Download History file

i4u
Contributor
Contributor

We have a BIG problem with the Downloaded History file and I'm very surprised nobody has this problem.

Problem: A customer create an order and specifies a shipping address, but the recipient name is different

from the customer name: This different name "is not part of the downloaded history file".

 

We have talked to customer service and their response is "yes, it is not available and it is your problem".

They also told us that we" will see the information that you need on the Email Notification that you received after the transaction is made". 

 

We transfer this downloaded file to our in-house system where we create the invoices and shipping labels and keep track of our inventory: this is supposed to be done without manual intervention.

 

It does not make any sense, the different name is on the "details" and should be easy to make it part of the history file.

 

We had over 400 transactions the other day, do we have to manually check  the individual Email notifications and pick up the new name and insert it in our system? No way.

 

It does not make any sense, the different name is on the "details" and should be easy to make it part of the history file.

 

I asked the customer service supervisor to put me in contact with somebody to try to solve the problem, but he told me that it was not possible.

 

Are we the only company in the world that has this problem?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

 

Pat Herman

 

 


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9 REPLIES 9

ShippingDoneCom
Contributor
Contributor

We use the download history file for out back end processing too.  I checked and we use the BuyerID (eBay username) as the customer name and then the Name field is just part of the transactions shipping address.  In our case using the BuyerID works better for us then customer name because it allows for easy cross referencing on eBay.  Just a thought. Hope this helps.

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i4u
Contributor
Contributor

We need the history from PayPal Web site Payments, no Ebay. I cannot believe that we are the only one needing the name for shipping at a different address!

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ShippingDoneCom
Contributor
Contributor

Your probably not the only person that needs the functionality added to the history file.  However paypal may never add the extra name to the history file.  Depending on what version of website payments your using and how your website and backend software is set up you may be able to accomplish what your after by linking data from the file to your website's database.  It's probaly quicker to become a master programmer and database engineer than to wait for PayPal to add the extra field to the history file.  But keep your fingers crossed, PayPal may work on that next, right after they fix multi-order shipping.

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i4u
Contributor
Contributor

Just found another extremely  smart  "feature" in the history file designed by a very competent  PayPal programmer:

the email address you get is "not the email address that the customer entered when he/she created the transaction", it

is the customer email address in the PayPal database (if there is one). We had quite a few transactions showing this

very smart feature.

 

We really like PayPal, easy to set up and buyers seem happy to use it. Customer support is OK for trivial things that can

be read from a script, but not for more complex questions.

 

When I asked why the two items in question are not in the history file, support says "those are non permanent items

in our database so we don't put them in the history file: I said, but they are available in the Detail part of the transaction, I can see the information any time I want, so why is not in the history downloaded file?  Reply: we just don't do it.

 

 We were told we could get that information from the email PayPal sends after the transaction is completed.

 

I would like to know how other companies "GET" the PayPal transaction data into their  own databases. Could somebody help?

Somebody mentioned that we could link to the PayPal database: does anybody know where  we can get more information so we  can link to it? (we have an Access database).

 

Thanks,

 

Pat

 

 

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PayPal_Frank
Administrator
Administrator

Hi i4u,

 

I'm sorry to hear about the issue. 😞  The name entered with the shipping address will be displayed in the history file column "Shipping Address".  You may need to turn that column on in the history download file settings:

 

customizehistory1.PNG

 

After clicking Customize Download Fields, we get this page:

 

customizehistory2.PNG

 

Then make sure both Single Column Shipping Address options are checked and click "Save" towards the bottom of the page.

 

It sounds like the History file is not the best option for the outcome you are looking for.  For maintaining a database of customer and payment information, many PayPal merchants use Instant Payment Notifications (IPN).  These notifications are automatically sent to your server which would then parse the information and store it in your own database.

 

You can learn more about integrating IPN here:

Introducing IPN

 

IPN notifications include the name associated with the shipping address:

Variable name: address_name

Description: Name used with address (included when the customer provides a Gift Address)

Length: 128 characters

 

and also a variable for the payer's email address:

 

Variable name: payer_email

Description: Customer’s primary email address. Use this email to provide any credits.

Length: 127 characters

 

If there is other information you would like to include along with the payment, we also offer a custom variable that can be set to whatever the merchant wants:

 

Variable name: custom

Description: Custom value as passed by you, the merchant. These are pass-through variables that are never presented to your customer

Length: 255 characters

 

These are just a few of the many variables that are included in an Instant Payment Notification.  You can see the full list of variables here:

 

IPN and PDT Variables

 

The email address the customer enters into PayPal is almost always the same email address that is on file with their PayPal account.  If the customer is going through Guest Checkout, the email address they enter into the billing form would also be the same email address on file with PayPal for that payment.  If you're collecting an email address on your website before the user is forwarded to PayPal, that information would need to be passed to us for that to be included in any IPNs or reports.  That would be one use for the custom variable I described above.

 

That also brings up another option that some merchants will use.  They will collect the customer's name, email and shipping address in their own shopping cart software before forwarding the customer and that information over to PayPal for checkout.  That way they can receive that information directly from the customer to update their DB.

 

You can find a list of PayPal compatible shopping cart solutions here:

PayPal Partner Directory

 

If you need assistance from a developer to integrate IPN, we also have a Developer Directory here:

PayPal Certified Developer Directory

 

I hope this information helps to find the best solution for business. 😄

 

- Frank

 

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i4u
Contributor
Contributor

Frank,

  Thanks for the information how to get the shipping name in the history file. Question, why the email address used by the customer when created the transaction is not in the history file?

 

Pat

 

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PayPal_Frank
Administrator
Administrator

@i4u wrote:

Frank,

  Thanks for the information how to get the shipping name in the history file. Question, why the email address used by the customer when created the transaction is not in the history file?

 

Pat

 


Great question. 🙂 The email address they use to log into their PayPal account is almost always the same email address that is listed in the History file.  If the customer was checking out as a guest, whatever email address they enter when checking out will also show in the History File.

 

The only time the email would be different is if the customer is logging into a full PayPal account using a secondary email address on file with PayPal.  In that case, they are logging in with one email address but the primary email address on the account would appear in the history file.  The primary email address is the email address the buyer designates as the primary email address for receiving communications from PayPal or about PayPal transactions.

 

- Frank

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i4u
Contributor
Contributor

Frank,

  I understand which email address is presented in the history file. My question is that since that the email address entered by the customer during the paypal transaction is in detail, why is not presented in the history file. I am sure there are people that would be also very interested in this "feature".

 

Thanks,

 

Pat

 

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PayPal_Frank
Administrator
Administrator

Hi i4u,

 

Sorry for my confusion. If I understand correctly you're stating that when a buyer goes through PayPal checkout and they use a secondary email address to log into their PayPal account, that secondary email address is showing in the payment details on the seller's account?

 

I just sent a test payment using PayPal Payments Standard and logged into PayPal using a secondary email address on the PayPal account.  I can confirm that the buyer's primary email address will show in the payment details for the seller and in the history file under the "From email" column.  The secondary email address is not displayed to the seller at all.

 

We appreciate your feedback and I'll make sure to let our product team know that it would be helpful to allow a seller to see a secondary email address if the buyer used that email address to log into PayPal when checking out. 🙂

 

- Frank

 

 

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