paypal keeps losing shopping cart

[CBGG1]

Hello,

I run a little website (www.greatergoods.co.uk) with Paypal as the only option for paying. I am being contacted by customers who are saying that when they click 'add to cart' a new browser pages opens up with Paypal and adds the item to the cart ( so far so good). When they go back to the website and add another item however, this item does not get added to the cart that is already there, but Paypal opens another window and starts a new cart. So it seems to forget that this customer already has a product in their shopping trolley.
This does not happen to all customers, some are ordering without any problem. I gather that it has something to do with cookies and possibly with the server, but I would love to hear from anyone who can shine some more light onto this. Many thanks, Christine

[CBGG1]

Hi Chris, I have contacted Paypal a number of times, but they just do not reply to my emails, or as they call it ' the communication timed out' :). I will try again via the forum with a new post. I will keep you informed should there be a breakthrough. Good luck! Chist

[ClareF]

I have experienced the same issue for weeks now. I have tried to explain to my customers but I know I have lost several new customers online. Many have been getting in touch to tell me the problem. 

Any news about a resolution? 

I read I needed to change the target. but that hasn't fixed it. 

<form target="paypal" 

 I then tried <form target="_self" 

The PayPal merchant help replied with this: 

I tried to add items into the cart using iPhone and the button always added the items. I then tried to checkout and could see all of my selected items, I attach a screenshot.
(screen shot shows them adding items)
I see the button does not have any target value, which is fine:
form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"
I did other tests but can't reproduce the same behavior. I believe is something related to the phone used, an app or conflict with something on that phone. Try with a different one or try to upgrade the iOS / Android version as might be that is running a previous version of the latest.

Still not fixed. 

I sent them this feed. 

Clare

[Meanteam]

Hi Clare. I really don't believe it's the fault of the device we are using as I've experienced variations of the problem on two different Android devices, a Mac, two different Win 10 laptops at different locations, an iPad and of course all of the various customers who have reported the problem to my client as well as your own. PayPal support have requested a video of the problem from my client. If only they would properly test this by clearing all PayPal cookies before starting a test session and adding products to the cart, they would see the problem immediately. Cheers, Chris

[CBGG1]

Hi Chris and Clare,

I raised a ticket with technical support and received the following email back:

"We replicated the issue on safari browser and escalated the steps to product development team. They have stated the issue is related to cookies and are working on it. I will follow up with the internal team and update you with more information as it becomes available. "

I have let them know that it does not just happen on Safari, and will let you know as soon as I get something sensible back from them.
Fingers crossed!

Christine

[Meanteam]

That is fantastic news Christine! Thanks so much for letting us know. Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution. Cheers, Chris

[CBGG1]

Hi Rod, welcome to the club!  Please lodge a ticket with Paypal technical support, that seems to be the only way to get them to take it seriously. You can do this on their support pages (https://www.paypal-techsupport.com/s/?language=en_US) and click 'contact us'. Keep us informed! Good luck, Christine

[rodbrewer]

We are seeing the same thing at whistlesmith.com - using Chrome and Firefox - item gets replaced instead of being added. Works in Safari on Mac - but Chrome / Firefox no go.

But just started  to happen as well.

[Calvin17]

Hello all,

I have been having the same problem with my website www.nookysnuts.com (motorcycle fasteners - nuts & bolts - nothing obscene)

I have tried changing all the buttons <form target=_blank> <_self> target etc etc, but no joy.

I can only replicate the problem on various browsers on my windows 10 machine if I do not accept cookies.

Most of my customers buying old motorcycle parts are over 60 years old, so they can just about get onto my website to place an order. I ask them what browser they are using and they think I mean what search engine they used to find my website! So I am not going to have any luck finding out how they are getting the problem.

I have lost a lot of customers because of this! And Paypal are not helpful.

Someone mentioned refunding excess postage each time - that is not an option for me, most my items are £1.60 and by the time I get a 30p paypal charge for each item, my profit is practically zero.

Hoepfully this gets sorted!

[CBGG1]

Hi,
I am sorry to hear that you are having this problem too. Please open a ticket with Paypal technical services and describe the problem to them. The more of us tell them about it, the more likely they are to pay attention. Let us know if you find a workaround or if your problem is solved. Many thanks, Christine

[ClareF]

I have had a response and once again they are blaming my website code. Email received below. Hello Clare I was referring to the link for the white page that includes only the PayPal button. Anyway I checked your website and I see many Add to cart buttons which I clicked from my iphone using Safari and it actually redirected me to the PayPal payment page so I found no problems on that. If there is any button with problems it must be related to the style of the page or sometimes even to the CSS z-index property which could make elements non clickable. You should check this with your developer for whom should not take long to fix. Kind Regards Pablo PayPal MTS