Still failing with PayPal Sandbox

Hi,

I have a PayPal Sandbox correctly correctly configured. I can send payments between accounts and the transactions are correct. Yesterday I set up Sandbox payments with Akeeba Subscriptions and that worked fine.

There are three email addresses:
a real-world email address used to create and manage the sandbox: e.g, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
a sandbox seller account: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
a sandbox buyer account: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Normally the sandbox has to be open before processing transactions.

The new URL is:

www.sandbox.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

With Akeebasubs the registering user was sent an email to the sandbox buyer account. This is not a real-world account (even though the domain is) so the mail bounced back to the Website's Admin real-world email address. Once bounced the activation link could be clicked (as if it had been received by the new registrant).

In Hikashop I don't get this behaviour and the screen pauses at the message:

Your account has been created and an activation link has been sent to the e-mail address you entered. Note that you must activate the account by clicking on the activation link when you get the e-mail before you can login.
Upon clicking on the activation link, your account will be activated and you will be able to continue your order.

The registrant cannot receive an email but the admin should still see the bounced email.

I have this in the PayPal plugin (not PayPal Pro):

URL:

• www.sandbox.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
• E-mail: seller_12345@real-world-account.com

Can someone tell me where I'm going wrong please?

PHP 5.3.20, Joomla 2.5.9, Hikashop (free edition)

Thanks,
Ric

Post Script: the easiest workaround is to create a real-world account for the sandbox buyer. Now the buyer receives the activation e-mail.

Hi again,

The next hurdle is that having received the activation email and clicking on it the user is presented by what looks like a repetition of the original order page. The message across the top says:

"Your Account has been successfully activated.
The cart is empty"

The user then goes through the process again - where the quantities can be changed. Only then is the add to cart button displayed and payment proceeds correctly.

I understand this is a two stage process:

1. Registration / Activation --> producing an order
2. Payment processing

Would it not be overall better to not choose products at stage 1 and simply call this registration / account verification (because this is what it does by verifying the email address) and a separate stage 2 where a) an order is placed and b) the order is confirmed when payment has taken place? At the moment the two stages seem muddled.

Or is this a configuration problem?

Still not right yet... suggestions?

Thanks,
Ric

Yes, I see that now.

The reason for verifying email is that when a transacion goes through the user account will be created at the default for the site - usually Registered - but will still require activation. Without that step a new customer could cancel payment and still be registered with both enabled and activated = true.

I started using the example product + menu example in the documentation - I think perhaps at public level the first thing would be to subscribe. After verification a separate purchasing process can take place.

The reason for this long-winded approach is that I want to enable Premium Content with Akeebasubs and for that I will create a separate post because that too is having teething troubles.

So far everything is working correctly. Very impressed.

Thanks,
Ric