Ugh re: Emails for Order Confirmations

Hey Everyone,

Over the past week I have noticed I am not receiving order confirmation emails. My only indication an order has been made is through the PayPal receipts I receive via email. Thank goodness, all orders have been paying via PayPal!

That being said, do any of you know what could be the issue? I have been using ZenCart for three years now and never had an issue. Per my hosting service, I have made sure it was definitely set to PHP for the method of sending mail (and it is), but still nothing really seems to be happening. I do not receive an error (when I test this out myself), but there's no email confirmation sent to the customer or I.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
El

PS I'll admit it up front---I am NOT that technologically savvy with the background things that happen with my site, so I might not have tons of answers if you ask me anything too technical. Hahaha

What about your email host spam settings?

It's not your emails that are a problem. It's that you're using the archaic Website Payments Standard method of receiving payments, and that has many technical dependencies which if any of them breaks, will break your site's ability to be notified of new orders. And, if your site isn't seeing the orders, then there will naturally be no order confirmation email.

Fix your communication problems from PayPal's servers to your server, and things will work properly again: http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/PayPal

And/or switch to using Express Checkout instead, which isn't plagued with all those technical dependencies.

Thank you for the suggestions. Honestly, I don't get how as of 2/5 everything was just fine and now it's a problem. Bizarre!

I will definitely need to look into some alternative when it comes to PayPal. What a PIA!

Follow the link I posted. It's very possible that PayPal recently disabled your IPN Notification feature due to alleged response failures.
If the checkbox is unchecked, then your store won't be notified.

As for alternatives, it's not so much PayPal that's the problem ... it's your choice of service. The Express Checkout service is more mature and contemporary in the way it communicates with PayPal and your store, and as I said, not subject to the problems you're reporting.

Dr Byte,

I do receive the PayPal receipts in my inbox, and that has been my only indication that an order was received (other than logging onto ZenCart). Does the IPN actually create emails coming from my host confirming orders? I thought the IPN is what creates the email payment receipt notification.

What say you?

:-)
El

Okay, now you're asking about how PayPal's internal technology works, and there are many pages and documents on their website which explain all that.

In a nutshell, the IPN is a communication from PayPal's server that talks to the ipn_main_handler.php file on your server to tell your server that an order has been placed. When your server receives and validates that notification, it then adds the order to your admin orders list and sends you the store's email confirmation. That's where things are broken for you. You're not getting those IPNs.

The email receipts you get from PayPal are exactly that: email receipts. They have nothing to do with your store other than simply telling you of a transaction where you received money. The PayPal receipt is like a separate credit card receipt you get at the grocery when you swipe your card ... the store's receipt is completely separate. Same with your store receipt/email vs the PayPal email.

Ohhhhhhh...thank you for the clarification.

I am having the exact same problem . . . I suddenly stopped getting order email confirmations, yet I'm still getting PayPal reciepts. However, I don't believe it is a problem with PayPal not updating my ZenCart because the orders are showing up in my ZenCart. I am getting completed orders, and my stock is being adjusted; everything is indicating that the order is actually being completed. The only thing that isn't happening is me getting the order confirmation email.

Anyone have any ideas?

kendraflan:

I am having the exact same problem . . . I suddenly stopped getting order email confirmations, yet I'm still getting PayPal reciepts. However, I don't believe it is a problem with PayPal not updating my ZenCart because the orders are showing up in my ZenCart. I am getting completed orders, and my stock is being adjusted; everything is indicating that the order is actually being completed. The only thing that isn't happening is me getting the order confirmation email.

Anyone have any ideas?
I'm glad you did find the solution to your problem ... but ... if you're going to cross-post the same question in multiple places on the forum, at least have the courtesy to state in this thread that you solved the matter in another one: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?p=854299#post854299

But, it would really be better to not cross-post, since, as you've done, it leaves unfinished discussions which result in useless posts when others come along after you looking for answers. That's why cross-posting/double-posting is akin to spam and prohibited in the forum rules. ;)