
Build an e-commerce mobile app on Parse and Stripe - HectorRamos
http://blog.parse.com/2013/03/21/build-an-e-commerce-mobile-app-on-parse-and-stripe/
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nathanstitt
Sorry, but stripe is not suitable for e-commerce at this time due to it
lacking pre-authorization support. [https://support.stripe.com/questions/can-
i-reserve-an-amount...](https://support.stripe.com/questions/can-i-reserve-an-
amount-on-the-customer-s-card) I've emailed them personally to confirm they
lack pre-authorization and they've confirmed they are working on it but no
ETA.

With e-commerce the charging process is that you pre-authorize the card for
the order amount at checkout, then capture the funds when the order ships.

To do otherwise is inviting disaster.

You could either just verify the card is valid and then attempt to charge when
the order ships, but then you run into failed charges because they are over
thier limit or something else fails. You've done all the work to pull and pack
the item and now you have to go put it back on the self.

Or you can attempt to charge the card fully at order checkout, but then you
run into problems with maybe your inventory accounting is inaccurate and you
don't have the item like you'd thought you did. Oops, you've already charged
the customer for it. VISA and friends _really_ don't like you doing that. I
believe you may actually be opening yourself up to fraud charges in certain
jurisdictions by doing so.

I have no idea why Parse is featuring this use of it with the products they've
selected. I can see it working if it's a so called 'face-to-face' sale where
the customer is picking up the product, but it doesn't appear to be presented
that way.

~~~
pc
(I work at Stripe.)

> Sorry, but stripe is not suitable for e-commerce at this time due to it
> lacking pre-authorization support.
> [https://support.stripe.com/questions/can-i-reserve-an-
> amount...](https://support.stripe.com/questions/can-i-reserve-an-amount..).
> I've emailed them personally to confirm they lack pre-authorization and
> they've confirmed they are working on it but no ETA.

We actually shipped this two weeks ago. Sorry we didn't drop you a line -- we
tried to find those who enquired about it. See
<https://stripe.com/docs/api#create_charge> for more.

~~~
nathanstitt
What? Wow, I actually emailed on the 9th. Received a very prompt and polite
reply from "Thairu" (no last name in the email) who apologized and said you
guys were working on it but didn't know when it would be out.

I'd actually offered to beta test the support if I could because I really
wanted to use you for an e-commerce site I'm developing.

Thanks, I'll hopefully be able to use it

------
burningion
Parse is building an incredible product, and so is Stripe. Great collaboration
to see happening. Parse is the reason I was able to launch my first app in
under a month's worth of development time. Can't wait to incorporate this into
my app.

