Beyond the Paypal 20% limit?

[peterhuk]

Hi Jason,

Before I get started I just wanted to say you are just a stones throw away from making
S2Member into a fully blown shopping cart. In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that
I had a number of button combination's which would have required about 4million
static buttons.

After creating a dynamic button creator I can now show all 20+ option and have the
customer select what they want. Once they have clicked my checkout button
(using my function and the new S2Member encryption) a final secure Paypal Button
is create on my checkout page.

I’m sure you can develop a similar system for S2Member like you have done with
S2Member Pro and provide it free or charge a reasonable amount. This would save
me from the worry of any update incompatibilities and provide you with another
income stream.

Anyway that’s not why I’m here. What I would like to know is, using the paypal
API is it possible for you to incorporate a cancel and update feature. The reason
Being that Paypal’s 20% max price upgrade rule is not particle.

Scenario:

I have a system which provide a range of subscriptions ranging in price from
5.00 to 20.00+

Now I expect most customers to initially subscribe to a combination of the cheaper
options, let say 3 * 5 = 15. If later they decide to add a 20.00 feature
Paypal will not allow it as it is above the 20% rule.

This is not a new issue, from their forum numerous Paypal user have complained about
this restriction. The forum has mentioned a workaround https://www.x.com/thread/41748?tstart=30
but I suspect this would require an S2Member core update to implement.

If you are able to provide this feature (via a Paypal API to cancel then upgrade) to circumvent the
20% restriction it would be an invaluable feature for people offering multiple services. And would
definitely be worth another donation.

Many thanks

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the KUDOS!
~ much appreciated.

This feature is available with s2Member Pro Forms.
You can generate a Billing Modification Form, which allows a Member to upgrade/downgrade. In the routine that s2Member processes, the existing Recurring Profile is terminated, and a new one is created to take its place. Thereby avoiding this limitation all together. This also works with Express Checkout, so you don't even NEED to have a PayPal Pro account for this to work.
See video: http://www.s2member.com/video-pro-intro/

The issue remains with PayPal Standard integration though.
Awaiting resolution from PayPal.

[peterhuk]

Hi Jason,

I have reread your response and I notice you have stated that using
S2Member Pro I can avoid the 20% limit when using Paypal standard
Is that correct?

If so “Yippee” you just made another sale of S2Member Pro. But
A few further questions:

1, I have got these Paypal buttons down to a fine art, I have a menu
full of options that a customer can select from then convert selected
to a paypal button using a few functions and your encryption system.
Will I have to change all this to take advantage of the S2Member Pro?

2, I only use S2Member level 1, any modification will only consist of
the addition or subtraction of member capabilities. Will this
cause any problems with modification i.e the S2Memeber
modification section only seem to be interested in actual user
level modification.

3, (the cheekiest question) I am developing this at home
on my personal PC i.e php and mysql ect hosted at home
before installing on a external hosted service. Will I need a
single site license or multi site license?

Many thanks

Pete

[peterhuk]

The final question I forgot to ask.

If a member pays quarterly (every three months) and then upgrades
halfway through, does the system give a refund for the remaining
time or discount the new amount to reflect the customer previous
payments?

How is the scenario handled?

Pete

[Jason Caldwell]

Hi Jason,

I have reread your response and I notice you have stated that using
S2Member Pro I can avoid the 20% limit when using Paypal standard
Is that correct?

If so “Yippee” you just made another sale of S2Member Pro.

Yes, that is correct. With s2Member Pro, you can avoid the 20% rule.

1, I have got these Paypal buttons down to a fine art, I have a menu
full of options that a customer can select from then convert selected
to a paypal button using a few functions and your encryption system.
Will I have to change all this to take advantage of the S2Member Pro?

I'll be careful how I answer this. It's not a huge deal, because s2Member Pro Forms also use Shortcodes, and the primary difference between the Shortcode for PayPal Buttons and Pro Forms, is the Shortcode name itself ( i.e. [s2Member-PayPal-Button /] vs. [s2Member-Pro-PayPal-Form /] ).

Most of the Attributes passed in to these Shortcodes are identical. That being said, the concepts are entirely different. With s2Member Pro, you're generating Forms that are displayed on your site. With the free version, you're just building Buttons.

2, I only use S2Member level 1, any modification will only consist of
the addition or subtraction of member capabilities. Will this
cause any problems with modification i.e the S2Memeber
modification section only seem to be interested in actual user
level modification.

The modification process is enhanced with s2Member Pro. I can't think of anything you can do with Buttons that you can't do better with Pro Form integration. In the latest version of s2Member ( including the Pro version ), it is possible to use a (+) sign at the beginning of your list of Custom Capabilities. This allows a site owner to add Custom Capabilities to any that already exist. In the latest version, click the [?] icon next to the field for Custom Capabilities and you'll find details/examples of how to do this.

3, (the cheekiest question) I am developing this at home
on my personal PC i.e php and mysql ect hosted at home
before installing on a external hosted service. Will I need a
single site license or multi site license?

Yes, that's fine to do that. There is nothing in the plugin that will prevent this. So long as you're testing the software in a *development* environment that is not open to the public, you'll be operating within the terms of our licensing agreement. http://www.s2member.com/prices/

[Jason Caldwell]

The final question I forgot to ask.

If a member pays quarterly (every three months) and then upgrades
halfway through, does the system give a refund for the remaining
time or discount the new amount to reflect the customer previous
payments?

How is the scenario handled?

Pete

No, all that happens is that any future billing on the previous plans stops, and a new set of rules governing the updated Recurring Profile go into effect. So the old Billing Plan is terminated, and a new one takes its place with a new set of rules that you configure whenever you generate a Button or Pro Form.

s2Member never issues a refund, and it never does any prorating, or anything like that. Given the number of possible scenarios in this situation, we find it's better to give control to the site owner in this regard. Using the Button and/or Pro Form generators, you can give Customers some free days, or provide them with a discount for upgrading. We've also seen a few site owners put together some creative conditional checks in PHP, which might work in conjunction with the technique described here:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1604