Transaction ID mismatch

[Rhaithe]

Hi all

I have a number of sandbox add-to-cart buttons on my website. When I login to a sandbox customer and go through placing an order on my website, everything works perfectly. I have IPN set up, and that also works perfectly.

However, the transaction ID that is displayed to the customer at the end of the transaction does not match the transaction ID sent by IPN. Everything else matches up exactly. Is this a problem with the sandbox environment or does it mean I have something set up incorrectly somewhere?

[PayPal_Olivia · Accepted solution]

Hi Rhaithe, and welcome to the forums!

The transaction ID that the customer sees and the transaction ID that a seller sees are two unique numbers that indicate the same transaction. The information that the IPN is giving you would contain the seller's transaction ID.

Please come back and let us know if this answers your question!

Also, feel free to poke around and answer other people's questions in the Community. You've already shared that you use the sandbox for testing, so I'm willing to bet you know more than a few things about using PayPal. Others would love to learn from you!

Olivia

[Rhaithe]

Thank you for the prompt and clear response. It's nice to know that it wasn't a problem on my end.

For the life of me though, I can't imagine why paypal would do things that way. Is there some benefit to using two different transaction IDs for the same transaction?

If a customer wants to discuss an order, is there a way that I can retrieve the order based on the customer's transaction ID (I only receive the seller's transaction ID via IPN), or is it necessary to use customer email and transaction date instead?

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi Rhaithe,

Thanks for marking the question solved! I'd be happy to clarify further.

A transaction ID refers to a movement of funds. Your transaction ID represents a credit. The buyer's transaction ID represents a debit.

Additionally, the transaction ID serves as a reference point for the connection of associated actions. The way that a transaction appears in your history is, of necessity, different from the way it will appear in the buyer's account.

For instance, information regarding the fees is reported in connection with your transaction number, and information regarding the funding source is reported in connection with the buyer's. The system needs different reference points to make these associations within the system.

I hope this helps!

Olivia