Why am I getting a Parameter Error, even though all parameters are setup correctly?

You may be receiving a parameter error because your account is currently marked inactive for sales. When a 2Checkout account is opened the suppliers website is reviewed by our risk department. If your website is not yet functional at the time of sign up or we require additional information on your products the account may be marked as inactive. To check if this is the case you will need to login to our new vendor administration panel at the following url: https://www.2checkout.com/va/

On the account homepage their will be an Account Status section that will list your account as either status Y (Allowed to Sell, Allowed to Pay), S (Allowed to Sell, Not Allowed to Pay) or P (Not Allowed to Sell, Allowed to Pay). If your account is status P and your site is ready for review please open a support ticket so that you site and services can be reviewed by our risk department. If the products/services are approved we will set the account status to accept sales. If the account is status Y or S and you are receiving a parameter error the parameters are either being passed into our purchase routine incorrectly or you are loading the purchase routine with in a frame set. The 2Checkout transaction pages will break out of a frame set if they are loaded inside of one. Attempting to load the 2Checkout transaction pages within a frame set will prevent them from working as intended and cause a parameter error. If you are not using frames please contact us directly by clicking on the help tab above.

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What are the New Cart Purchase Parameters?

Announcement

The new cart purchase parameter descriptions have been integrated into the parameter set articles they are required for. Please review the “Product Identification parameters” section of the 3rd party cart parameter article or the Authorize.net parameter article to find information on these parameters. If you would like to test your integration of these parameters, try using our developers.2Checkout area. The information below is provided for historical reference only.


It has become necessary for 2CO to know the specific product that is being sold at the time of sale and for that product’s description to be stored in our database for reference. This change is required both by 2CO and by our banking partners to better mitigate risk and to monitor items being sold. Because of this requirement, we are asking cart makers and/or users to make changes to their cart or programs so that additional information about the items being sold is passed to 2CO.It is very important to note that:
  1. All previous parameters remain supported and should continue to be passed in (2CO, Authorize.net),
  2. The parameter total (or the authorize.net parameter : x_amount) passed in for the order will continue to be the amount billed for the sale,
  3. The paramaters cart_order_id and sid (or the authorize.net parameters: x_invoice_num and x_login) are still manditory with this parameter set.

REQUIRED PARAMETERS
These parameters are required to identify cart products being purchased and should be supplied ASAP.

For some clients it may make sense to create 1 or multiple generic products in the 2CO db, like “Premium Hosting”, “Super Saver Hosting” and pass in a total for the sale as generated on their site. If this option works for you please make the product name reasonably descriptive, (i.e. “website design services” would be a good description, “web services” a poor one for the same item ).

  • c_prod or c_prod_[:digit] : This parameter will contain either the assigned_product_id given to the product upon creation in the 2CO system or a vendor specified id. It may, optionally, also contain the id followed by a ‘,’ (ASCII comma) followed by an integer which will represent the quantity. This parameter should not be autogenerated with each individual sale but should be tied to a specific product. The c_prod value should match whatever external vendor id is recorded in the 2CO system. The external vendor id may be a cart assigned product id or the vendors own internal product id as long as the value matches the value stored in the 2Co system. Examples of valid values:
    • 1
    • my_product_17
    • product_5,3
  • id_type This parameter will contain an integer value representing the type
    or classification of the ids used in the c_prod parameter(s). This value will
    apply universally per transaction. That is to say c_prod parameters must contain
    only assigned_product_id values or only vendor_product_id values. Current
    valid values for this parameter are defined as follows.
    • 1 is defined as vendor_product_id
    • 2 is defined as assigned_product_id
    • 3 – 0 are reserved for future use.

OPTIONAL PARAMETERS
These parameters are intended for carts that retain no product database or as a transition method of populating the 2CO database. Although it is desirable to receive as many parameters as possible with the purchase the option of creating products on the fly should only be used when no other options exist.

  • sh_cost (optional) : This parameter will contain shipping and handling cost, if any. The sh_cost parameter is completely optional. This parameter has the same format rules as the parameter containing the total (total or x_amount) that you are currently using. This value received is assumed to be in the selected currency of your 2CO account.
    Examples of valid values: 0.50, 5.00, 10
  • c_name or c_name_[:digit] : This parameter is required for product information to be displayed at checkout. The value of this parameter should contain the name of the product to be created. It is limited to 128 characters including spaces and punctuation. If the value is too long it will be cut off at 128 characters.
  • c_description or c_description_[:digit] : This parameter is required for product information to be displayed at checkout. The value of this parameter should contain a short description of the product to be sold. It is limited to 255 characters including spaces and punctuation. If the value is too long this value will be stored as the long description instead. The long description will not show on the checkout pages but it will be saved in the 2Co product database.
  • c_price or c_price_[:digit] : This parameter is required for product information to be displayed at checkout. This value should reflect the price of the product in your 2CO account selected currency. This parameter has the follow format restrictions
    • Numbers and decimal point only.
    • Max value: 999999.99
  • c_tangible or c_tangible_[:digit] (optional) : This parameter is optional. If you do not provide a value for it a default value of Y will be used. This field indicates if the product is a physical product or an e-good/service.
    This parameter has the following format restrictions: Valid values: y Y n N

NEW PARAMETERS IN PRACTICE
Below you will find an example form that shows how these new parameters might be implemented:

<form action="https://www.2checkout.com/checkout/purchase" method="post">

	<input type="hidden" name="id_type" value="1">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_prod_1" value="QAWSZX0678,3">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_name_1" value="Sample 	Product">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_description_1" value="Sample Product Description">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_price_1" value="5.00">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_tangible_1" value="N">

	<input type="hidden" name="c_prod_2" value="CABLE0029,1">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_name_2" value="A Second Sample Product">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_description_2" value="This Products Description">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_price_2" value="10.00">
	<input type="hidden" name="c_tangible_2" value="N">

	<input type="hidden" name="sid" value="XXXXXX">
	<input type="hidden" name="cart_order_id" value="050304-102658-3874">
	<input type="hidden" name="total" value="25.00">

	<input type="submit">
</form>

Please note that you will need to replace the sample values with your own.

What is the Buyer’s Verified By Visa (VbV) password?

Most issues must be taken up with the Buyer’s bank. If the buyer does not know their password, then they will have to go through the “Forgot Password” process or contact the issuing bank. We can not offer a solution to bypass this step.

The buyer can skip the password, but this is done by using a different card to make payment. There is a link that says to click here to use a different card, which will return to the payment page to enter a different credit card.

Almost every issue with the Verified by Visa will be related to the verification. There should be a “Help” link on almost every bank’s VbV page. This “Help” link explains VbV, solutions to common issues and how to contact the appropriate bank.

How can I make a view cart link?

You can easily make a link that allows customers to get back to their cart from your website by using the link below.

> https://www.2checkout.com/checkout/purchase?sid=XXXXXX

Note: Be sure to replace “XXXXXX” with your numerical seller identification number.

Does your system offer an integrated affiliate solution?

2Checkout’s integrated affiliate program is the industry’s first FREE affiliate program. No additional fees are charged by 2Checkout for participating as a supplier or as an affiliate. As a supplier, you can offer affiliates a commission for successfully re-marketing your products on their websites. In this Pay-Per-Sale program, you choose the commission amount, and do not pay anything until a sale is made and the funds are deposited.

Our affiliate program provides our suppliers with many benefits over traditional affiliate programs.

Benefits for the supplier:

  • No additional fees from 2Checkout.
  • No additional software changes to your website.
  • Ability to resell other suppliers products.
  • No worries about keeping track of affiliate sales, 2Checkout pays your affiliates directly.
  • Begin earning and paying commissions immediately after product enrollment.

Benefits for the affiliate:

  • Free affiliate account.
  • No ugly banner ads.
  • HTML code and product images provided by 2Checkout.
  • Ability to resell all of our suppliers affiliate products.
  • Easy to navigate interface that provides up to date reporting for sale and payment information.
  • Ability to receive payments by all of our supported payment methods.

The affiliate program is available to all of our suppliers and affiliates can now signup for free affiliate accounts. Affiliates can signup for their free account at the following url: https://www.2checkout.com/va/signup.
To access this program you must login to our new vendor interface at the following url: https://www.2checkout.com/va/

To make your products available for affiliate sales, simply edit your products by clicking on the ‘Products’ tab at the top of your supplier home page, then clicking on the ‘Edit’ sub-tab. Here you can add a category and commission for the products that you would like to offer in the affiliate program. To find products for you to sell on a commission basis on your website, just click on the ‘Affiliates’ tab at the top of the page, then click on the ‘Browse Opportunities’ sub-tab. From here you can select a category to find products that will interest visitors to your website.

A new feature guide which may help you navigate the affiliate area can be found here:
https://www.2checkout.com/static/va/documentation/FeatureGuide/content/06_Affiliates.html

We have also provided our suppliers with an in depth tutorial on adding products to the affiliate program and a tutorial for new affiliates that explains how to find affiliate opportunities.

—-Related Articles—-

How can I use a third-party affiliate script with 2CO?

2Checkout.com supports almost any affiliate program that works off of a hidden image tag on the sales confirmation page.

To setup third-party affiliate script, log in to your account and click on the “Account” tab, then click on “Site Management” subcategory. From here you can fill in the string that is provided by your affiliate program as the Affiliate URL. 2Checkout.com payment routines will fill in dynamic parameters like “order number”, “order total”, “your product id”, “quantity ordered”.

The Affiliate link will only work if you have Direct Return OFF. The hidden image tag is placed on the 2Checkout confirmation page after the sale and with Direct Return ON, this page is by passed.

To have the string populated dynamically, put the following variables in the appropriate location. The payment routine will fill them in after the sale is complete:

$a_order – 2Checkout.com Order Id.
$a_total – Total Dollars Paid.
$a_product – Your product id
$a_quantity – Quantity of product id sold.

Example src string:

https://affiliate.com/sale.cgi?order=$a_order&total=$a_total&product=$a_product&quantity=$a_quantity

If the buyer bought 1 of your product id 01-Widget for $2.00, after the sale the string would become

http://affiliate.com/sale.cgi?order=123456&total=2.00&product=01-Widget&quantity=1

Where do I set up the Secret Word?

To set up the secret word please log in to your 2CO account, click on the “Account” tab, then click on “Site Management” subcategory. On the “Site Management” page you will enter the Secret Word in the field provided under Direct Return. After you have entered your Secret Word click the blue “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

The secret word is used by those wishing to check the MD5 hash passback, with a routine on their site. It is also needed by those using a program like the membership or download client. The secret word is also used to calculate the MD5 hash which is sent to verify the authenticity of INS posts.

The secret word should be a single or compound word or group of letters and numbers with no spaces. Examples: Monkey1mouse, 4smal3phone, gooblyWbubze.

Related Articles:

What are ‘product options’?

Product options are variable selections of certain products offered to customers.

For instance, a customer wants to buy an extra-large, red sweater from a clothing business. That sweater has two product options associated with it: size and color.

Two product options would be created in this example. One would govern all the different sizes offered, the other would govern the different colors. 2CO has a method which allows you to set up options like these.

The number of options you can have for a product is unlimited.

Related Article: New Vendor Admin: Product Options

How do I use the MD5 Hash?

The MD5 hash is provided to help you verify the authenticity of a sale. This is especially useful for vendors that sell downloadable products, or e-goods, as it can be used to verify whether sale actually came from 2Checkout and was a legitimate live sale. We intentionally break the hash code for demo orders so that you can compare the hash we provide with what it should be to determine whether or not to provide the customer with your goods.

To calculate the MD5 hash, you need to make a string that contains the information described below and pass it in as the value to your scripting languages MD5 function. Below is an example:

md5 ( secret word + vendor number + order number + total )

The secret word is set by yourself on the Site Managment page. The vendor number is your numerical vendor/seller ID number. The order number is the order number for the sale. The total is the numerical value for the total amount of the sale.

Demonstration:

Secret Word => tango
Vendor Number => 123456
Order Number => 9999999
Total => 5.99

md5hash = md5( tango12345699999995.99 )

It is important to note that the MD5 hash must also be converted to upper case letters for a clean comparison. How this is done depends on the scripting language that you use. Below are some examples of how to compute the MD5 hash using PHP. This should illustrate how this process works.

The following code would be applicable to orders placed using our Plug and Play cart and our proprietary third party set of parameters.

$string_to_hash = “tango123456″ . $_POST["order_number"]
.
$_POST["total"];
$check_key = strtoupper(md5($string_to_hash));

echo (”Returned MD5 Hash : ” . $_POST["key"]
. “<BR>”);
echo (”Should be : ” . $check_key . “<BR>”);

if($check_key == $_POST["key"]){
// At this point the expected key and the returned key match, so the customer should be given access to the download
// This is where you would want to put the code or page for the download
echo (”<center>They match!</center>”); }
else {
// At this point the keys do not match, so either the attempt was fraudulent or a demo order
// This is where you would put the code or page for an unsuccessful attempt
echo (”<center>They do NOT match! Was this a demo order?</center>”);}

The following code would then be applicable to orders placed using the Authorize.net
parameter set.

$string_to_hash = “tango123456″ . $_POST["x_trans_id"]
.
$_POST["x_amount"];
$check_key = strtoupper(md5($string_to_hash));

echo (”Returned MD5 Hash : ” . $_POST["x_MD5_Hash"]
. “<BR>”);
echo (”Should be : ” . $check_key . “<BR>”);

if($check_key == $_POST["x_MD5_Hash"]){
// At this point the expected key and the returned key match, so the customer
should be given access to the download
// This is where you would want to put the code or page for the download
echo (”<center>They match!</center>”); }
else {
// At this point the keys do not match, so either the attempt was fraudulent
or a demo order
// This is where you would put the code or page for an unsuccessful attempt echo (”<center>They do NOT match! Was this a demo order?</center>”);}

The MD5 hash is also provided to help you verify the authenticity of INS posts. The MD5 hash that is sent with INS posts is a hash of sale_id + vendor_id + invoice_id + secret word in the md5_hash parameter.


Demonstration:

sale_id => 9999999999
vendor_id => 123456
invoice_id => 1111111111
Secret Word => tango
md5hash = md5( 99999999991234561111111111tango )

The following code would be applicable to orders placed using our Plug and Play cart and our proprietary third party set of parameters.

$string_to_hash = $_POST[“sale_id”] . “123456” . $_POST[“invoice_id”] . “tango”;
$check_key = strtoupper(md5($string_to_hash));
echo (“Returned MD5 Hash : ” . $_POST[“md5_hash”]
. “
”);
echo (“Should be : ” . $check_key . “
”);
if($check_key == strtoupper($_POST[“md5_hash”])){
// If the expected key and the returned key match the authenticity of the message has been validated.
echo (”They match!”); }
else {
// At this point the keys do not match.
// This is where you would put the code for an unsuccessful attempt.
echo (“They do NOT match!”);}

Please note that help with implementing the MD5 hash into your return script is beyond the realm of 2Checkout.com’s support. This document is provided merely as a reference document to help point you in the right direction. How the MD5 hash is computed is dependent upon the scripting language that you use. Implementation of any MD5 hash checking is solely on your end or your server. 2Checkout.com can not provide you with support in implementing this or troubleshooting your implementation. We provide you with the hashes as a convenience to help you protect your digital goods.

The following links may be of interest to you if you are looking for more information on the MD5 algorithm and its use.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~mabzug1/cs/md5/md5.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfSystemSecurityPolicyHashClassMD5Topic.asp

We have also intentionally designed the MD5 hash not to work for demo sales as was explained earlier. If the sale is in demo mode, the order number used to create the hash will be forced to a one, which will cause the hashes to be different when you compare them. If you wish to test the hashes, you’ll have to place a live test order using a real credit card number.

Why are these rates different from the rates I see in the newspaper?

Comparing rates from different information sources such as newspapers or online news sites is misleading. Foreign exchange rates vary from source to source depending on their origin, update intervals and many other factors. More over, such rates are usually valid for indication purposes only.

A more applicable comparison is with currency exchange rates and fees used by credit card companies and Issuing banks which average from 2-8% over the standard Inter-bank rate. The prices available for customers through our service will be the same (or lower) than the price they would pay when purchasing in USD.

The important difference is that with our service global customers know the final price up front and are therefore much more inclined to complete the purchase.

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