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PayPal Subscriptions - How do they work?

by Trivum
11 replies
I am looking to use Paypal subscriptions for something I'm selling.

Could someone with experience tell me how they work on my end and on the buyer's end?

On the Buyer's End: After they have purchased, and the time has elapsed, do they get an automatic notice BEFORE being charged again, or are they just charged again without any notice?

On My End: When they buyer completes the transaction, what happens for me? Do I receive an email with their email address, etc.?

Thanks.
#paypal #subscriptions #work
  • Profile picture of the author tehnolife
    Banned
    No they don't receive a notice...but they have the transaction that tells them that they will be charged in 1 month or what the cycle is. And you will set the cycle.You can set it every week,month,year,day.

    And yes, when somebody will purchase you will receive a mail from Paypal...and also with their paypal adress!

    Stefan Ion
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  • Profile picture of the author snapcontent
    If their subscription fails, Paypal will try and put it through several times, if you like.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lou Diamond
    Hello,
    I hate joining anything with paypal subsciptions as it is so hard to cancel down the road,
    you have to spend hours in order to find the original payment and then unsubscribe, a real pain in the neck.
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    Something new soon.

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    • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
      Nope - PayPal will automatically bill their account. Except in my case, they kept billing a customer and she never paid up, but I had to go into my site manually and suspend/cancel her membership. I guess I thought it would have done that on its own through the plugin I had, but evidently not.

      So if you see that a member hasn't paid up (i.e., you're getting notices of a lot of payment failures) go into your site and cancel their subscription before the failures go on for too long.
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      • Profile picture of the author Trivum
        Originally Posted by Rikki_Fawkes View Post

        So if you see that a member hasn't paid up (i.e., you're getting notices of a lot of payment failures) go into your site and cancel their subscription before the failures go on for too long.
        Is there some kind of consequence to having too many failed payments?
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        • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
          Originally Posted by Trivum View Post

          Is there some kind of consequence to having too many failed payments?
          I'm not sure exactly, but I think it may have had something to do with the fact that she was an "unverified" PayPal customer - though the payment worked the first time.

          The other thing that could have happened is that she might not have had any money in her PayPal balance and perhaps didn't have a backup source attached to the account, either. That's the only thing I can figure.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
          Originally Posted by Trivum View Post

          Is there some kind of consequence to having too many failed payments?
          Or did you mean a consequence as far as PayPal charging?

          Not that I know of. I didn't get dinged with any fees (which is amazing, seeing as PayPal seems to like to incur a fee at any given opportunity).

          I'm not sure if it penalizes the buyer's account or not, but my guess is, probably not.
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    • Profile picture of the author Trivum
      Originally Posted by Lou Diamond View Post

      Hello,
      I hate joining anything with paypal subsciptions as it is so hard to cancel down the road,
      you have to spend hours in order to find the original payment and then unsubscribe, a real pain in the neck.
      Well, I've got an "unsubscribe" button already set up on the site. I don't have any subscriptions, and so I don't know how it works exactly, but when I click on it, it takes me to the subscriptions section of my Paypal account. ... I imagine if I did have a subscription, it would just be a matter of clicking a button or two from there.

      Also, if Paypal doesn't send out reminders, I think I will. Just put them on an autoresponder to remind them two weeks ahead of time. ... Will probably have fewer renewals that way, but it seems the fair thing to do.
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by Lou Diamond View Post

      I hate joining anything with paypal subsciptions as it is so hard to cancel down the road, you have to spend hours in order to find the original payment and then unsubscribe, a real pain in the neck.
      Not anymore.

      1. Find the most recent payment you made in PayPal and click "Details."

      2. It will say "Subscription payment sent" with a unique transaction ID, then "See related" with a link.

      3. Click the link, scroll down, and you'll see a button that says "Cancel subscription."

      There were a lot of complaints about this, so PayPal made things much easier.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

        Not anymore.

        1. Find the most recent payment you made in PayPal and click "Details."

        2. It will say "Subscription payment sent" with a unique transaction ID, then "See related" with a link.

        3. Click the link, scroll down, and you'll see a button that says "Cancel subscription."

        There were a lot of complaints about this, so PayPal made things much easier.
        That's what I was thinking, too - although if it was a subscription you started long ago, you'll either have to fish for it or remember when you purchased it and try to find it in your transactions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
    Originally Posted by Trivum View Post

    I am looking to use Paypal subscriptions for something I'm selling.

    Could someone with experience tell me how they work on my end and on the buyer's end?

    On the Buyer's End: After they have purchased, and the time has elapsed, do they get an automatic notice BEFORE being charged again, or are they just charged again without any notice?

    On My End: When they buyer completes the transaction, what happens for me? Do I receive an email with their email address, etc.?

    Thanks.
    Oh, and yes, you'll receive a transaction email. When I get mine, I get two emails; one says "Automatic payment profile created for..." and "Automatic payment from ... was successful." Both of these include the buyer's name and email address.
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    Learn how you can get paid writing online with NO startup money! I will help you make part-time or full-time income as a freelance writer at http://getpaidwriting.org. No previous writing experience necessary!


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