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Adding buffer for unknown shipping

Scott Forsyth Dynamicweb Employee
Scott Forsyth
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Is it possible today to add a buffer to the payment authorization amount for an unknown, like shipping? Maybe of our B2B sites calculate the shipping with freight companies after the order has been placed, and they tell the customer on the website that it will be calculated afterward. However, if the customer pays with credit card, we need an authorization that covers the unknown shipping amount.

Is there a recommended way to have the authorization be higher than the amount of order? For example, authorized for $20 more than the order. The final capture will be somewhere between the order amount and the authorized amount.

 

Scott


Replies

 
Nicolai Pedersen
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Hi Scott

We do not have built in support for that - and not sure it is legal (not in DK/EU anyways). Another problem is that the order total in many gateways are part of the checksum - so we would have to manipulate quite some things to get this working, or add a 'secret' product/reverse discount to the cart and let that flow through the system - and maybe hide it. It might also be simple to add - would have to investigate that a bit further.

Another approach that is used by many in our region is to simplify shipping cost. 2-3 different prices depending on weight/volume and then it is win some/loose some, but keeps things simple and a lot of time and money saved - scandinavian style, and a hard sell - I know.

BR Nicolai

 
Scott Forsyth Dynamicweb Employee
Scott Forsyth
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Hi Nicolai,

Yeah, we would have to give a message to the user that we're authorizing for more than we're showing in the total so that it's not all secretive. 

Let's sit on this for now, but I may come back to you about this. We had it come up twice recently, and one project that we recently started requires a solution for this. However, now that I write this, I wonder why we don't just have the site have a larger shipping amount with a note that it will probably be less. That makes it more up front to the customer. We did explore this during the workshop, but I'll try again to go that direction instead. 

In this case, they don't believe that they can simplify the shipping rates because they have some unknowns with large shipments and such a wide range of destinations. 

Scott

 
Nicolai Pedersen
Reply

Ok, let me know if we need to dig further.

They can simplify shipping, but they wont. :-)

 
Scott Forsyth Dynamicweb Employee
Scott Forsyth
Reply

That is true. :-)

 

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