Paypal Hacks

by Dave Nielsen, Dave Burchell, Shannon Sofield, et al.

Book Overview

If you've bought or sold items through eBay, or through hundreds of other online sites, then you're familiar with PayPal, the online payment service. With PayPal, a valid email address, and a credit card or bank account, you can easily send and receive payments online. Not a bank or financial institution itself, PayPal describes its service as one that builds on the financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards, and using advanced propriety...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B005M51BP6
• ISBN13: 9780596007515
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 343 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

PayPal Hacks - an Excellent Resource!

This is an excellent resource for anyone who would like to sell their wares or services using PayPal.O'Reilly has done an excellent job with the Hacks series in general and this book is no exception.The book contains many useful tips & tricks for anyone wishing to use Paypal as their main e-commerce solution. I really recommend this book for anyone who is serious about selling their wares over PayPal.

Everything you need to know to work with PayPal

This is basically a book on how to get the most out of PayPal. Whether you are trying to make a purchase, sell and item, or setup a complete e-Commerce solution based on PayPal you will find the information on how to do it here. Some of the information in the book includes how to create an account, what to do when you forget your password, how to get things fixed if your account has been limited, how to pay from a cell phone, dispute a payment, receive money, upgrade your account, lower seller fees, hack-proof your payment buttons, and even encryption. It even has information on the PayPal webservices API and putting a PayPal payment button in an email. This is an excellent and detailed course on how to use the intricacies of PayPal. PayPal Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools is highly recommended to everyone who shops or sells on the Internet as well as anyone who programs sites to use PayPal.

Will Repay It's Cover Price Quickly

This is a really easy book to provide feedback on. How quickly will it pay for its cover price? If you are a seller with any kind of volume, the answer is quickly (if you aren't already following the suggestions). The tip on the debit card is great, as are the tips for reducing fees. There are also great suggestions for subscriptions, donations and even setting up a simple affiliate scheme. As an aside, this book is a "must have" if your setting up a not for profit web site. There are also some great marketing tips and advice on minimizing chargebacks. This isn't a windows specific book - it uses PERL, C++, ASP and has plenty of HTML only tips. Very unfair to describe this book as Windows centric (the maximum lenth of the code provided is only a few sides - longest source listings are for PayPal API chapter; if your running a UNIX box then use the listing as Pseudo Code and port to your platform - not hard for a half decent programmer. The code provided is well documented. Microsoft has a vey sizeable slice of the e-commerce server market and shouldn't be ignored. Excellent book for sellers using PayPal.

Excellent resource for sellers

This is a fantastic resource who want to sell products using PayPal. O'Reilly has had an excellent run with the Hacks series and this is no exception. The book contains one hundred relevant recipes for common problems facing PayPal sellers (and to some extent buyers using PayPal.) Examples include fraud protection, hacking forms, customizing forms and pages, and setting up notifications. I recommend this book for anyone who is serious about selling products over PayPal.

Useful for all kinds of PayPal developers

I create websites as a volunteer for a few small groups. Enhancing a website by adding a PayPal button, can save time in collecting dues and event payments. You can add a simple button using PayPal's online tools, but if you want to do more this book can tell you how to do it. Code samples are supplied in HTML, VBScript, ActionScript, C#, JavaScript and more. It covers security using OpenSSL. Like the other O'Reilly Hacks books, pushpins and screws mark tips and warnings, respectively. These marks enhance the clarity of the writing, which is already lucid and concise. Thermometer icons indicate the difficulty of a Hack. Easy Hacks include (a) Quick-Link to Transaction Details (b) Custom Designed Buttons (c) Sending money to someone with an account without setting up one for the sender. Moderate Hacks include (a) Tracking website visitors (b) Receive Instant Payment Notification (IPN) (c) Insert Payment Details into A Database. Advanced Hacks cover (a) Refunding a Payment without Logging Into the PayPal site (b) Issue Payments En Masse Using the PayPal API (c) Pay Affiliates and Suppliers on a Schedule. These and 91 other little tricks can make PayPal a really productive environment for collecting and processing payments. The book helps you navigate PayPal's website, telling you where to find scripts and code. Some of the Hacks are for PayPal users. It shows how to create an account and verify it. I have met many online shoppers who have found the PayPal user experience frustrating and this book can help them. The book goes beyond a mere programmer's guide, it offers solid business advice. For example, it explains how the PayPal Mastercard debit card can be used. Advanced programmers won't need the easy tricks. They can find .NET Hacks that add PayPal functionality to Windows DLLs, not just websites. There is even a Hack for Dreamweaver, Adobe's web development tool. I like the book because even a novice PayPal Hacker can find value in this thorough and comprehensive reference book.