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How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

justinvincent.com

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Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#41

Post by dennisgorelik »

jv22222 wrote: post #28
dennisgorelik wrote: post #26

Stripe is easier to deal with and Stripe is also much faster than PayPal. Stripe gives way more flexibility in billing. However in order to use that flexibility I think it's better to dump the whole subscription model and don't even use IPN. I think all subscription management should be handled in-house. Yes, main subscription use-cases are handled ok in Stripe plan/subscription model. But there are so many edge case…

> For example, what if customer does not upgrade the plan, but downgrades? How would proration work in that case? Stripe deals with the prorata and credits the customers account next billing cycle. > what if Stripe cannot charge credit card for a day or two Stripe re-trys at time intervals you specify > What if user managed to resubscribe again using different credit card Stripe handles the connection because a subsc…

> Stripe handles the connection because a subscription and card is attached to a customer object.

That all sound good in top-level theory.

In practice that would mean that I have to reattach new credit card to the same customer object in Stripe.

I didn't even research if it's possible, but if it is - that's a different API call. Different than API call for signing up new customer.

Updating credit card on existing customer makes it harder to allow customer to return back to customer's previous credit card ("Use my previously entered Visa credit card ending by 1234").

How about the case when:

- Payment delayed.

- I removed premium membership from user.

- Stripe subscription finally charged old user's credit card, but my system did not receive IPN notification yet.

- User resubscribed again with new credit card.

- Then my system receives old credit card charge IPN notification.

What should my system do in that case?

What if my user decided switch to PayPal and still has Stripe subscription stuck in the limbo?

What do I do when I receive that we-were-able-to-charge-that-stubborn-credit-card IPN if user already paid by other means?

Do you see how these "Stripe-to-my-system subscription synchronization" issues are getting very ugly very quick?

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#42

Post by dangrossman »

taf2 wrote: post #29
dangrossman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do I have this scummy feeling about Dwolla? Was it something I read? I have this feeling that they're going to evaporate as soon as sites start taking Dwolla payments and there's a reason for them to be targeted by criminals... will 25 cents per transaction really cover the fraud-prevention excellence they need to develop?

I really think this is the case of their website design not giving a feeling of quality... Their design is OK... but I bet if they could give the site a softer look and have it convey a feeling of assurance/reliability - they'ed have a much better product... I realize design is a small part of the equation, but it goes a long way in gaining trust in the brand... Right now their site gives me the feeling of "stodgy co…

There's nothing wrong with Authorize.net. Well documented, easy to implement API, automatic billing or charge-by-reference, reliable service, not overpriced... Why would you regret it?

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#43

Post by dennisgorelik »

sheena wrote: post #37
the_bear wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Pricing is too important to let someone else set all the rules. I'm not saying that Stripe did a bad job with their subscription system, but I think it's a mistake to let someone else make all the decisions when it comes to such a critical aspect of your business. For example, I personally don't like prorating costs. I want my customers to be able to make changes and play around with the new features before d…

We certainly understand that for some specific billing situations, Stripe's subscriptions API may not be a good fit. That said, we've tried to accommodate as many use cases as possible, and I just wanted to make sure you knew we have a prorate => false flag that you can pass when switching subscriptions. We also have a concept of usage-based charges (invoice items). Your larger point of course still stands (that ther…

I think the best approach for you would be to keep one or two simple subscription cases and suggest your other customers who ask for edge cases to implement their own subscription system.

I wish you gave me that "do it yourself" recommendation - that would save me a lot of time (trying to squeeze what I need into subscription model that Stripe has).

Now that I do subscriptions in-house only - I don't even need to know what Stripe web-hooks are, what are all these possible subscription models and what are their limitations. Just two simple calls: one to create stripe customer and another to charge it when I need.

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#44

Post by dennisgorelik »

lnanek wrote: post #36

Don't many users already have PayPal accounts, though? I'd happily spend twice the development time if it meant users were less likely to leave the checkout page because they already had an account and wouldn't have to type as much. A little more dev work upfront can improve your conversion rates from then on, basically. Heck, I pay with PayPal instead of direct debit/credit cards when both are offered just because t…

> Don't many users already have PayPal accounts, though?

Nope.

I have 3 options: PayPal, Google Checkout, and Credit Card (Stripe, but my users don't know about Stripe).

Approximate proportion in new subscription payments is: 15% PayPal, 10% Google Checkout, 75% credit card.

Many existing users are switching from PayPal and Google Checkout to Credit Card (because now I have Stripe option).

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#45

Post by patio11 »

weaksauce wrote: post #34
troygoode wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

have you seen an conversion differences in your A/B tests?

That's the push part; implying that the tests have been about equal.

Yep. Technically speaking, I got three null results: not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis (that A was about equal to B).

Specifically, I tested

1) Paypal + Google Checkout (my previous arrangement) vs. credit card (Stripe) signups alone

2) PP + GC + CC vs. CC

3) PP + GC + CC with in-application upgrade messages pushing insta-gratification CC-based upgrades vs. plain PP + GC + CC with in-application upgrade messages dumping them to the purchasing page like I have done for the last 3 years

n.b. These are my results but they may not be your results. It is entirely possible my credit card form design (which I flagrantly stole from Twitter Bootstrap) is just bad, depressing CC signups, or the UX disimprovement crushed the favored-payment-method improvement, or something else entirely. Test test test.

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#46

Post by carbocation »

patio11 wrote: post #45
weaksauce wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the push part; implying that the tests have been about equal.

Yep. Technically speaking, I got three null results: not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis (that A was about equal to B). Specifically, I tested 1) Paypal + Google Checkout (my previous arrangement) vs. credit card (Stripe) signups alone 2) PP + GC + CC vs. CC 3) PP + GC + CC with in-application upgrade messages pushing insta-gratification CC-based upgrades vs. plain PP + GC + CC with in-application upgra…

Are you measuring, for this specific AB test, the number of conversions? Revenue? Profit? (Admittedly they should all trend in the same direction with the exception of profit, which might depend on how well each company's imposed costs work for your situation.)

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#47

Post by JshWright »

patio11 wrote: post #2

I implemented Stripe for BCC, too, as an experiment. (I was going to milk a blog post out of it, but all my A/B tests so far have been pushes versus using Paypal, so it wasn't important enough to write before Christmas and I've been swamped since.) It is every bit as easy as Justin says. BCC's integration was in production in 3 hours, including the wholly-new purchasing flow that my site required to support it. No hi…

Are you A/B testing Paypal vs. Stripe, or Paypal & Stripe vs. Paypal alone?

EDIT: Just noticed your post breaking down what you've looked at. Thanks again for all your transparency.

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#48

Post by gawker »

gozman wrote: post #16
earlyriser wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also based in Canada (Mtl) and I has been waiting for months for their international support. What were the other reasons (if you wan to share)? I'm interested in the experience of making US companies from Canada and what are the time and money expenses this generates.

We're also in Montreal! One big reason we went US was to avoid Bill 101 and all the language restrictions it entails. It was going to really slow us down. We also like the access to US capital that setting up in the States allows for. An LLC is an amazing thing that we don't have in Canada. It provides limited liability while freeing you from the governance requirements that a corporation has. As a bootstrapped start…

Definitely would love to hear more about it as well as the viability of going through that route as a single founder. Thanks!!

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#49

Post by cmillllllls »

At ClientBiller, we've set up an extremely easy way to use your merchant account whether it is paypal, authorize.net, google checkout, or moneybookers using our "Payment Pages" function. You just have to add your clients contact info, add the details of what your subscription you want to sell and add the button to your site and your client will get billed daily, weekly, monthly, or anytime you want to bill them!

And best of all, our service is free.

Try it out and let us know what you think: https://clientbiller.com/client_biller/pages/users/signup?be...

Thanks HN!

Re: How I Converted My Subscription Site from Paypal to Stripe in 2 Days

#50

Post by [deleted] »

dangrossman wrote: post #18
Codhisattva wrote: post #12

Keep an eye on Dwolla.com if you want an alternative payment system without the 2.9% transaction fee.

Why do I have this scummy feeling about Dwolla? Was it something I read? I have this feeling that they're going to evaporate as soon as sites start taking Dwolla payments and there's a reason for them to be targeted by criminals... will 25 cents per transaction really cover the fraud-prevention excellence they need to develop?

[deleted]
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