Paid subscription problems

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  • Ludachris
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2002
    • 312

    Paid subscription problems

    I've been having trouble with some of our paid subscriptions - most auto renew just fine but some don't and I can't find a pattern with any of the ones that don't. The payments are being made in Paypal, but vB simply isn't logging it so it's not receiving the communication from Paypal. I went through and made sure the API settings were correct and changed the IPN URL in Paypal from my domain to example.com, as has been suggested by others and in the documentation. I've read over and over that the IPN URL is not required by vB, yet you cannot delete the URL field, as Paypal requires something to be there. So I entered the following URL, character for character without changing it to match my domain:
    http://www.example.com/forums/paymen...?method=paypal

    I'm also finding that on the paid subscription ordering page there is no "Buy Now" button to finish making the payment. It's simply gone. I reverted all of the templates just in case to see if that brought back the purchasing button but it hasn't. I also figured that it might have had something to do with changing the Paypal IPN URL so I changed it back and it had no effect. I'm sort of stuck here. Does anyone have any idea what would make the order button disappear on the ordering page (/forums/payments.php?do=order)? It would seem that it's a problem with Paypal communication. What steps can I take to test and troubleshoot all aspects of the communication between Paypal and vB besides the Test Communication link? I just tried that test and am not getting the Passed result like I did before I changed that IPN URL - I tried changing the URL back to what it was before and it still didn't past the test. What other special situations should I check for? Any list of add-ons that might conflict with paid subscriptions? I have a bunch of add-ons and can't really afford to turn them all off and reset vb to stock to try and track down the problem.

  • BirdOPrey5
    Senior Member
    • Jul 2008
    • 9613
    • 5.6.3

    #2
    To quickly check whether it is an add-on issue you can disable them all at once by editing your config.php file-

    To disable the plugin/hook system open your config.php which can be found in your forumroot/includes directory

    Just below
    Code:
    <?php
    enter
    Code:
    define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);
    and save the file.

    If you would like to enable the plugin/hook system again, either remove the line again or simply comment that line out. To do so, add two forward slashes " / " so it will look like

    Code:
    // define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);
    Next time you would like to disable the plugin/hook system again
    you simply have to remove the " // ".

    I would suggest doing this at a quiet time on your forum and check to see if the "Buy Now" button comes back, if it does then the issue is definitely because of a modification.

    Comment

    • Ludachris
      Senior Member
      • Feb 2002
      • 312

      #3
      Problem is, I'll have to disable hooks and then wait for a subscription to renew to properly test the issue. That means we'll either have to keep the site live for the members and have them complain about all the features not working due to the plugins being off, or leave the site off until a subscription payment is made and then hope that this means all payments are now fixed, since we've seen that some payments are going through but not others. Ughhh, this sucks.

      Comment

      • BirdOPrey5
        Senior Member
        • Jul 2008
        • 9613
        • 5.6.3

        #4
        I use a family member's paypal account to test subscriptions and then refund them when I'm done (assuming they charge goes through.) It would be annoying waiting for someone- maybe there is someone who trusts you to refund their money you can ask?

        Comment

        • Trevor Hannant
          vBulletin Support
          • Aug 2002
          • 24325
          • 5.7.X

          #5
          Alternatively, create two paypal accounts with different email addresses and create a subscription and a short subscription.
          Vote for:

          - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
          - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

          Comment

          • Ludachris
            Senior Member
            • Feb 2002
            • 312

            #6
            Still can't get Paypal to communicate with the server. I disabled all hooks, set default templates to a stock style, and tried to Test Communication. It is not passing. I've contacted the host to see if there is something preventing the communication between the server and Paypal. I logged into the server and tried pinging Paypal and get no data back. Not sure what to check next. I've sent Paypal a note to see if they can help. Our host hasn't found anything wrong with the server config. Anyone have any suggestions?

            Comment

            • Ludachris
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2002
              • 312

              #7
              Here's a quick question that any developer should be able to easily answer - if there is a communication problem between my server and Paypal, would that cause the Paypal "purchase" option to disappear on the Payment Method page (payments.php?do=order) for the subscription? Meaning, I can see all of the active subscriptions for the site. But when I choose the subscription and click Order, it takes me to the ordering page and it shows the pricing info but now button to actually purchase. If Paypal is the only method that's active and there is a problem with Paypal communication, would that "buy it" button not appear? Or is this a separate issue?

              Comment

              • Zachery
                Former vBulletin Support
                • Jul 2002
                • 59097

                #8
                There has never been a buy it now or buy it button.


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                There are only two new areas for paid subscriptions when its enabed. A link under the User's Control Panel / Settings page, and the page itself.

                Comment

                • Ludachris
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2002
                  • 312

                  #9
                  It looks a little different in 3.8.X but it's the Order Using Paypal button that's missing. I had disabled all hooks and tried viewing in a stock style over the weekend with no changes. Would this have anything to do with the site not being able to communicate with Paypal (the Test Communication link isn't passing). I wouldn't think so. I've confirmed the Paypal API is acting in admincp.

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                  Comment

                  • Zachery
                    Former vBulletin Support
                    • Jul 2002
                    • 59097

                    #10
                    The test communication link isn't working?

                    Comment

                    • Ludachris
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2002
                      • 312

                      #11
                      The link works, but there is no checkmark in the circle when I do the test, so it looks like the site isn't communicating with Paypal. I'm checking with Paypal to see if they can help. I've confirmed all my settings are correct after checking all the suggestions in the forums and in the docs. My host can't find anything in the firewall settings or server config.

                      Should failed communication with Paypal cause that ordering button to not show up?

                      Comment

                      • Zachery
                        Former vBulletin Support
                        • Jul 2002
                        • 59097

                        #12
                        Check your phpinfo, and see fi curl and or curl with SSL is available.
                        Also check for any disabled functions.

                        Comment

                        • Trevor Hannant
                          vBulletin Support
                          • Aug 2002
                          • 24325
                          • 5.7.X

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Ludachris
                          The link works, but there is no checkmark in the circle when I do the test, so it looks like the site isn't communicating with Paypal. I'm checking with Paypal to see if they can help. I've confirmed all my settings are correct after checking all the suggestions in the forums and in the docs. My host can't find anything in the firewall settings or server config.

                          Should failed communication with Paypal cause that ordering button to not show up?
                          I know this sounds silly, but check with Firebug (or similar) and see if the image file call is there but the image is missing or can't be loaded
                          Vote for:

                          - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
                          - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

                          Comment

                          • Zachery
                            Former vBulletin Support
                            • Jul 2002
                            • 59097

                            #14
                            Double check your payment api for paypal as well, make sure that your email addresses are listed correctly.

                            Comment

                            • Ludachris
                              Senior Member
                              • Feb 2002
                              • 312

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Zachery
                              Check your phpinfo, and see fi curl and or curl with SSL is available.
                              Also check for any disabled functions.
                              cURL is installed, not sure about cURL with SSL. Virtual Directory Support and Thread Safety are disabled.

                              - - - Updated - - -

                              Originally posted by Zachery
                              Double check your payment api for paypal as well, make sure that your email addresses are listed correctly.
                              They are correct. I've even tried changing the primary account email in Paypal and updating it in vB just to see if that had any effect. Nope.

                              - - - Updated - - -

                              Originally posted by Trevor Hannant
                              I know this sounds silly, but check with Firebug (or similar) and see if the image file call is there but the image is missing or can't be loaded
                              Would I be doing this when I click Test Communication? or when?

                              Comment

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