Pre-authorization of credit card with Paypal??

[jefferis]

A client recently asked me about adding a "charge when item is shipped" option to her Web Pro account in Paypal. Is there a way that eCart can use this system?

https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=developer/howto_admin_authcapture

If so, is there documentation?

Jeff

[Ray Borduin]

There is no documentation that we provide, but you should be able to use the paypal documentation and implement it with eCart if you are familiar with how the paypal system works.

[jefferis]

There is no documentation that we provide, but you should be able to use the paypal documentation and implement it with eCart if you are familiar with how the paypal system works.

Hi Ray,
This is the phrase that concerned me:
"You must capture and void orders and order authorizations with the Authorization and Capture APIs. You cannot process order authorizations through the PayPal website. The PayPal website only supports processing basic authorizations, not order authorizations."

It appears you have to go outside the system and use hand coded API's to create the authorizations, and I'm wondering if that is just beyond the capabilities of integration into eCart... which from my experience sets up automated transactions (only?) with Paypal...


Jeff

[Ray Borduin]

That just means you can't use paypal standard and you need to use their pro API. Ecart will function perfectly well in this environment, but you would need to be familiar with the paypal API. The difficulty won't be in getting the eCart portion working.

[jefferis]

Thank you Ray. Although I've developed in eCart and Paypal before, but for one who has not delved into this feature, can you explain to me in simple overview terms the work flow for how this function would integrate into eCart? For example, I developed a shopping cart using the client database of items, set it to check out through paypal as usual, using the website pro system... I presume all the calls and the functions were part of the API, ( but the sandbox was a TOTAL mess and waste of time. Could never get it to work).
So, how would eCart work in this situation. It makes a call to paypal but it has to ask for a preauthorization and not a purchase... so do I have to hand code that into the eCart call system? Not sure how knowing that there is an API means I know how to use it with WA's eCart... Is there a function within eCart panels, like setting the shipping amounts by weight and the shipper, or is it completely hand coded?
TIA,
Jeff

[Ray Borduin]

I haven't done it, so I'd have to do research to be sure. I imagine it is the exact same process as direct payments and you just have to change a parameter to mark it as authorize instead of payment and then it returns a transactionID. You then store that transactionID as part of the order summary and on the admin back end you have a section to process the transaction which passes the transactionID and tells it to complete payment.

Most of the code is probably there if you know php you could look through it, but the necessary updates are directly in the code, not in any interface you could click through.