Many "Success" E-mails Ensue Following Purchase

[leanne.dalderis]

Hi there,

I configured this plugin according to the documentation and performed a live test transaction (not PP Sandbox) using the "Test" document that comes pre-installed and the default download profile. Everything on the PayPal end worked fine. Then, I started receiving the payment success e-mails with the download link. Unfortunately, I received 7 consecutive identical Payment Success e-mails. Is this a common issue? Please let me know if this is too vague or if you would like to access the site to have a look. I'm not sure if this has something to do with the Joomla e-mail configuration or the Nice Paypal extension or something else. As I type this I have just received an eighth payment success e-mail! It seems to be on a constant loop or something.

Thanks!

[Michael]

Hi,

This is not normal behavior. The extension only sends a notification email when it receives a PayPal IPN message. Generally, PayPal will only send one message and this will trigger the extension to send one email in turn. So, now you need to isolate the culprit. My guess is that it's your mail server. But, you should run a quick test to rule out PayPal. Try this:

1. Log in to your Joomla site's back end/administrator area.
2. Go to Components>>Nice PayPal Downloads>>Settings.
3. Scroll to the very bottom and tick the IPN Log check box.
4. Save your changes.
5. Run another test purchase, in the same manor you did your first one.
6. Wait for the transaction to process, then go to Components>>Nice PayPal Downloads>>IPN Log
7a. Do you see multiple records for the same transaction.
7b. If you do, then it means PayPal is sending you multiple IPN messages for the same transaction and causing the extension to spawn multiple emails.
7c. If you only see one IPN message, but are receiving multiple emails, then you know that the issue is with Joomla or your server. You may need to contact your host's tech support and have them take a look at the server's email logs. They will be able to give you more insight, or possibly fix the issue, if it is server related.
8. Make sure to turn off the IPN Log after you are finished testing. It's just for testing and could cause issues in a live environment.

~ All the best

~ All the best

[leanne.dalderis]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your reply. I followed the steps you outlined and put another test transaction through. The IPN log shows multiple records (IPN responses) for the same Transaction ID. The status is Message Accepted. From your instructions I guess this isolates the culprit. What is the next step? I should note that I have attempted to set up the extension using a PayPal Standard account so I have not actually been able to configure any IPN settings (as per the extension documentation) on the PayPal side of things. I suspect this might be a problem. It would be unfortunate if this extension can't work with PayPal standard.

Anyway, let me know how to proceed.

Thanks!

[Michael]

Hi,

The Nice PayPal Downloads extension was designed for PayPal standard. It even uses PayPal standard buttons. PayPal really pushes people to sign up for PayPal Pro. So, often folks contact PayPal customer support they are told to upgrade to PayPal Pro. This is of course not necessary. What is necessary is a PayPal Premiere or Business account. But, no doubt you already have one of these types of accounts. Was there a particular reason that you were unable to set up IPN messaging in your PayPal account, as outlined in the documentation?

Check to make sure the extension's IPN script is not showing any major error. Go to http://yoursite.com/index.php?option=co ... n&task=ipn

Do you see any errors? If so, this could be causing PayPal to log the IPN messaging attempt as failed. Which might cause them to resend the message. Also, Check your IPN history in PayPal, My Account>>History>>IPN History. What is the status of the sent messages?

Also, I looked through the PayPal HTML Button variable list for one that would tell PayPal to limit the amount of IPN messages it sends out. I did not find one. You should contact PayPal and let them know that their IPN system is flooding your site with the same message over and over. They may be aware of a setting in your account or a variable that can be sent with the button form submission that will limit this behavior. Or, if it is a glitch in their system, they may be able to correct it.

~ Best regards

[leanne.dalderis]

Hi,

I actually had not upgraded the account to a Premier account, so that is why I couldn't set up the IPN. Thanks for letting me know about this. I have now upgraded to Premier and set up the IPN so that's all good.

After I set up the IPN I tried another test transaction and still got multiple confirmation e-mails, although this time I was able to consult the PayPal IPN History and saw that the status was "Retrying". Then I thought that it might be retrying because the site was offline. So I switched the site online and performed another test transaction. This time it worked and the IPN status for the new transaction was "Sent". Furthermore, the previous transaction's IPN status went from "Retrying" to "Sent" following putting the site online. So I guess that was the problem. I don't know if it makes a difference, but for others who might encounter this issue, I am using Joomla 2.5.

If the issue pops up again I will re-post in this thread.

Thanks for your help!

[Michael]

Hi,

This is super news! I am so happy that I was able to help you in resolving this issue. I think it is interesting that PayPal was sending IPN messages even though your account type prohibited it. It must be a small gliche in their system.

Yes, when your site is offline, the IPN script cannot properly respond to PayPal's messages and let PayPal know that the message was received. Normally, this won't be an issue because when the site is in offline mode, buyer's won't be able to make purchases. So, IPN messages won't be sent.

Anyway, it's great to hear that everything is working smooth now.

~ Enjoy

[colpc]

Thank You ( leanne.dalderis ) !
You just saved me from tracking down same issue ...
Emails were flying in and driving me nuts... offline Whoo Da thought ..

Gotta love Forums and people who submit fixes ... Well Done !