOST sales..

The correct custom code needed would meet the following requirements:

1. Determine if shipping is required or not (based on specified criteria)
2. Obtain shipping quotes from multiple carriers and select the best method (again based on criteria to be specified, but will take into account weight and package dimensions, etc)

Now this is basically Advanced Shipper with possibly some additional options.. Does anyone want to build this and submit it for FREE???

**cue crickets chirping**

[mc12345678]

Tell me how this is BETTER than authorize and capture.. Because from a process POV it's the SAME process..

Now of course if you are suggesting the following workflow:

1. The customer places the order
2. The shopowner finalizes the order totals with the correct shipping
3. The customer must come BACK to the store to PAY

Perhaps I misunderstand how authorize/capture functionally work, what I had seen was that discussion of that functionality/option was implied to not help in the process. A follow-on post discussed edit orders (a free add-on that would allow modifying the placed order (though used I've not used with a capture like setup), and then finalizing the order. So the process I was thinking for this situation (because seems to meet the business owners operational requirements) was:

1. Customer places order with PayPal (or other payment processor) in a Capture mode, with consideration of shipping fees/ie largest expected payment.
2. Store owner investigates information pertinent to sale.
3. Store owner uses Edit Orders to modify a line of information to process a return to the customer.
4. Store owner authorizes/finalizes the payment.

I came back to that post because it seemed like the capture usage was not being considered. I also stated functionally (not literally) because to get the exact actions described automatically completed WOULD require custom coding, but what seems to have been accepted by the OP is using a little elbow grease. Just want to make sure that the full process is/has been considered, and possibly captured in a single post for another small business owner that does not see that sales of the products would even possibly cover almost any development costs as the inventory is significantly limited as in no real replenishment and as such not expecting sales volume to be anything significant.

[DivaVocals]

Perhaps I misunderstand how authorize/capture functionally work, what I had seen was that discussion of that functionality/option was implied to not help in the process. A follow-on post discussed edit orders (a free add-on that would allow modifying the placed order (though used I've not used with a capture like setup), and then finalizing the order. So the process I was thinking for this situation (because seems to meet the business owners operational requirements) was:

1. Customer places order with PayPal (or other payment processor) in a Capture mode, with consideration of shipping fees/ie largest expected payment.
2. Store owner investigates information pertinent to sale.
3. Store owner uses Edit Orders to modify a line of information to process a return to the customer.
4. Store owner authorizes/finalizes the payment.

I came back to that post because it seemed like the capture usage was not being considered. I also stated functionally (not literally) because to get the exact actions described automatically completed WOULD require custom coding, but what seems to have been accepted by the OP is using a little elbow grease. Just want to make sure that the full process is/has been considered, and possibly captured in a single post for another small business owner that does not see that sales of the products would even possibly cover almost any development costs as the inventory is significantly limited as in no real replenishment and as such not expecting sales volume to be anything significant.

You are indeed misunderstanding how authorize and capture work.. Let me simplify
Authorize = get authorization (permission) for processing the payment
Capture = collect final payment

Authorize collects credit card information, gets a per-authorization for the charge but does NOT charge the credit card. Capture charges the card.. This is JUST how hotel reservations work..

The use of Edit Orders was suggested so that the ORDER total could be adjusted to match the credit card transaction when it is finalized (captured).

Your suggested work flow leads to exactly what pewe was trying to avoid.. (charging the customer's credit card and then having to process a credit against the credit car or worseyet processing a refund for an overpayment) Authorize and capture means that the correct amount is charged to the customer's credit card.

[DivaVocals]

Let me re-state that last part..

Your suggested work flow leads to exactly what pewe was trying to avoid.. (charging the customer's credit card and then having to process a credit against the credit car or worse yet having to use some outside invoicing process to collect additional monies owed) Authorize and capture means that the correct amount is charged to the customer's credit card when the credit card transaction is finalized.

[mc12345678]

Let me re-state that last part..

Your suggested work flow leads to exactly what pewe was trying to avoid.. (charging the customer's credit card and then having to process a credit against the credit car or worse yet having to use some outside invoicing process to collect additional monies owed) Authorize and capture means that the correct amount is charged to the customer's credit card when the credit card transaction is finalized.

Ugh, so I mistated the option to use with the thought of not charging. In relation to the list I previously provided and to possibly quote a phrase from a candy related movie, strike that and reverse it. The intent of "step 1" was to collect the permission/promise of payment with final payment collected in step 4.

When so restated, is that better?

[DivaVocals]

Ugh, so I mistated the option to use with the thought of not charging. In relation to the list I previously provided and to possibly quote a phrase from a candy related movie, strike that and reverse it. The intent of "step 1" was to collect the permission/promise of payment with final payment collected in step 4.

When so restated, is that better?

Yes.. and that IS the solution that pewe is going to pursue.. Authorize the payment, and then capture the final payment. I suggested he consider using Edit Orders to adjust to the order total to match the actual payment collected..