Why do payment modules work the way they do?

[tobybailey]

I am confused as to why our Paypal payment module (Website Payments Pro hosted official from the addons - http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/8481) works in the way it does with our OSC 2.3.3. I would post this question in the paypal section but in fact I notice RBS Worldpay works in the same way.

 

These modules deal with payment methods that are going to take details and confirm payment after the osCommerce "Checkout Confirmation" page.

 

They do this:

 

(1) On *loading* checkout_confirmation.php they write an order to the "orders" table with a "preparing" status, but write nothing to the "orders_staus" table.

 

(2) On checkout_process (after the customer has pressed "Conform Order") they write an entry into the "order_status_history" table *and empty the customer's cart*.

 

(3) If the customer manages to pay, the order status is updated to pending. If however they do not manage to (Paypal being unreliable), they get understandably angry and have to refil their cart to try again. The admin gets clogged up with orders where the customer has either failed to pay or chosen not to, and some where they have never even confirmed it.

 

Now I can not see any reason at all to record an order in the "orders" table before a customer has confirmed it. And it would seem much more sensible to write the "provsional" entry into "orders" after they confirm and then empty the cart and enter the order status history once they have successfully paid.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

I'd be grateful for any help.

 

Toby

[zefeena]

Hi, I use the paypal express checkout module (already loaded into 2.2.1, you just choose to install it). I do not get these issues. Until a customer pays, no order is recorded. They can choose express checkout or the normal checkout button, all orders on the new site, have ALWAYS completed successfully (with the old one, it sometimes failed, I got their money but the basket did not empty nor the order log). It does have its own issue, if you choose express checkout it shows an incorrect postage value (the most expensive!), presumably as it doesn't know where the person is, so that creates a few emails, but other than that its all good.

[tobybailey]

Kellie,

 

Thanks. But I think that way takes paypal payment only - doesn't allow credit cards?

 

Toby