What do you think is happening with my customer?

[Guest]

I've experienced an unusually high number of attempted checkouts recently, where the customer hits PayPal and never completes payment. A large number of orders with the status of PayPal IPN Pending, in other words. They try, they hit PayPal...then something happens and they leave.

 

A customer wrote to me this morning and asked for help. I believe he's in France, and he says this:

 

I am trying to buy 3 magazines. So when I confirm my order it leads me to the paypal site to record my bank card, but I have already recorded it because i had already bought magazines before. So when i enter my credit card informations it said that these informations already exists so i know that. I don't understand can you help me.

 

He's bought from my site a few times before using PayPal and had no problem.

 

What do you think is going on? Does it have anything to do with PayPal's recent upgrades to their own website?

 

It seems very hit and miss to me with some of the attempted orders. For example, I've seen people come in one day and end up with PayPal IPN Pending (the order never paid for) and the next day...they come back to the website and try it again and then it works. I finally get a real order with the status of Processing, and their payment. Is it PayPal or is it, possibly, my IPN module? I'm using version 1.1.

 

Any advice or help is much appreciated!

[dynamoeffects]

The PayPal IPN process is confusing for an average online shopper. Many are surprised to find themselves at another website asking for their financial information, so they just move on to the next store.

 

Unfortunately the only real solution, as I've said many times in the past, is to keep them on your own site and to complete the checkout process there. That involves getting merchant account/payment gateway if you can. The minor monthly costs will be made up in increased sales.

[squalid]

customer is probably trying to register a new account with paypal instead of logging into old one