[ic] RE: PayPal working with IC (changed to PayPal info)?

[Julia Jacobs]

On 2/21/02 9:30 AM, "Jason Kohles" <jkohles@redhat.com> wrote:

> A PayPal module has not been created simply because the structure of
> PayPal is difficult to integrate with Interchange.  Major design changes
> will need to be made in the way that Interchange handles payment
> processing in order to deal with the PayPal requirement that a customer
> leave the site to go to PayPal, and then may or may not return.
> 
> I've put some work into this integration, but of course paying customers
> will have to come first, which means that any work I do on a PayPal
> module gets done as my time allows.
> 
> -- 
> Jason Kohles                                 jkohles@redhat.com
> Senior System Architect
> Red Hat Professional Consulting              http://www.redhat.com/

Jason,
Can you give me an estimate on how much you would need dollar wise to
integrate PayPal functionality into Interchange in the 4.9 two week upgrade?
I was quoted by a Red Hat support gentlemen once @ $200 per hour.  I think
that was for support, though.  I don't know what the development pricing is.
I believe there are enough folks on this list who would be willing to pool
together some change to see this happen.
If not, I'd still like to have an estimate. I have a client that I promised
PayPal compatibility in her shopping cart because I was going to use
OScommerce (another Open Source *nix E-Commerce App) which has PayPal
features, but was convinced by a friend to try Interchange due to its great
template features.  Now I'm PayPal - less but I have to deliver for my
client.  I'd also like to be able to offer Interchange driven apps with
PayPal compatibility in the future.
As far as PayPal's shortcomings go, my thoughts are as follows:
PayPal moves $10,000,000 over the Internet a day and has 500 people in their
support department (according to a report I saw on Tech TV).  This means
that if there are any problems, chances are you will get an e-mail.  They
used to have three people in their support department.  So don't count on
great support.
PayPal is super secure, but they cannot guarantee that the person you are
purchasing your goods from is not a crook.  Because your money comes out of
your checking account and not from a Credit Card, you cannot call Master
Card or Visa and complain that you were swindled or sold a faulty product.
So its probably a good idea to get the sellers phone number, address, and
anything else you need to feel better about the seller before making the
sale.  I'd actually never make a large purchase with PayPal.
Sellers who can afford a merchant account but who use PayPal due to the fact
they are such tightwads they don't want to pay the $30 monthly fee and the
%2 merchant charges and then gripe when PayPal freezes the account when too
many customers flood their account with invalid transactions do not have my
sympathy.  In my eyes they are abusing PayPal.  PayPal is for merchants who
cannot afford a merchant account.  Not for merchants who are making $30,000
a day on-line.  There was actually a storey of a guy suing PayPal because
PayPal froze the guys account and he could not get his money due to PayPal's
sloooooooow support.

In a nutshell:
PayPal is great for small on-line transactions.  Don't use it as a merchant
if you can afford a merchant account, or use it in conjunction with a
merchant account as an alternative option, but put a friendly disclaimer by
your PayPal logo about their support problems.

Wait till the dust around PayPal's IPO settles and I'm sure the support
issues will sort themselves out!

My 2¢

Julia Jacobs
Currant Media
407-977-4523
Fax 407-261-0176
http://www.currantmedia.com
Members of The Better Business Bureau
* Multimedia Producers
* Web Design & Development
* 2D/3D Graphics/Animation
* Hosting, domain and e-mail
* E-Commerce ­ check, credit card validation