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Massive Disruption of PayPal Subscription Service

Posted by kdawson on from the just-fix-it-guys dept.

hausmasta writes "Since August 30, there are massive problems with PayPal subscriptions. The automatic renewal of subscriptions stopped that day, causing headaches for lots of web site owners that rely on this kind of revenue. The problem is global, as this thread in the PayPal Developer Community shows. PayPal is aware of the problem but hasn't indicated any progress yet; some posters are wondering whether they have stopped working on it over the long (US) holiday weekend."

10 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Well.... by JimXugle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Everyone needs a day off, and those who died in military service need to be honored, but if Paypal wants to posture itself as an international company, things need to keep working... even when the USA isn't.

    (Posted by an American)

    --
    -jX

    Don't you just love politics? It's like a comedy of errors.
    1. Re:Well.... by whmac33 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That would make sense for say Veteran's Day. But for Labor Day we honor ourselves, the workers. In any event, when a 24/7 company is down, you bet they're working on it. It doesn't just cost their clients money, it costs PayPal money.

    2. Re:Well.... by vtcodger · · Score: 3, Insightful
      ***It couldn't have happened to a 'nicer' company.***

      I agree 113.763%. PayPal gives me the creeps. How any sane person can be comfortable dealing with an unregulated bank eludes me. Personally, I simply won't deal with PayPal unless and until they submit themselves to effective external regulation.

      That said, It seems to me like this particular problem is something that could affect any on-line 'bank' -- even a reputable one. It's sort of analagous to having your brick and motar bank shut down by flood, fire, earthquake, riots, power failure.

      --
      You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  2. No problem, they'll have it fixed this week by stox · · Score: 5, Informative

    https://www.paypaldeveloper.com/blog/article?blog. id=mts_updates&message.id=128

    Paypal wants to notify merchants that subscriptions are experiencing some delays and that will be back to normal around September 5, 2007 (Wednesday) or September 6, 2007 (Thursday). Please be assured that no subscriptions will be missed, just that the payout will be delayed.

    We apologize for any impact caused by this incident.

    Sincerely,
    PayPal Merchant Technical Support Team

    --
    "To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
  3. Take it from somebody who has done IT by coryking · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is just more proof that servers know when it is a holiday. They just sit around all year long smile when you walk by them. Their cute little blue LED's blink at you with affection. But leave for a three day weekend and BAM!!! They stab you in the back!

    Make no mistake my fine Slashdot friends. Servers are evil little bastards. They know. Oh yes. They know.

    1. Re:Take it from somebody who has done IT by davester666 · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is just more proof that servers know when it is a holiday. They just sit around all year long smile when you walk by them. Their cute little blue LED's blink at you with affection. But leave for a three day weekend and BAM!!! They stab you in the back!

      Make no mistake my fine Slashdot friends. Servers are evil little bastards. They know. Oh yes. They know.

      That's why I set the date on my server's so they think it's Saturday when it's really Tuesday. And, I also set the time so it's 12 hours out, because they also like going down at night...
      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  4. Not good for Paypal, but geez by jandrese · · Score: 4, Informative

    Is it just me or is it the end of the world on the forum thread linked in the article. I know small businesses run on slim margins, but when the very first posts are "OMG, payments are over 12 hours behind! It's the end!", I have to think that maybe it's time to build in some robustness into your business model. More likely the people in that thread are being a little melodramatic, as people seem to be wont to do when Paypal is involved. Even this thread on Slashdot seems to just be a way to try to increase pressure on Paypal (which I can agree with to a point).

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:Not good for Paypal, but geez by coryking · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you ever want to see amusing, look at the idiots who post on the Second Life blog whenever their stuff goes down. You think "OMG My payments are 12 hours behind" is bad, try "OMG, I make a living selling virtual dildos and I cannot sell my product. It is the end!!!"

  5. Re:NO! by coryking · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I knocked on genuine 100% cedar wood* the entire time I typed that message. My servers know too, you know.

    * And yes, your mom helped. Just figured I'd add that to keep out any obvious your mom jokes that may or may not come my way after typing such an obvious attack vector.

  6. Thin margins or not... by swokm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One week can be a long time to wait for payment for small business.

    I think there definitely needs to be more serious competition in this area, just to provide a little healthier competition.

    I'm sure we all remember other problems with PayPal:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Awful#Hurri cane_Katrina-PayPal_conflict