PayPal Business Advanced module?

OK not trying to be a greasy wheel or anything, but is there any kind of time frame on this being deployed?

There are other platforms that support this feature but of course I wanna stay with what I know, IE: Zencart.

Thanks

markalpine:

OK not trying to be a greasy wheel or anything, but is there any kind of time frame on this being deployed?

There are other platforms that support this feature but of course I wanna stay with what I know, IE: Zencart.

ThanksAs of December, I think DrByte was quite clear on where this is at..

DrByte:

Ya, PayPal started offering PPA in April.

As far as the plugin goes, the code still needs much polishing. Been debating posting the unfinished code as an "alpha release" for use-at-your-own-risk testing at large. I'm sure there'll be lotsa complaints about that approach, but I guess I'll never be able to please everyone.

So if you are looking at this for any kind of upcoming project, and you feel that you HAVE to have PayPal's Advanced Payments on your Zen Cart site, then at this point it appears you have two options:

1. Explore other platforms
2. Engage the services of a developer to create this module for you
3. Use the existing PayPal payment modules

Quite frankly all this clamoring for Advanced Payments seems to be molehills being made into mountains. PayPal isn't really offering anything NEW. They simply created a hybrid product which embeds the Express window on your site. Here's what DrByte posted:

DrByte:

Yes, you've always been able to use PayPal Payments Pro to take credit card payments directly on your site. Requires PCI compliance self-certification.
And Express Checkout can also take credit-card payments without requiring a PayPal account.

The Payments Advanced option is somewhat of a hybrid of the two, where the credit card processing shows on your site in an iframe but is hosted at paypal, basically taking the bulk of the PCI stuff onto PayPal's end.

If you think you NEED this simply because you want to add the PayPal financing feature, then my suggestion is that you should go back to PayPal's site and compare the three business payment offerings again. They ALL offer the PayPal financing option AND so it's clear you MUST be on the PayPal site to use it (ie: PayPal Express). So it would appear that waiting for a module which amounts to embedding the PayPal Express page inside Zen Cart JUST so that you can use the financing option makes no sense since a PayPal Express module for Zen Cart already exists..

markalpine:

OK not trying to be a greasy wheel or anything, but is there any kind of time frame on this being deployed?

There are other platforms that support this feature but of course I wanna stay with what I know, IE: Zencart.

ThanksNO there is NOT a time frame announced for this (or any other zen-cart mod or update).
If it is an essential "deal breaker" requirement for you, then you will need to pay a developer to write it for you.
You could then share it with the community.

gilby:

NO there is NOT a time frame announced for this (or any other zen-cart mod or update).
If it is an essential "deal breaker" requirement for you, then you will need to pay a developer to write it for you.
You could then share it with the community.EXACTLY!!

and I STILL say that no one is missing anything by NOT having this module..

Mountains being made of of molehills I say..

Well, the one thing they probably think they're missing is the $5 monthly with PPA instead of $35 monthly with Pro. But Pro has additional benefits PPA doesn't. The details of that are all on the PayPal site, and do not need to be hashed out here.

DrByte:

Well, the one thing they probably think they're missing is the $5 monthly with PPA instead of $35 monthly with Pro. But Pro has additional benefits PPA doesn't. The details of that are all on the PayPal site, and do not need to be hashed out here.Well yes there is that..:laugh: To clarify, I was speaking from a functional perspective..:smile:

DivaVocals:

Whoomp there it is! And if I might add any business owner who thinks they MUST have this is certainly free to engage the services of a developer to build this for them.

Cop out, sorry, call it as I see it.

Again, please don't tell people something is in the queue, and then not follow up. There's been many folks offering assistance in this thread - coding, alpha/beta testing, or otherwise, but nothing's been given to them - why is that?

Furthermore, I've used plenty of my own time these past years, and have been postively vocal (literally and figuratively via writing) about Zen Cart and it's features - FREE advertising.

If it this mod ain't happenin', please just say so. Then those of us (many of us BTW), can get on with our lives.

willieWontGo:

Cop out, sorry, call it as I see it.

Again, please don't tell people something is in the queue, and then not follow up. There's been many folks offering assistance in this thread - coding, alpha/beta testing, or otherwise, but nothing's been given to them - why is that?

Furthermore, I've used plenty of my own time these past years, and have been postively vocal (literally and figuratively via writing) about Zen Cart and it's features - FREE advertising.

If it this mod ain't happenin', please just say so. Then those of us (many of us BTW), can get on with our lives.You can call it a cop out, but the simple truth is that if you feel YOU NEED/MUST HAVE this, AND DrByte isn't working fast enough or answering your questions fast enough to suit your timeframe, then pay someone to build it and move on. Not sure why you seem all bent out of shape about this?? If it ain't ready, it's just not ready.. The sky isn't falling over this.. Nothing is preventing anyone from getting this feature on their own if they want it..

BTW, not releasing the code doesn't mean it's not still in the queue for DrByte.. Perhaps DrByte's had BIGGER priorities on HIS to-do list, and this was put on a back burner.. (based on hs posts, this appears to be the case) It happens.. Far be for you to tell DrByte how he should prioritize HIS time.

Its not like SSL is expensive and as a web master I'd recommend it no matter what and while not entirely on topic, there are a lot of folks who refuse to use paypal, that's why my clients offer CC and PayPal

willieWontGo:

Cop out, sorry, call it as I see it.

Again, please don't tell people something is in the queue, and then not follow up. There's been many folks offering assistance in this thread - coding, alpha/beta testing, or otherwise, but nothing's been given to them - why is that?

Furthermore, I've used plenty of my own time these past years, and have been postively vocal (literally and figuratively via writing) about Zen Cart and it's features - FREE advertising.

If it this mod ain't happenin', please just say so. Then those of us (many of us BTW), can get on with our lives.
ZEN-CART is OPEN Source Software, not sure what that is, use Google. It is created by a bunch of fine folks who have other jobs as well and this isn't paying their bills.........

DivaVocals:

BTW, not releasing the code doesn't mean it's not still in the queue for DrByte.. Perhaps DrByte's had BIGGER priorities on HIS to-do list, and this was put on a back burner.. (based on hs posts, this appears to be the case) It happens.. Far be for you to tell DrByte how he should prioritize HIS time.

Again, if it's not a priority - fine! Just tell us that information. Why is that so difficult to say? Would it have killed anyone to state that - last year?

Free or not free, when we comment that it's disappointing about waiting for a year, nobody should be surprised.

Not telling anyone what to do and getting bent out of shape about it - on the contrary, we've been very patient.

willieWontGo:

Again, if it's not a priority - fine! Just tell us that information. Why is that so difficult to say? Would it have killed anyone to state that - last year?

Free or not free, when we comment that it's disappointing about waiting for a year, nobody should be surprised.

Not telling anyone what to do and getting bent out of shape about it - on the contrary, we've been very patient.Ya.. but you do appear to be bent out of shape for not getting a status update, and honestly I still don't see why.. Regardless as to whether you got a status or not, IF YOU wanted/needed this functionality, there is nothing precluding you from adding it.. Even if that means paying someone to build it for you.. I get that business decisions need to be made, but if it's critical, why wait?? Cost??

and before I get the small business/small budget speech.. The risk that one undertakes when relying SOLELY on free add-ons with no preparation/expectation that on occasion one may have to invest in the code they need to support ones business means that on occasion a shopowner may not get the functionality they want in a timeframe they would like..

Personally DrByte's last post on this topic (on Dec 2012 -- four months ago), and knowing what the current priority for the Zen Cart team is (v1.6 code/release) is pretty telling all by itself.. It's clearly a LOW PRIORITY based on these factors and the amount of time that has passed.. AND as Gilby pointed out, there is NO time frame announced for this (or any other zen-cart mod or update).

If my client DEMANDED this feature, then we would seek other avenues based on taking a read through this thread (which is kinda how I got here to this thread to begin with -- my client and I are now contemplating his options up to and including having this mod built for him).. But clearly you want it spelled out, and for reasons only DrByte can speak to, he hasn't chosen to use those words explicitly.. (and THIS is what upsets you.. we all get it..)

DivaVocals:

Ya.. but you do appear to be bent out of shape for not getting a status update, and honestly I still don't see why.. Regardless as to whether you got a status or not, IF YOU wanted/needed this functionality, there is nothing precluding you from adding it.. Even if that means paying someone to build it for you.. I get that business decisions need to be made, but if it's critical, why wait?? Cost??

and before I get the small business/small budget speech.. The risk that one undertakes when relying SOLELY on free add-ons with no preparation/expectation that on occasion one may have to invest in the code they need to support ones business means that on occasion a shopowner may not get the functionality they want in a timeframe they would like..

You make a very valid point DivaVocals. If we are hoping to take advantage of someone else's work for free we really shouldn't complain if it takes a little longer to be able to use it. However, I have a post on the first page of this thread that is nearly a full year old (May 10) and I have regularly checked back throughout that time to see if any advances have been made. At the time that I made my post I was very worried about the difference between $5 a month and $35 a month for my business. Thankfully I am less worried about it now and will probably just switch to the Paypal Pro soon as it appears there is no specific time frame for PayPal Advanced.

Unfortunately, I chose Zen Cart in part because it was open source and because it looked like it would support PayPal Advanced. If I had known then that a year later I still wouldn't be able to implement PayPal Advance I would have gone with a different platform.

Does that mean the Zen Cart team are bad people for not providing me a free module sooner? Absolutely not. Does that mean I'm a bad person for assuming from the talk in this thread that work was being done on the module and it would be available soon? Absolutely not. :)

At this point it is cheaper for me to go with PayPal Pro than it is to pay a developer to switch to a new platform. That doesn't mean that I'm happy with the lack of communication about this project, it's just the way things are. I would have happily donated $35, $70 or even more to the development team to help get this module completed and I still would. Unfortunately, (and this is not unique to Zen Cart but is a problem for many open source projects) I've lost confidence in knowing what I can count on from the platform. Maybe it really will be cheaper for me (in the long run) to pay a developer to switch my site to a new platform if for no other reason than I can feel confident about the future of my website.

DrByte, even if it doesn't sound like it I really want to offer my thanks for all your work, it's much appreciated. And feel free to hit me up for a donation...seriously. I'm happy to donate to the cause but only if I can get some assurance that I won't be waiting for another year to see something. Because really...a year in eCommerce is similar to dog years...worth about 7 regular (human) years.

My apologies if this seems negative as I really don't like to be that way. However, it's been more than a year since DrByte said, "The module is not ready yet. It will only work with 1.5.0 and newer." which I interpreted to mean someone was working on the integration. I would have welcomed hearing then or anytime since, "Folks, we just aren't able to put any resources to this right now so don't plan on using PayPal Advanced anytime soon." At least then I wouldn't feel like I was a sucker for getting excited each time DrByte posted on this project.

Lastly...I realize I am lucky to be able to use Zen Cart for the amount I invested. I appreciate all the work that has gone into it and the generosity that allowed me to use it free of charge. That said please be more open about what we can expect in the future. A little bit of communication goes a long way.

It's not forgotten. Apologies for the delays. "Life happens."

I do read every post here on this subject.

I know you want updates. But then updates create expectations. And thus it's impossible to write posts that satisfy everyone. While sometimes "anything" is pacifying, oftentimes "nothing" is equally suitable. Let's not get into philosophical debates about whether there should be update every "so many days/weeks/months".

I'm posting this note to acknowledge everyone's interest. And to stop the negative back-and-forth chatter that happens from "lack of available information".

I'd prefer to have waited to even reply to this for a few more weeks, but if the last few weeks' discussion is any indication there will probably be a bunch of flame wars if I don't say anything today.

As for the module, I hope to post an update about the module in the near future. Can't commit to a specific date right now.

Thank you Drbyte you and your diplomacy are appreciated

I’ve read something’s here like what’s the point of this module. And here is the point from my understanding:
Using this module will allow you to customize the users experience, and virtually take any reference to PayPal out of the loop or at least play it down quite a bit. (IE: custom pages throughout the process) It is also the only way to do this and NOT have an SSL. If you go that route it is my understanding you have to deal with PCI compliance issues and the extra cost of the SSL. Using this module when it is completed will take the responsibilities of an SSL and bing PCI compliant out of your hands.
If anyone has knowledge to the contrary I’d love to hear more….
Thanks!

DrByte:

It's not forgotten. Apologies for the delays. "Life happens."

I do read every post here on this subject.

I know you want updates. But then updates create expectations. And thus it's impossible to write posts that satisfy everyone. While sometimes "anything" is pacifying, oftentimes "nothing" is equally suitable. Let's not get into philosophical debates about whether there should be update every "so many days/weeks/months".

I'm posting this note to acknowledge everyone's interest. And to stop the negative back-and-forth chatter that happens from "lack of available information".

I'd prefer to have waited to even reply to this for a few more weeks, but if the last few weeks' discussion is any indication there will probably be a bunch of flame wars if I don't say anything today.

As for the module, I hope to post an update about the module in the near future. Can't commit to a specific date right now.

SSL and PCI are not directly linked. Best practice is to use SSL regardless of whether you are collecting card numbers directly on your site.

18 months since PPA was introduced, 4 months since last update. I've read every post here. Clearly regardless of what one developer claims, there is a business demand for this.

What I don't see is how can we get this re-prioritized higher? It's silly to say "if you need it go pay a developer" because most of us use zen-cart to avoid that. However, most of us also understand ain't nothin in this world is free.

So how about setting up a donation link for this mod? Based on user interest I'm sure sufficient funds would quickly accrue. Set it up and provide a link and I'll donate first.

scottj:

What I don't see is how can we get this re-prioritized higher? It's silly to say "if you need it go pay a developer" because most of us use zen-cart to avoid that. However, most of us also understand ain't nothin in this world is free.Well the reality is that using Zen Cart doesn't guarantee that the functions you need will all be available for FREE (hence why there are MANY useful commercial modules that shopowners & developers WILLINGLY pay for..)

So whether you call it donations or whatever, if folks want this NOW, and they cannot wait, it may require a developer stepping up to do the work (for donations), and folks may in fact have to pony up some dough..

scottj:

So how about setting up a donation link for this mod? Based on user interest I'm sure sufficient funds would quickly accrue. Set it up and provide a link and I'll donate first.

I would donate as well. BUT really want it for V 1.3.9h if possible!!!
Let's make it happen! ^_^/

Damn Kitten:

I would donate as well. BUT really want it for V 1.3.9h if possible!!!
Let's make it happen! ^_^/

I highly doubt that if/when this gets finished that it will be done with any of the 1.3x series in mind.. Especially given that v1.6 is coming on the horizon.. That said it's a payment module, and it's very possible that it will in fact work with the later releases of the 1.3.x series..