CCNow or PayPal

[donnatron]

Yeah, it messed up my order but I'm Canada so I have to use Paypal. I apologized to the lab in my subject line for all the abbreviations. I can't imagine why they imposed the ban--are people using Paypal to carry on torrid, bandwidth-gobbling conversations while they frequently exchange currency or something?

[bookandbroom]

Um, has anyone else noticed that Paypal now only lets you put 300 characters in? For bigger orders, it will be impossible to get them all into the comments field.

 

Am I the only one experiencing this?

 

It's driving me CRAZY. I have no idea what I'll do with the next CD update, since I do decant circles and ... they take a lot of characters!

 

Paypal. Bastards. *sigh*

[Tulliver]

I'd actually put my order through before I realised what was happening. I make my order out in advance and just copy/paste it, and I was suffering from early morning syndrome so didn't check properly until too late.

 

I had to email the lab with a copy of what had just been paid for since, of course, the money went through but the lab would have no idea just what I'd paid for. I also emailed PayPal and told them of the difficulties a drastically reduced character capacity in the comments field would cause to a lot of people spending a lot of money and asked them for an explanation. I haven't heard back from either yet, but it can take a couple of days for that, I know.

[Moryssa]

Ugh, this sucks. Especially since Irrelevant and Disturbing Crawdad Dream really eats the characters...

 

Heh. I just put "Crawdad Dream". I figured they could figure that much out.

 

I was also amused by the fact that the item code for Sturgeon Moon was "ONEFISHTWOFISH".

 

I didn't have a problem with my order this time, but it was fairly small (4 bottles). It is going to cause a problem for the folks who order like 10 bottles at a time as well as imp packs, though.

 

--M

[hadaverde]

<-- BPAL enthusiasts

 

<-- PayPal, sometime soon, if they know what's good for them!

 

I ended up including in the "notes field" only a list of the quantity, Product ID, and cost of each item I wanted to order (for example: "1 ONEFISHTWOFISH 17.50") and a line that said "please see my email to follow", then sent an email to the customer service address containing the full text of what my orders normally look like, along with the PayPal transaction ID, amount, etc.

 

What a pain.

[Tulliver]

Okay. I find this difficult to fully accept since it seems several of us have had the same problem, but this is the reply I just got from PayPal. I've just copy/pasted it and removed my name so it's word for word.

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal in relation to 'character allowance'.

 

I see that you have initiated placing an order using PayPal

and I understand you are having difficulties in doing so. In terms of

restoring the character allowance to a larger size, we are unable to do it

for you as it is system generated. Before you proceed, you may try deleting

cookies and cache first.

 

Like I say, I find it odd that this problem should strike so many of us at the same time, but I'll give it a go and see.

[eatingthesea]

i don't know why, but this paypal reduced-notes-section issue is really annoying to me -- and i haven't even experienced it yet! i would think that this will create a huge problem for many customer/e-tailer purchases...obviously not just BPAL-related. hopefully, if paypal continues to be dense about the very obvious problem, enough e-tailers will complain about the service that paypal will have an incentive to expand the section at LEAST a couple hundred more characters, geez!!

[Lycanthrope]

I'm particularly peeved if they're calling it a 'incorrigable systems-based error,' because... hello... like, YEARS of additional characters.

[mollyxus]

Okay. I find this difficult to fully accept since it seems several of us have had the same problem, but this is the reply I just got from PayPal. I've just copy/pasted it and removed my name so it's word for word.

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal in relation to 'character allowance'.

 

I see that you have initiated placing an order using PayPal

and I understand you are having difficulties in doing so. In terms of

restoring the character allowance to a larger size, we are unable to do it

for you as it is system generated. Before you proceed, you may try deleting

cookies and cache first.

 

Like I say, I find it odd that this problem should strike so many of us at the same time, but I'll give it a go and see.

 

OK. Am I dense? What the hell does that even mean? What does clearing your cache have to do with anything? Is this something they thought was a good idea for a day, then realized it is a bad idea and changed it back? Cuz that is the only way I can see cache-clearing as a fix.

 

Oh, god, I am pissy tonight I, too, am bothered by this new restriction. Why would they think this is a good idea?

 

ETA: I followed their instructions in both IE and Firefox and the limit is still there.

Edited July 19, 2008 by MollyX

[dronzeka]

Maybe Paypal thinks the problem is that their comments box won't reset to the full number of characters if the OP has deleted them? That is, they think her concern is that she typed in stuff, deleted it, and isn't getting all the characters back? Rather than the real concern, which is that they've restricted the comment box completely unmanageably?!?

 

But really, that e-mail is completely incoherent. How lame!

[Tulliver]

Maybe Paypal thinks the problem is that their comments box won't reset to the full number of characters if the OP has deleted them? That is, they think her concern is that she typed in stuff, deleted it, and isn't getting all the characters back? Rather than the real concern, which is that they've restricted the comment box completely unmanageably?!?

 

But really, that e-mail is completely incoherent. How lame!

 

You may have a point. I think they did misread my original email to them because I did tell them that I put the entire order through, paid, and THEN noticed the problem. Anyway I did what they suggested even though I knew it probably wouldn't do a bit of good, and I've now sent them this email in reply:

 

I have cleared my cache and cookies, as sugeested, but it has not made any difference. There is still a new 300-character limit in place on the comments field. I know of several people now who are having the same problem since the supplier we all have in common can only process orders from outside the US via PayPal, which means we need to include the entire order within the comments field.

 

This is only a new development. None of us experienced the problem before July 17th, but it is one that is causing MANY problems and may result in our shared supplier being unable to process orders from us anymore. Therefore we need the previous, much larger, character limit restored.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Here's hoping they get it now. *crosses fingers*

[ladyver]

yeah, i just discovered the new 300 character limit - i ordered 10 bottles - so there was really only room for a list of names - a number of which i had to use the short hand version to fit - there was definitely not enough room to include the usual details

 

paypal's first response to Tullivers email makes no sense whatsoever - will be interesting to see how they respond to your follow up email

[dronzeka]

Well, I e-mailed them myself - even though my order was so small that the character limit wasn't a problem for me! - and got this charming reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

 

Hello my name is Jane, I understand that you want to provide details of

your order however, the number of characters provided is not sufficient

to cover the information you want to make. I am happy to assist you with

your concern.

 

I take note of your concern, and we'll be happy to escalate this concern

in your behalf. Hopefully, in the future we can offer you more options.

 

We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and

wish you continued success on PayPal.

 

Um... yeah. That was helpful.

[ClareN]

Well, I e-mailed them myself - even though my order was so small that the character limit wasn't a problem for me! - and got this charming reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

 

Hello my name is Jane, I understand that you want to provide details of

your order however, the number of characters provided is not sufficient

to cover the information you want to make. I am happy to assist you with

your concern.

 

I take note of your concern, and we'll be happy to escalate this concern

in your behalf. Hopefully, in the future we can offer you more options.

 

We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and

wish you continued success on PayPal.

 

Um... yeah. That was helpful.

PayPal's help email system is awful. You always get a fast but meaningless reply that boils down to "There's nothing I can do about that." I had to call them to get any decent help last time I had a problem. They have a free help number so it might be worth calling up about it if you don't mind being on hold for a while. Maybe if enough angry people call they'll restore the old character limit.

[Tramp]

I complained to paypal as well and this was my reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

 

My name is Sheri and I will be happy to assist you today. I appreciate

the time you took to express your views on the number of characters

allowed in the comment field of your payments.

 

I am so sorry you are not able to include all the information you wish

to in your payment. PayPal does acknowledge all feedback from our

customers. I have forwarded your feedback upward and again I thank you

for the time it took you to submit that. Comments are valuable to us

and yours will be looked at for possible future changes.

 

Please have a great day!

 

We are committed to making your PayPal experiences pleasant and

fulfilling.

 

Sincerely,

Sheri

PayPal Consumer Support

PayPal, an eBay Company

 

 

I'm pretty sure that translates to - we will keep it just how it is, now fuck off and have a nice day.

[dronzeka]

I complained to paypal as well and this was my reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

 

My name is Sheri and I will be happy to assist you today. I appreciate

the time you took to express your views on the number of characters

allowed in the comment field of your payments.

 

I am so sorry you are not able to include all the information you wish

to in your payment. PayPal does acknowledge all feedback from our

customers. I have forwarded your feedback upward and again I thank you

for the time it took you to submit that. Comments are valuable to us

and yours will be looked at for possible future changes.

 

Please have a great day!

 

We are committed to making your PayPal experiences pleasant and

fulfilling.

 

Sincerely,

Sheri

PayPal Consumer Support

PayPal, an eBay Company

 

 

I'm pretty sure that translates to - we will keep it just how it is, now fuck off and have a nice day.

At least Sheri's reply was in reasonably decent English!

[scarletgenesis]

The thing that is particularly irritating about these responses is that none of them address WHY Paypal put these limits in. They're responding as if it was always this way or something.

 

If BPAL goes to another system of payment because of this (I thought I heard that there was at least one other similar system out there), Paypal will lose alot of money in fees.

 

 

Has anyone notified the Lab of this new development? As a company that does a LOT of business through Paypal, they might have better luck.

Edited July 21, 2008 by scarletgenesis

[angharad]

There's places like Revolution Money Exchange, but RME only links to bank accounts, so no CC payments. Google Checkout may be an option, and it has lower fees than Paypal (I believe).

[ClareN]

I'm sure the Lab is aware of it because of all the customers having to email their orders separately when the full order didn't fit in the comments box.

 

I doubt the Lab will stop using PayPal, but I'd be thrilled if they offered a PayPal alternative (for international customers). Aside from the fact that I've come to hate PayPal after trying to deal with their customer service, it would be cool if the Lab could find an alternative that would charge the seller a smaller fee, if such a service exists.

[eatingthesea]

I complained to paypal as well and this was my reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

 

My name is Sheri and I will be happy to assist you today. I appreciate

the time you took to express your views on the number of characters

allowed in the comment field of your payments.

 

I am so sorry you are not able to include all the information you wish

to in your payment. PayPal does acknowledge all feedback from our

customers. I have forwarded your feedback upward and again I thank you

for the time it took you to submit that. Comments are valuable to us

and yours will be looked at for possible future changes.

 

Please have a great day!

 

We are committed to making your PayPal experiences pleasant and

fulfilling.

 

Sincerely,

Sheri

PayPal Consumer Support

PayPal, an eBay Company

 

 

I'm pretty sure that translates to - we will keep it just how it is, now fuck off and have a nice day.

lol! i like the "please have a great day" part. please...PLEASE...try to have a great day, especially after receiving this shitty response from me! wow. what an unfulfilling job it must be to be a paypal help desk person. constantly moving requests for help "upward" (what exactly does "upward" mean, anyway? to the wizard of oz?) and never getting the satisfaction of resolving - or at least trying to resolve - someone's problem.

[gecko]

I've been using CCNow because PayPal is difficult and I don't trust it. What I would like to see is Beth move to Google Checkout. I use it with my business. Fees are low and you get a direct deposit into your checking account in a couple of business days. It would take a while to change over as BPAL's catalog is so huge but it would be worth it in the long run.

[sookster]

cc now question...

if you click on the order status and it says it has shipped,

has it "physcially" been shipped?

IIRC there was a thread somewhere that said something about

that not being the case...anyone?

[dzurlady]

cc now question...

if you click on the order status and it says it has shipped,

has it "physcially" been shipped?

IIRC there was a thread somewhere that said something about

that not being the case...anyone?

No, absolutely not. 'Shipped' means the lab had got the details of your order from CCNow. Your order will not have been posted from the lab until you receive a click and ship from USPS.

[sookster]

cc now question...

if you click on the order status and it says it has shipped,

has it "physcially" been shipped?

IIRC there was a thread somewhere that said something about

that not being the case...anyone?

No, absolutely not. 'Shipped' means the lab had got the details of your order from CCNow. Your order will not have been posted from the lab until you receive a click and ship from USPS.

 

aha!! thanks for the clarification =D

[cam]

Personally, I prefer CCNow over PayPal. I've noticed that orders I place through CCNow seem to get processed more quickly than my PayPal orders have. At the moment, I'm waiting on the CnS for SGA, Schwarzer Mond and Lune Noir. I placed the order via PayPal a few minutes after the update went live on 7/28, but I'm seeing posts in the CnS topic from people who ordered on 7/31 and already have a CnS. Of course, it might have nothing to do with PayPal, but it's a trend that I've noticed in my orders.

 

I think in the future, I'll just order through CCNow and use my PayPal debit card if I want to pay with PayPal funds.