[Plugin: WP e-Commerce] Problems

  • Problems that MUST be addressed before this plugin can be taken seriously

    I originally posted this message on the Instinct forums, but the moderators deleted it. Apparently they don’t take too kindly to constructive criticism.

    Here’s the message, in more-or-less its original form:

    —–

    Dear WP e-Commerce plugin developers,

    While I applaud you for the tremendous amount of work you’ve put into this plugin, there are several issues that must be addressed before this plugin can be taken seriously:

    1) Google Checkout is broken. Seriously. As evidenced by many posts on your forum, many people (myself included) have tried and failed to get Google Checkout to work, with the only result being the dreaded “Oops! We are unable to process your request” error message. And before you ask, YES, we have set shipping countries on the Google Checkout gateway configuration page. It still doesn’t work. It’s astounding to me that anyone has ever gotten this feature to work.

    Until integration with Google Checkout works, and works well, it should be marked as “Experimental” (or removed altogether). It’s disingenuous to advertise features that do not work.

    2) PayPal Express is broken. Period. Just like with Google Checkout, integration with PayPal Express doesn’t work. There exists multiple threads in your forum about this topic. Months ago, a post by Dan claimed that the “latest Gold Files resolve this. My humble apologies!!!”

    That’s all well and good, but many of us have not (yet) upgraded to the Gold version of the plugin, so PayPal Express remains broken. If this is to be a “Gold only” feature, then please advertise it that way. As of now, it’s supposed to work in the free version of the plugin, but does not. Any chance of releasing that updated code to the free version?

    3) Tax settings are broken. I can only speak from the perspective of a US-based store owner, but the tax settings do not work properly at all. If you set a tax percentage for one state, that same percentage is charged to customers from all states (even if the remaining states are set to 0% in the plugin). Let’s say that I need to charge sales tax in California. The way it works now, customers in Kansas, Georgia, and all other states will also be charged that same sales tax! Unacceptable. I had this problem in both 3.6.12 and version 3.7 RC2.

    Of course, one could solve this problem by just NOT charging any sales tax, but that’s not a viable solution for most US-based store owners.

    4) Customers with WordPress logins can see your store sales data! This is a showstopping bug. If any customers register for accounts on your WordPress site, they can see all your sensitive sales data in the WordPress Dashboard! Wow! There’s a pretty easy fix for this using WordPress user Roles, but I can’t believe this problem hasn’t been fixed globally yet.

    Naturally, one solution is to disable user registration within WordPress, but that feature is handy for repeat customers.

    I say all of this not to be critical, but because I want the plugin to IMPROVE. There are a number of things that the plugin DOES do well, but some of these bugs are spectacular.

    An e-Commerce plugin should be solid. Store owners should not have to lie awake at night, tossing and turning, wondering if something is about to break on their site. Right now, the plugin feels sloppy, and I have a hard time recommending it to anyone with needs beyond the most basic production uses. I’d love to change my mind about that.

    Developers, please keep these issues in mind for any upcoming release(s).

    —–

    It’s too bad that they felt the need to delete my post. I’m authoring an upcoming book from Packt Publishing about this plugin, but I have a hard time documenting broken features. Believe me, I’d love to see this plugin work well!

Viewing 15 replies - 31 through 45 (of 49 total)
  • missmoxie

    (@missmoxie)

    Ah! I think I answered my own question. Every time I clicked “Set shipping countries” it would bring up a blank page, like it wasn’t working, but I just tried it again after fixing what swordstone suggested and now it works. ?? WOO HOO!

    @swordstone – worked perfectly. thank you thank you thank you!!!!

    For google checkout not working:
    in wp-content/plugins/wp-e-commerce/merchants/GoogleCheckout-XML.php

    Change line 160

    From: $state_name = $wpdb->get_row($sql, ARRAY_A);
    To: $state_name = $wpdb->get_row($sql, ARRAY_B);

    One problem was that Ecommerce checkout was sending the states as names and not the 2 digit state code, and for some reason one of the states was not being recognized by Google. Since google cant tell us which state thye think was misspelled, lets just send the 2 digit state code.
    BING – it works now.

    Ive been having some trouble getting the Gold Cart to upload to the site properly. Ive posted my issue on the e-commerce forums also hoping to get some help heres what i put there. Hope someone can give me some advice as this is one of the last steps ive have to complete before i can start uploading products to my site.

    I recently purchased the Gold Cart upgrade and followed all the instructions on where to upload the files to and when i do it crashes my site. At first it wouldnt allow me to upload the files to the /public_html/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/upgrades/ folder but that was to do with the permissions and i contacted my web hosting company and they fixed that issue.

    However when it allowed me to upload the files it seemed ok to begin with and allowed me to enter my username and API key and said id successfully upgraded the Plugin. However when the page refreshed i was left with a white page and nothing more. I had to remove the Gold Cart files and then the site worked again. Now everytime ive tried to reupload the Gold Cart files to upgrade again i get presented with the same white screen.

    Has anyone got wp e-commerce google checkout to work with international orders – I’ve seen an example of US only payments working, but it’s still broken for anything international via google c/out (I get the dreaded Oops error from google).

    I’m getting pretty frustrated with this plugin!

    Fatal error: Class ‘wpsc_merchant’ not found in /wp-content/plugins/wp-e-commerce/merchants/paypal-standard.merchant.php on line 42

    i just took out the end of that line and now it seems to work fine. specifically, from end of line42, i removed:

    extends wpsc_merchant

    Erm – that’s pretty much certainly not the right fix!

    If it can’t find the wpsc_merchant class it suggests that your installation isn’t right.

    This should be defined in wpsc-includes/merchant.class.php – do you have that file?

    Just making the class standalone, and not an extension of the base class is probably a bad plan – but nice try!

    i do indeed have that file:
    [Code moderated as per forum rules]

    [Cuss word moderated]

    im a little too late to edit the above post, but, looking in the .zip files of each of the versions i’ve tried, merchant.class.php only exists in the 3.7.6.1 BETA version, but i currently do have that file on my server in the correct spot, probably because it didnt get deleted when overwriting files for the different versions. however, i still get the Fatal Error: whether or not that file is present. and i get the same error with version 3.7.5.2

    I have the same catagory issues with instincts products

    AND THE OWNER DOESNT EVEN DUE DILIGENCE ON RETURNING PHONE CALLS SKYPED OR EMAILS.

    THIS SHOPPER PLUG IN DOES NOT WORK. ADEQUATELY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY BAD..

    BUYER BEWARE..

    I am wondering what to do after reading all this, but I just bought the Gold Cart upgrade, I didn’t put it in the right place or something and I could not get it to work.
    I had tried three different ways that Instinct shows on their website. Finally I deleted the WP-e-commerce and then wanted to start a new and uploaded it back into plugins and now it won’t show up in plugins. I emptied the cache, checked on two computers but it does not show up in plugins. I am stumped and very disappointed I spent the $40.00 for the upgrade I can’t get anyone to answer my questions. I just want to get the WP-e-commerce to show back up in plugins so I can get back to fixing up my shop. I was using Crafty Cart with it and all was working well, until I wanted the upgrade so I could add more photos of my products. If anyone can help me or give advise I would sure appreciate it.
    https://www.shinymoonbeams.com
    I am wondering if I need to delete the Akismet key I had to add, but I don’t know how or where it is now that the WP-e-commerce is not showing up in plugins. Yes I did upload to plugins and I see it there when I check via my FTP program.

    The WP e-Commerce Plugin works fine. And so do the gold cart files.

    There are multiple sites in the getshopped.org/showcase website with working examples of gold cart. And there are many many more examples of it working on the showcase thread in our forums.

    @katw, WP e-Commerce does not use the Akismet key in any way, shape or form. When you made the purcahse you were automaticaly sent an email with your WP e-Commerce API key. Your best bet is to email [email protected] with your purchase receipt and I can guarntee a response.

    @iggy (bonbon), I’ve sent you heaps of emails and we’re working on the category changes that you suggested. These new changes are a new feature request – and for the record not everybody wants their cats to show the way you want them to. Or the way you think they should. Right now they display they way we made them display – but we listen and we hear you and we’re going to add it. But right now you should cut down the caps lock and accept that it is what it is and we’re doing what we can with the resources we have!!

    We’ll get there when we get there. Also you’re failing to mention that you have another developer working on this – I probably would not have used that person based on some of the recomendations he made to you. That said he assured me he knew what he was doing so I went with it – if that hasnt worked for you its not my fault and I’m sorry that you had a bad experiance.

    Yeah Jeff has helped me HEAPS. I met him via [email protected] (email him your receipt and he’ll respond – but if you don’t he won’t) and he has made my life a hundred times better.

    Also because Dan didnt post the links here they are.

    WORKING WP E-COMMERCE EXAMPLES
    – getshopped.org/showcase (including many gold installs)
    – getshopped.org/forums/forum.php?id=5

    I have written this to try and provide a balanced view on the plugin for those who come across this thread and are considering wpec. I do recommend this plugin. I probably would not have several months ago but I most certainly do now which is saying something as I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to looking after my clients and the technology I use.

    I have received great support from Instinct and from the forums. So far (live but not processing live orders yet with PayPal – just at the testing stage with sandbox) everything is working well.

    As with most new things there is a bit of a learning curve involved in order to get an understanding of what can and can’t be achieved and how to achieve what you want. It is not a magic box that does everything but it is certainly at the point where it covers everything most businesses would need in a standard shopping cart.

    Bugs do happen. That is the nature of the beast – you don’t get progress and outstanding products with technology without experiencing a few bugs when making changes. The developers at Instinct very quickly sort these where they can if they are aware of them. They also test very thoroughly to minimise these occurrence of bugs and problems. Unfortunately they can’t test every single scenario – there are millions of them so some bugs sneak through and it is not until a user experiences problems that they are picked up.

    I am not totally sure how forums for open source software are suppose to work. To my knowledge because the software is mostly free, the forums are to provide a central place for us to help each other and a resource for us to look through and find answers to our questions BEFORE posting our questions based on past experiences. It is not something we should take for granted. Most of the support provided, if not all of the support, is provided on a voluntary basis as it is on this forum as far as I am aware. We are lucky and should be grateful if someone does help us out. As far as I am aware the developers from Instinct do try to check the posts but they don’t get the time to read everyone’s post… something I only just realised recently. They have kindly provided a contact email so if your problem is urgent and you have done the research to try and solve it yourself there are other ways to get help.

    One of the best things about wpec is that they are constantly growing and improving… and they really do try and listen to the users and try to accommodate our needs. Again, they can’t do everything everyone would like but they do pretty well. I have only been involved with wpec since around September last year and during even that small amount of time they have moved to a whole new level. The resources on their new site are more extensive, not quite there yet but between the documentation and the forum most things are covered and they will get there. I know from experience how long it can take to put together documentation and it usually takes a back seat compared to customer (or in this case user) problems and issues that need to be sorted.

    I am not saying the plugin is perfect. Its not but it is getting there. It does work with absolutely no problems for most people. 80% of my problems so far have been because I was just doing it wrong (better documentation would have helped here). The other 10% were because I was trying to do something that you couldn’t do and I don’t have the php knowledge to hack the code to carry out these more advanced requirements. You can overcome the later if you don’t have good php knowledge by employing the services of a php expert. After all, you are building a site to make money, sometimes you need to invest a little in an expert to get things right in order to get maximum return.

    My wish list for wpec is:

    1. Multi-currency. Instinct is currently granting that wish.

    2. More flexible shipping options. The options available should work for most people but they didn’t for me. I have engaged the services of an expert to create a plugin which provides the additional options that I require. As far as I am aware Instinct do have on their list to further develop their shipping options but as above, what they have now should suit most situations.

    3. Valid code. This is probably the main ‘issue’ I have now. The code doesn’t validate. It took me quite a while to reduce the errors to the point I have. Still doesn’t validate but nothing more I can do to fix this as beyond my expertise and my budget to pay someone to fix. This is a big concern for me.

    4. More extensive step by step instructions for setting up wpec. From what I understand wpec is easy to set up compared to a lot of other shopping carts but I still struggled with some areas. It was just simple things like doing x first when I should have done y first, or xyz didn’t work because I needed to do abc.

    5. An area that clearly advises current bugs and tips on things you can’t do or things you can do that are not obvious so we don’t spend ages trying to figure out what we have done wrong only to find we are not doing anything wrong. I did not come across any bugs but I did come across a couple of situations where I was trying to do something that just wasn’t possible but seemed to be possible and DIDN’T come across a couple of things that if I had known I could do would have made my life much easier!

    To be absolutely certain that this plugin will meet your needs make a list of your needs, do your research and ask Instinct if you are not sure if it provides certain features you require.

    I can assure you the plugin definitely does work. Based on my experience and from reading through the forum when learning how to use this plugin most of the issues were because things were not right from the users end.

    This plugin should not be displayed as a tested version, it should be a beta at best.

    Installation and Uninstallation:

    1) BACKUP YOUR DB & FILES beffore install as it may completely damage wp installation.

    2) sessions (/temp) directory bug which is difficult to fix for beginners esp ones who do not have access to php.ini file on their servers. Creating a /tmp directory at root level is not going to help (in contrast osCommerce allows you to change the directory path from within admin panel). Lack of this function makes this an amateurish attempt.

    3) uninstallation is even more difficult as only php files are removed leaving behind a trail of WPSC folders and files that cannot be removed (yes, even with FTP software). Database entries are also not removable and needs manual clearing up. BE VERY CAREFUL and make BACKUP before attemting to do this!!!

    4) Default directory settings were also amended (for some reasons) as my plugins folder could not be located by WP. Left me nothing but to do a clean install

    5) “contact your hosting provider” seems to be the solution at forums supporting this plugin

    enough said….. ??

Viewing 15 replies - 31 through 45 (of 49 total)
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