We looked into it, but it's not going to happen.
The problem is that PayPal's authorization system is designed for paying for items that ship pretty much immediately. As with credit cards, an authorization is opened when you place an order, and gets closed when the order ships. But unlike credit cards, PayPal expires payment authorizations quickly (in a matter of days, whereas credit cards authorizations can stay open for weeks), and they limit the number of times you can reopen them, and they limit the amount of time they can be reopened after the initial transaction. Worst of all, if you have too many authorizations that expire without being closed, they say they'll close your account.
In short, this means that subscriptions, preorders, backorders, and even some plain old out-of-stock items that we have to order from our distributor would take too long to fulfill for PayPal's authorization standards, so we can't use them until that changes.
However, if I understand correctly, PayPal has a credit card program open to US residents that lets you effectively use your PayPal account anywhere that accepts MasterCard.
You might want to check out PayPal's Plug-In program, which easily generates a single-use "Secure Card" number that works exactly like a MasterCard from our end, but draws from your PayPal account.
(The Plug-In is, I'm told, Windows only, but users of other OSs can get Secure Card numbers from PayPal.com without using the plug-in—it's just not a one-click operation.)
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PayPal plugin is only available in the US.
Thanks for the quotes, mwbeeler. :)
Master Card gift cards... also US only, as far as I know as I've never seen them here in Canada (we just recently, in the last couple of years, got the prepaid MasterCard things, where in the US you've had debit/credit combined cards for a long time - why they can't do that in Canada is a mystery to me...).
Anyway, my FLGS accepts my debit card or the archaic "paper money" transactions. :)
Ok, so I broke down and tried this; someone has to be the guinea pig, right? This plugin is awesome. An online retailer was having a sale and doesn’t take Paypal, but I didn’t feel like running downstairs to get my wallet (lazy-man!), so I thought, hey, perfect time to play with the plugin.
The bad:
1. It’s really not good at receipts (it basically just screenshots the page you happen to be looking at).
2. I worry about browser security (so I turn the plugin off when I’m not using it).
3. It tries to fill in random info boxes wherever I surf (see above about leaving it off).
The good:
1. It is incredibly easy to install (closes your browser, but your shopping cart stays in the cookies, so no starting all over, which was nice).
2. It autofills the address and shipping info.
3. It generates a random, one time use credit card (Mastercard) number within seconds, but draws the funds from your paypal account (oh, and it autofills the fields).
4. If you like, you can have it generate a multiple use Mastercard for a single website that operates for up to two years (so you could drop a Paizo paypal subscription on it).
I still need to look into if it requires any additional fees, but so far, I’m sold. Slick alternative from the folks at Paypal.
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Too bad I don't have a credit card, since Paypal doesn't work and I avoid buying the stupid german translations of Ulisses I won't ever get to play Pathfinder...
There are non-credit cards that work with Paizo (and other online vendors). Ask your bank if they're offering any cards that are suitable for online purchases - I live in Poland and I have two such non-credit cards that work just fine with Paizo store.
(bonus feature: since they're not credit/debit, I have full control over how much I spend using them!)
Ahh, I was looking for something like this line of concern.
My bank tells me that Paizo has bounced my account for the last three months because they charge the account to see if there's money in the account, then don't take the money and then take the money on the day they batch process. Thus if I have money in the account when there's the first charge, it's OK and says that they'll take money out when the product ships. But since it says the product will ship between x - Z days, things happen and when the final amount is deducted it doesn't clear. My bank said I need to either cancel my subscriptions, use PayPal or give a fake/old credit card number, show the process as cancel and then give the correct credit card when I get a notice that says that the payment wasn't processed.
Since I'd rather not do this is there a way to have the payment processed at a certain time? Or is my best interest going to Walmart and getting their credit card and putting money on it so that it takes directly from there when there's actual money on it?
You can also buy a gift certificate for approximately what your subscription charge plus shipping will be the day before verification, that way you can control when the money leaves your account.