Question

I am developing a website in PHP that accepts PayPal payments. It uses the IPN from PayPal and has a custom payment template etc etc. It all works great through the Sandbox server but when it comes to showing my client, I don t want to have to tell them to login to/create a Sandbox account, create a buyer account and make a payment - he hasn t got time for that and probably won t be able to do it.

Therefore, my question is - is there any simple way that I can show my client the PayPal integration in "test mode" without him using the sandbox? I realise that I can set the transaction value to 0.01 and just test on the live PayPal server but that isn t an ideal solution.

Cheers!

Edit: Just to better explain what I mean, this is what my client sees when he first goes to checkout;

alt text http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2545/67913734.png

As you can see, he has to login to his Sandbox account before then purchasing the item using the buyer email that he sets up. It s just confusing and totally non user-friendly.

Answer 1

Unfortunately there isn t a way around this problem via paypal. Their sandbox will always require you to be logged in to actually demo.

Here are the solutions I have taken especially with remote clients.

Use Skype or similar service so I can share my screen as I demo how it works. This solution seems to work fairly well, and eliminates the need for them to take the extra steps required.
When working on something I want to quick demo for a client and get their take, I have started using http://www.jingproject.com/ It allows me to make a quick video of the process. It uploads it to their server and provides a url I can send the client to watch what I did.

Wish I could provide a more elegant solution.

Answer 2

What I d do is integrate with the actual PayPal live site and use real money. The great thing is you can refund the transaction (including the fees) so nobody pays anything. I believe the refund timeframe is 30 days, but there s no reason to wait too long and risk it. The added advantage is that you get to prove to your client that the PayPal integration really works.

If there s a concern with littering the seller account with test transactions and refunds then go ahead and set up a separate seller account. It s quick to set up as long as you don t expect your test account to be receiving thousands of dollars.

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