book

PayPal Hacks

by Dave Nielsen, Shannon Sofield, Dave Burchell

September 2004

Beginner to intermediate

368 pages

10h 25m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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About the AuthorsContributorsAcknowledgmentsShannon SofieldDave NielsenDave Burchell
Why PayPal Hacks?Getting Started with the Code in This BookServer-Side ScriptingClient-Side (Browser) ScriptingDesktop ApplicationsDatabase Coding and Platform ChoicesFurther StudyHow to Use This BookHow This Book Is OrganizedConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesHow to Contact UsGot a Hack?
Introduction: Hacks #1-91. Create a PayPal Account2. Verify Your PayPal Account1.3.1. Add a Bank Account1.3.2. Confirm an Account and Get Free Cash3. Confirm Your Mailing Address1.4.1. Expanded Use Enrollment1.4.2. Confirming a Second Address4. Pay When You’ve Forgotten Your Password5. Restore Your Account if It Has Been Limited1.6.1. Filing an Appeal1.6.2. A Last Resort1.6.3. Avoiding Suspicion1.6.4. See Also6. Create a Separate Login for Each Employee1.7.1. Adding a New User1.7.2. Setting Privileges1.7.3. Adding an Administrative Account1.7.4. Responding if Something Goes Wrong7. Access Member Information1.8.1. Looking Up a User’s Status1.8.2. Understanding the User Status1.8.3. Checking Your Reputation as a Seller1.8.4. Checking Your Reputation as a Buyer8. Manage PayPal Email1.9.1. Setting Up Multiple Email Addresses1.9.2. Using Different Email Addresses1.9.3. Filtering Your Incoming Email1.9.4. Setting Notification Preferences9. Get Help from PayPal1.10.1. Email Support1.10.2. Telephone Support1.10.3. Support Forums1.10.4. eBay University
Introduction: Hacks #10-1610. Send Money to Anyone2.2.1. Sending a Payment via Email2.2.2. What If They Don’t Sign Up?11. Choose How to Fund Payments2.3.1. Overriding the Funding Source Hierarchy2.3.2. eBay-only Payment Methods2.3.3. Buying from Outside the USA12. Use Your PayPal Funds Anywhere13. Pay from a Cell Phone2.5.1. Sending Money2.5.2. Checking the Payment2.5.3. Requesting Payment with a Text Message14. Pay Seller Fees when Buying2.6.1. Calculating the Fees Yourself2.6.2. Covering the Recipient’s Fees Using Mass Pay15. Send Money Without Creating a PayPal Account16. Dispute Merchandise Payments2.8.1. PayPal Buyer Protection2.8.2. Buyer Protection Etiquette2.8.3. Can I Get My Money Back?2.8.3.1. Does PayPal just take the buyer’s word?2.8.3.2. What does significantly “not as described” mean?2.8.3.3. Where does the refund come from?2.8.3.4. What happens to bad sellers? I want justice!
Introduction: Hacks #17-27Upgrade to Business ClassSet Your Payment Receiving PreferencesIdentify Yourself to Your Customers17. Request Money the PayPal Way3.5.1. Requesting Money from Multiple People3.5.2. Sending Custom Requests to Multiple Recipients18. Ask for Money in Your Own Way3.6.1. Creating a Request URL3.6.2. Choosing the Best Approach19. Request Money Without an Account3.7.1. See Also20. Get Your Money3.8.1. Withdraw Without Withdrawing3.8.2. Transfer to a Bank Account3.8.3. Auto-Sweep3.8.4. Just Send Me a Check3.8.5. Get Paid to Use the PayPal Debit Card21. Refund a Payment22. Quick-Link to Transaction Details3.10.1. Where to Get Transaction IDs3.10.2. Making a Web Interface23. Lower Your Seller Fees3.11.1. Apply for the Merchant Rate3.11.2. Ask for eChecks3.11.3. Receive Money into Your Personal Account3.11.4. Enroll in the PayPal Money Market3.11.5. Use the PayPal ATM/Debit Card3.11.6. Let Your Customers Pay24. Protect Yourself from Buyer Fraud3.12.1. Qualifying for Seller Protection3.12.2. Checking the Buyer’s User Status3.12.3. Conducting a Little Reconnaissance25. Protect Yourself from Chargebacks3.13.1. Protecting Yourself3.13.2. Shipping Products3.13.3. Responding When You Receive a Chargeback3.13.4. Providing Additional Information About Your Case26. Avoid Chargebacks on Digital Goods3.14.1. Shipping a Physical Version3.14.2. Thinking Outside the Disk27. Handle Merchandise Disputes Effectively3.15.1. First Response3.15.2. Preventive Maintenance
Introduction: Hacks #28-4428. Create a Buy Now Button4.2.1. The Code4.2.2. Hacking the Hack29. Use a Custom Button Image4.3.1. Preparing the Image and Code4.3.2. Button Design 10130. Create a Purchase Button for Services31. Create an Auction Payment Button4.5.1. The Easy Way4.5.2. Making Your Own Button4.5.3. Hacking the Hack32. Provide Purchase Options with Drop-Down Listboxes4.6.1. Hacking the Hack33. Include More Than Two Option Fields34. Override Shipping and Handling Preferences35. Build Notification Tracking4.9.1. Hacking the Hack4.9.2. See Also36. Hack-Proof Your Payment4.10.1. The Code4.10.2. Hacking the Hack4.10.3. Plan B: Obfuscate Your Button Code37. Hack-Proof Your Buttons with Encryption4.11.1. OpenSSL and Keys4.11.2. Basic Button Encryption Using OpenSSL38. Include Payment Buttons in Email Messages4.12.1. Creating PayPal Payment Hyperlinks4.12.2. Using the PayPal Payment Wizard4.12.3. Including More than One Button in an Email39. Hide Your Email Address from Spammers40. Accept Donations4.14.1. Establishing Suggested Giving Levels4.14.2. Requiring Information from Your Donors41. PayPal-Enable Your Flash4.15.1. Snap in the PayPal Connection4.15.2. Hacking the Hack42. Get More Out of Dreamweaver and PayPal4.16.1. Drag and Drop eCommerce4.16.2. Hacking the Hack43. Provide Options with ASP.NET Web Controls4.17.1. Using the .NET Payment Controls4.17.2. Creating Your Own PayPal Control44. Try Accepting Payments in a Bogus Currency
Introduction: Hacks #45-5045. Hack Shopping Cart Buttons5.2.1. Hacking the Hack46. Create Shopping Cart Links5.3.1. The Code5.3.2. Shortening the Link47. Specify the Size of the Shopping Cart Window5.4.1. The Code5.4.2. Hacking the Hack48. Deal with Design and Layout Issues49. Put Both Cart Buttons in One Form5.6.1. The Code5.6.2. The Right Tools for the Right Job50. Integrate a Third-Party Shopping Cart with PayPal5.7.1. Aggregating Your Cart5.7.2. Uploading Shopping Cart Details to PayPal5.7.3. Adding Additional Items5.7.4. Hacking the Hack51. Customize Checkout Pages5.8.1. Using Multiple Custom Page Styles5.8.2. Getting the Most from Custom Page Style Banners52. Display the Merchant Transaction ID on Your Return Page5.9.1. The PayPal Button Code5.9.2. Creating Your Return Page53. Remember Your Customers5.10.1. Tracking Buyers with Cookies5.10.2. The Return Page5.10.3. Cookies at Work5.10.4. Hacking the Hack5.10.5. See Also54. Create a Dynamic Storefront5.11.1. Creating the Storefront Database5.11.2. Building the Template5.11.3. Including Product Details55. Add Dynamic Storefront Details5.12.1. Adding More Product Information to Your Table5.12.2. Product Details Page5.12.3. Hacking the Hack56. Insert Dynamic Images5.13.1. Inserting the Image5.13.2. Link the Image to PayPal57. Build an Order-Tracking Page5.14.1. Asking the Question5.14.2. Getting the Answer5.14.3. Hacking the Hack58. Offer Discount Coupons5.15.1. Accepting Coupons on the Client Side5.15.2. Hacking the Hack5.15.3. Verifying Coupons on the Server Side59. Increase Search Engine Exposure5.16.1. Modifying the PayPal Button Factory Code5.16.2. Hacking the Hack60. Sell Digital Goods with PayLoadz5.17.1. See Also
Introduction: Hacks #61-6461. Sell Subscriptions to Your Online Content6.2.1. Creating a Subscribe Button6.2.2. Setting Up Your Database6.2.3. Processing Subscriber Notifications6.2.4. Controlling Access to Your Valued Content6.2.5. Hacking the Hack62. Offer Tiered Subscriptions6.3.1. Creating a Premium Subscription Button6.3.2. Adding a Tier Field to Your Database6.3.3. Inserting Tier Information with Each New Subscription6.3.4. Restricting Access Based on Tier6.3.5. Encouraging Subscribers to Upgrade63. Time Your Subscriptions to End on Specific Dates6.4.1. Hacking the Trial Period6.4.2. Hacking the Hack64. Manage Subscription Passwords the Easy Way6.5.1. .htpasswd and .htaccess6.5.2. Getting the Code6.5.3. Adding Users Manually6.5.4. Hacking the Hack6.5.5. See Also
Introduction: Hacks #65-86What IPN and PDT AreHow IPN WorksAdvantages of PDT65. Receive Instant Payment Notifications7.5.1. The Code7.5.2. Running the Code66. Troubleshoot Instant Payment Notifications7.6.1. Adding Email to IPN7.6.2. Using a Return URL7.6.3. Capturing Errors7.6.4. Using a Third-Party Testing Script67. Send a Purchase Confirmation Email with IPN7.7.1. The Code68. Process Shopping Carts with IPN7.8.1. The Code7.8.2. The Results69. Use IPN with eBay Listings7.9.1. The Code7.9.2. The Results70. Track Your eBay Products with IPN7.10.1. Preparing Your Database7.10.2. Listing the Item Number on eBay7.10.3. The Code71. Deliver Digital Goods with IPN7.11.1. The Code7.11.2. See Also72. Deliver Digital Goods with a Return Page7.12.1. Augmenting the PayPal Button Code7.12.2. Creating an IPN Page7.12.3. Building the Return Page73. Implement Price Checking with IPN7.13.1. Simple Price Checking with Single Item Purchases7.13.2. Price Checking for Shopping Cart Purchases7.13.3. Sending a Price Check Alert74. Provide an Order Summary with IPN7.14.1. The Code75. Upsell Your Customers7.15.1. The Return Page’s Job7.15.2. The Code7.15.3. Running the Code76. Enable Multiple IPN Pages7.16.1. The IPN Multiplexer7.16.2. Turning off Secondary Verification to Eliminate Extra Postings7.16.3. Hacking the Hack77. Use Mass Pay to Create an Affiliate System7.17.1. Creating Your Business Model7.17.2. Building a Button for Your Affiliate7.17.3. Recording Referred Purchases7.17.4. Notifying Your Affiliates7.17.5. Paying Your Affiliates en Mass7.17.6. Hacking the Hack78. Manage Your Inventory with IPN7.18.1. Updating the Inventory Count7.18.2. Creating the Selling Page7.18.3. Alerting Yourself if Inventory Is Low79. Display Donation Goals on Your Web Site7.19.1. Recording Donations7.19.2. Building the Donation Page7.19.3. Hacking the Hack80. Display a Recent Donor List7.20.1. The Donation Button7.20.2. The Database Table7.20.3. The IPN Page7.20.4. The Donation Page7.20.5. Hacking the Hack81. Capture Customer Information with IPN7.21.1. The Database Table7.21.2. The IPN Page82. Insert Payment Details into a Database with IPN7.22.1. The Database Table7.22.2. The IPN Page83. Insert Cart Details into a Database7.23.1. The Database Table7.23.2. Single-Item Purchases IPN Page7.23.3. A Shopping Cart IPN84. Track Google Referrals7.24.1. Modifying Your Google AdWord Placement7.24.2. Setting up Your Selling Page7.24.3. Creating Your IPN Processing Page7.24.4. See Also85. Process Payments like a Credit Card with PDT7.25.1. PDT in Action7.25.2. Tracking Your Users: Before and After7.25.3. Retrieving the Order86. Synchronizing PDT and IPN7.26.1. The Code7.26.2. Hacking the Hack

Introduction: Hacks #87-1008.2. Create a Developer Account87. Set up the Sandbox8.3.1. Creating a Sandbox Account8.3.2. Confirming Your Sandbox Email Addresses8.3.3. Verifying Bank Accounts in the Sandbox8.3.4. Adding Funds (and Getting Rich Quick)88. Make Your First API Call8.4.1. Setting Up the SSL Certificate8.4.2. SOAP-Enabling Your Application8.4.3. Getting Started with PayPal’s APIClient Tool8.4.4. Setting up a Test Transaction8.4.5. Making Your First Call89. Create a Wrapper Class for Your API Calls8.5.1. Handling the Basics8.5.2. Creating Your Own Certificate Handler90. Use the PayPal API Wrapper Class91. Refund Payments with the API8.7.1. Running the Hack8.7.2. The Results92. Handle Transaction Errors within the API Wrapper8.8.1. Using the Error Handler93. Retrieve Transaction Details with the API8.9.1. The Code8.9.2. Running the Hack94. Search for PayPal Transactions8.10.1. The Code8.10.2. Running the Hack95. Hack the API Wrapper8.11.1. The Code8.11.2. Running the Hack8.11.3. Importing into Quicken and QuickBooks96. Issue Payments en Masse with the Mass Pay API8.12.1. Setting up the Request8.12.2. The Code8.12.3. Running the Hack97. Pay Affiliates and Suppliers on a Schedule8.13.1. The Code8.13.2. Running The Hack98. Search eBay for Listings that Accept PayPal8.14.1. The Code8.14.2. Running the Hack8.14.3. Hacking the Hack99. Test IPN and PDT in the Sandbox100. Go Live8.16.1. Performance and Efficiency8.16.2. Finishing Up