3 ms·

Paypal has been terribly broken for 10 days and no one's talking about it

38 points by nickb 18y ago

JacobAldridge 18y ago
This is a good example of HN users linking to the original source, not just TechCrunch.Much more information, better written (because it's actually happening to Sean @ Clicky not just being reported about) AND it has important practical updates. Plus parts of http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=200028 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=200028 devolved into a conversation about Arrington.
jamongkad 18y ago
Ugh tell me about it. Paypal has got some of the worst customer service I've ever witness in my life. I've sent them several emails regarding the use of their services in other countries (the reason being we have some customers who work in Shanghai) and they're responses were either canned(which did not answer my question at all) or treated me liked an idiot and referred me to their documentation. Which by the way is in need of some work as well. They even had the gall to send me an email to rate their customer service!! PayPal FTL.
- iamdave 18y ago
  I'm curious, what else exists out there on the 'mainstream' as alternatives to Paypal?
  - tokipin 18y ago
    Google Checkout maybe? it might be only unidirectional at the moment
    - josefresco 18y ago
      Going from PayPal to Google Checkout is like trading in your GM for a Ford. Both have the same risks and the potential to royaly screw you in the end.
      - jamongkad 18y ago
        I think at this point in time Authorize.net seems to be the best choice. Feel free to correct me on this though.
tdavis 18y ago
I didn't think PayPal could lose anymore credibility, but they've managed to prove me wrong!
rrival 18y ago
Fix from the TC comments... "Here is the solution that we used: 1. install geoip on your server 2. find the country your customer comes from using geoip 3. include &country=customer_country in the paypal url your customers are sent to the country combobox will show the customer country as a default."
- sanswork 18y ago
  Also if you're using subscriptions do the same but instead of setting country set the lc variable on your form to the country you want.
reitzensteinm 18y ago
I'm using them for my latest release, and perhaps 20% of the time the servers 404 after a long delay: "We are unable to complete your request at this time. Please click Retry or try again later. We apologize for the inconvenience. Message 3004" Completely unacceptable, we're shopping around for alternatives. Unfortunately, I'm in NZ and Google Checkout isn't released here yet.
babul 18y ago
I stopped using PayPal a long time ago due to their appalling customer service and the fact they think nothing of screwing sellers even when the seller is clearly in the right. For example, in several (unrelated) cases I had items which were sent to buyers and had proof of delivery/receipt (sometimes I even received written confirmation from buyers to state items had been received and they were happy). However whenever these people made a dispute (usually 1day after they expected to receive the goods), PayPal ALWAYS refunded them. These disputes arose due to issues caused by shipping delays on international sales (and yes, I tell buyers several times during the order process on my sites that international shipping may be subject to minor delay at times especially during peak holiday seasons, so they should be aware of this). The only thing PayPal is afraid of is your Credit Card company. they frankly do not care about sellers as they know an unhappy seller will stay with them, due to market dominance, whereas an unhappy buyer will kickup a fuss (in worst case using thier card company to claim a chargeback) which will cost them time and money. Also, as they want to increase usage of thier service, they will usually find in favour of the buyer in a dispute as it is the sellers money they give away, not theirs, and hence for them it is a win-win situation (happy buyer, less headache for them) at the seller’s expense. Before worrying about the availability of their service, I would encourage seller to beware of the drawbacks of the service.
babul 18y ago
http://www.paypalsucks.com http://www.paypalsucks.com A MUST read for anyone using PayPal, even if you have never had a problem.
TrevorJ 18y ago
I've had really good luck with paypal personally. This current issue is a pretty big deal, but I find it tough to beleive he found no satisfaction with the on-phone support. Maybe they have gone downhill lately.
joanou 18y ago
Their sandbox really sucks. 404s galore. I decided to develop on their live site which has been more reliable. No my credit card bill is 10 pages and every transaction has a reversal. The documentation is lacking and inaccurate in many places. They don't consider these bugs so I was unable to provide them feedback. Their support staff acts like bugs and other issues are not that important. I asked if they could provide a list of PP bugs to the public so that I could mitigate, if possible, and they said no because it would make them look bad. I'd jump ship if there was another solution that provided the features.

38 points by nickb 18y ago

This is a good example of HN users linking to the original source, not just TechCrunch.Much more information, better written (because it's actually happening to Sean @ Clicky not just being reported about) AND it has important practical updates. Plus parts of http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=200028 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=200028 devolved into a conversation about Arrington.

jamongkad 18y ago

Ugh tell me about it. Paypal has got some of the worst customer service I've ever witness in my life. I've sent them several emails regarding the use of their services in other countries (the reason being we have some customers who work in Shanghai) and they're responses were either canned(which did not answer my question at all) or treated me liked an idiot and referred me to their documentation. Which by the way is in need of some work as well. They even had the gall to send me an email to rate their customer service!! PayPal FTL.

iamdave 18y ago
I'm curious, what else exists out there on the 'mainstream' as alternatives to Paypal?
- tokipin 18y ago
  Google Checkout maybe? it might be only unidirectional at the moment
  - josefresco 18y ago
    Going from PayPal to Google Checkout is like trading in your GM for a Ford. Both have the same risks and the potential to royaly screw you in the end.
    - jamongkad 18y ago
      I think at this point in time Authorize.net seems to be the best choice. Feel free to correct me on this though.

tdavis 18y ago

I didn't think PayPal could lose anymore credibility, but they've managed to prove me wrong!

rrival 18y ago

Fix from the TC comments... "Here is the solution that we used: 1. install geoip on your server 2. find the country your customer comes from using geoip 3. include &country=customer_country in the paypal url your customers are sent to the country combobox will show the customer country as a default."

sanswork 18y ago
Also if you're using subscriptions do the same but instead of setting country set the lc variable on your form to the country you want.

reitzensteinm 18y ago

I'm using them for my latest release, and perhaps 20% of the time the servers 404 after a long delay: "We are unable to complete your request at this time. Please click Retry or try again later. We apologize for the inconvenience. Message 3004" Completely unacceptable, we're shopping around for alternatives. Unfortunately, I'm in NZ and Google Checkout isn't released here yet.

babul 18y ago

I stopped using PayPal a long time ago due to their appalling customer service and the fact they think nothing of screwing sellers even when the seller is clearly in the right. For example, in several (unrelated) cases I had items which were sent to buyers and had proof of delivery/receipt (sometimes I even received written confirmation from buyers to state items had been received and they were happy). However whenever these people made a dispute (usually 1day after they expected to receive the goods), PayPal ALWAYS refunded them. These disputes arose due to issues caused by shipping delays on international sales (and yes, I tell buyers several times during the order process on my sites that international shipping may be subject to minor delay at times especially during peak holiday seasons, so they should be aware of this). The only thing PayPal is afraid of is your Credit Card company. they frankly do not care about sellers as they know an unhappy seller will stay with them, due to market dominance, whereas an unhappy buyer will kickup a fuss (in worst case using thier card company to claim a chargeback) which will cost them time and money. Also, as they want to increase usage of thier service, they will usually find in favour of the buyer in a dispute as it is the sellers money they give away, not theirs, and hence for them it is a win-win situation (happy buyer, less headache for them) at the seller’s expense. Before worrying about the availability of their service, I would encourage seller to beware of the drawbacks of the service.

babul 18y ago

http://www.paypalsucks.com http://www.paypalsucks.com A MUST read for anyone using PayPal, even if you have never had a problem.

TrevorJ 18y ago

I've had really good luck with paypal personally. This current issue is a pretty big deal, but I find it tough to beleive he found no satisfaction with the on-phone support. Maybe they have gone downhill lately.

joanou 18y ago

Their sandbox really sucks. 404s galore. I decided to develop on their live site which has been more reliable. No my credit card bill is 10 pages and every transaction has a reversal. The documentation is lacking and inaccurate in many places. They don't consider these bugs so I was unable to provide them feedback. Their support staff acts like bugs and other issues are not that important. I asked if they could provide a list of PP bugs to the public so that I could mitigate, if possible, and they said no because it would make them look bad. I'd jump ship if there was another solution that provided the features.