jetson Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Hi all, So far this software looks great... I am not that sure how the IPN works and I need to know what do I put in where is says "PayPal IPN Notify URL"? Once I have the above URL correct, what happens when I run a test? Will I get an email or how do I know if it tested correctly!!! I have looked for these answers and didn't find them so any help is appreciated, Earl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielford99 Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Hi, Sorry this is not an answer to your question, but a question from me!. I have PayPal installed and I thought everything was fine with my site until I sold my first item. I received the payment but didn't have a clue what the payment was for!. I keep hearing about this IPN contribution but I haven't a clue what to do! Any help would be brill. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMoebius Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 (edited) I am very new to osCommerce, but I do have extensive experience using PayPal's IPN. Here's some information that might help: PayPal will notify you via e-mail when money has been sent to you. It will send an e-mail to the address you used when you set up your account. This is nice for people who only sell one or two items on eBay, but for those who run e-commerce sites may need more than just an e-mail. That's where IPN comes in. In addition to sending an e-mail, PayPal can send an Instant Payment Notification (IPN). It will send this notification to the URL you specify, the "PayPal IPN Notify URL" you mention in your message. This URL is the path to a script you or someone else has written in PHP, ASP, JSP, etc. There are plenty of free scripts out there, but you do have to customize them to your specific needs. PayPal sends the details of the transaction to the IPN script. What details you ask? Well, if you are using PayPal's shopping cart (which I'm sure osCommerce does not), it will send you a list of the items purchased. Again, this is only if you use PayPal's shopping cart. You can put "Add to Cart" buttons on your site and let PayPal keep track of the cart for you, but, of course, osCommerce does this already. If you are using PayPal's shopping cart, the IPN your script receives can update inventory levels, etc. in your database. It can also activate subscriptions if that's what you are selling. In the test that I have done thus far, it appears as if osCommerce simply uses PayPal to collect the total amount owed, so your IPN script will just receive that information, the amount that was sent to your PayPal account. I'm sure you can, however, go into the administration area of osCommerce to see the detail of any orders placed. I am just getting into osCommerce and I think it's wonderful, mainly since it's free. I am planning on using PayPal to start and see if it works out with potential buyers. I think PayPal is great, especially since they just removed the requirement that a buyer must have a PayPal account in order to use the service. If PayPal doesn't work out, I will look into getting a merchant account. I hope this helps. Chris Edited April 21, 2004 by CMoebius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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