ETA: Thread title was changed to reflect the suggested solution of changing our PayPal configuration from "Sale" to "Authorization"

Starting in October 2019, PayPal Payments Pro keeps their transaction fees on refunded orders.

We frequently refund our one unusual, heavy and expensive product when purchased by customers outside our country because of incorrect order information and compatibility issues.

Each time we refund one of these expensive orders, PayPal charges us roughly $15 in transaction fees.

We'd like to keep selling products that weigh less than 20 Lbs and cost less than $200 to customers outside the USA, but would like a way to disable export orders for that heavier, costlier item. Note that we ship using integrated rates from UPS and USPS.

Can anyone suggest a way to do this?

We use Paypal pro as well. Although we have it set to authorize/capture so we get to review the order before we capture the funds.
I expect that's not how you have it set. It sounds like you have it set to automatically capture and that can be changed.
If you never capture, then you should not get charged with the fees.

David

Thanks for this, Dave.

Based on your suggestion we'll definitely investigate that option.

Am I right that to make this change, in the Payment Providers admin page, next to PayPal Direct Payments you click Modify, and on the Payment Provider Details screen that appears, for the Transaction Type drop-down box you choose Authorization instead of Sale?

Hi Paul
That's right Paul, choose Authorize in the Transaction Type select menu.

Vince

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Hi Paul, just remember, you must click the "capture" button in the admin for each order, to capture the funds.
Otherwise, you never collect the funds.

Wow, it's hard to imagine that we've used PayPal for years and haven't yet explored the option to configure the Payment Provider admin screens as "Authorization" instead of "Sale".

Here's a detailed PayPal article about "Authorization & Capture" steps: https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/admin/auth-capture/

1. Does anyone use this technique to capture more or less than the original authorized amount - say, for partial refunds, additional items the customer asks to buy, etc.?

If so, are there any pitfalls to avoid, best practices you can suggest, etc.?

2. The PayPal article mentions a 3-day "Honor period" when it's suggested to capture, and a 29-day "Authorization period" that limits the capture time.

As you'd expect, we seem to get a lot of problem orders at the start of holiday weekends. As a result, our follow up with customers doesn't begin until the Tuesday morning following those late-night Friday orders.

Has anyone experienced issues when trying to capture a day or two after the 3-day "Honor period"?

3. ETA: how long a delay do you typically see between your "Capture" of the funds in the cart, and the confirmation and appearance of the funds in the PayPal screens?

Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions you can give!

Hi, yes we sometimes adjust the order before capture.
If you increase it more than 10% or so, it may not capture. In that case, capture for the original amount then bill the additional separate.

The three day thing can be an issue and I never liked that about Paypal.
Most card issuers hold an authorization for 5 days. If you try to capture on the 4th or 5th day, their bank will try a new authorization and if the customer does not have enough funds available to authorize twice, the capture will fail. t least until the 6th day.

Thanks,
David

Thanks for this, Dave!