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View Full Version : cart question, or do I even need a cart?



claymore_mo
12 Apr 2007, 12:29 PM
Hello,
I am trying to find a solution for automating my customers buying experience. The needs of the website are fairly simple to a point. There are only four services that potential customers will be purchasing, and each individual customer will only purchase one of those services, no more.

What the customer is essentially purchasing is 1 of 4 different advertising packages. The site is running on ASP, and there is a sign up section in place. However it is currently designed to allow the customer to sign up for our services, and then pay us through the mail by check. They are automatically entered into our customer database, and once we receive their check, we can then click a link from our admin page that allows them to access the site.

I was getting ready to start using Paypal's email invoicing system to speed this process up. However I was hoping to take it a step further. Even with the email invoicing system, the customer will still have to wait for us to manually allow them access to the site after they have paid.

I was hoping to automate the whole system so that the customer could have immediate access to the website once they have paid. We need to keep the general ASP framework in place. A total site makeover is not possible right now. To simplify matters, I do not believe we need a true shopping cart. The customer will make only a single purchase, and there is no need to keep track of inventory or cart contents. I also would like to stick with Paypal's services. I have looked into using their Instant Payment Notification that is available with some of their services to make something like this work.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? I do not have a lot of programming experience, but once pointed in the direction I need to be, I can learn just about anything. I am not real particular on whether the customer pays on our site, or preferably even, goes to Paypal's site to make the payment, and then returns to ours, with access to our database.

I know it's a big question, but like I said, I'm only after a general direction to head. Once I know what to go after, I can hammer the details out.

Thanks for your help,
Morgan