Question about Marketplace.tf discounts

[Andris]

Hello. I'm new here, so please take that in mind.

I want to buy some items using Marketplace.tf, but I'm having problem with the promo codes. I tried both getawhale and uncle. They get applied, but when I proceed to PayPal it displays the amount to be paid as the subtotal without the discount.

I contacted support and they couldn't help.

I asked on discord, but they couldn't help either.

 

To add to the story and why I'm only going to use PayPal on the site:

I already had problem with the card verification process. My bank flagged the 2 verification charges and locked my card. I got a call from them, asking if I approved these charges. I want none of that again so I'm going with PayPal.

 

I've seen posts here about everything so I'm hoping you can share some of your experiences with the site, discounts and the PayPal charges using the site. If you have any please share in detail, because so far I heard good and also horrible things about the site.

Here is an example:
Red being the amount with PayPal's conversion fee, which is totally normal.

Orange being the subtotal.

Green being the discounted total, which should be charged.

 

This is just one example out of many. Same thing applies to any discounted checkouts with any order.

[loli (hiding)]

im genuinely confused, it says you buy 10 and get one free, doesn't that mean the code is applied?

[Mengh.]

Most likely that the Paypal conversion fee is nullifying your discount (where Paypal conversion fee is $1.84 for this transaction)

[Andris]

7 hours ago, loli (hiding) said:

im genuinely confused, it says you buy 10 and get one free, doesn't that mean the code is applied?

Code is applied. It should be $18.40 but instead it shows $20.24 on PayPal, so the subtotal.

 

 

6 hours ago, Mengh. said:

Most likely that the Paypal conversion fee is nullifying your discount (where Paypal conversion fee is $1.84 for this transaction)

I thought the same at first. I tried paying without any discount applied and the amount was correct given the price and the conversion fee combined.
To make it more clear: the total was lets say $20.24 and the PayPal checkout displayed the equal amount in HUF + the fee.

 

Edit: Here is an easy example. 1 key for $1.85 without discount.

[Adolf Storms]

could be a disconnect between the currency converter and the checkout. even paypal doesn't value hungarian forints as much as the calculator? although not sure you applied the discount properly either in all cases

[Andris]

10 minutes ago, Adolf Storms said:

could be a disconnect between the currency converter and the checkout. even paypal doesn't value hungarian forints as much as the calculator? although not sure you applied the discount properly either in all cases

I don't know how to properly apply the discount. I just typed it in and pressed "Add" then it added it and changed the Total to the discounted price. I guess that's how you apply one.

Anyways, I don't quite understand you. Here is the thing. PayPal works fine and it always did. I got many games, etc. using PayPal as a payment method. Whenever I used PayPal I always got charged the exact amount that was shown. I am aware that PayPal has fees. Either from the sites directly or/and conversion fees.

Lets use the 1 key order for example, because that's the most straight forward:

1 key for 1.85 USD > No discount applied > Redirected to PayPal > The payment will be 588 HUF > This already includes the conversion fee > Rate is 1 HUF for 0,00315 USD > 588 HUF equals 1.8522 USD so the fee is 0.0022 USD in this case

Simply put the actual item I'm buying cost 1.85 USD and PayPal will take a 0.0022 USD conversion fee on top of that. Now there is nothing that shows you that exactly, but it all makes sense.

When I apply a discount on the site the total amount changes so the discount clearly applies. The weird thing is: when I proceed to PayPal it displays exactly the same amount that would be the total without the discount, so the subtotal... Now on top of that amount there is also the conversion fee. So here is the discounted example:

11 keys for 20.24 USD > "uncle" discount code applied > This takes 1.84 USD off the order (1 key worth) > Redirected to PayPal > The payment will be 6430 HUF > This already includes the conversion fee > Rate is 1 HUF for 0,00315 USD > 6430 HUF equals 20.2545 USD in this case so the conversion fee is 0.0145 USD.

[Bafir]

For me, MP simply doesn't work well when buying discounted things with Paypal. I also don't think MP is interested in / can fix it.

[Andris]

46 minutes ago, Bafir said:

For me, MP simply doesn't work well when buying discounted things with Paypal. I also don't think MP is interested in / can fix it.

Thank you for the comment. Did you find any solution or workaround?

[Bafir]

I don't need or seek to buy with Paypal again.

[D.Alex]

Out of curiosity I tried selecting PayPal today and I think I see the same result - PayPal popup showing the amount without discount:

 

 

However, the main purpose of this popup is to select how I pay (logging in to my PayPal and choosing Funds/Bank Account/Credit Card as a source)

The popup does not show the amount in the main popup area.

The only reason I see this amount is the included "PayPal Credit" inside ad.

I guess you see the amount because you have to choose the currency.

 

So my theory is

(1) maybe this is by design and MPTF requests PayPal confirmation without the discount

(2) most people do not see the total amount in PayPal popup anyway or are not as observant as you are

(3) after you click "Continue" in PayPal popup you get to MPTF final confirmation screen

(4) and then after you confirm there MPTF charges the correct amount with the discount

 

So I'm guessing you've never actually came through with the payment, right? 

 

[Andris]

First of all, thank you for sharing this @D.Alex
Yes, some purchases on PayPal do not show you the amount up front. I believe you might need to hover over something to see the amount, but I always had payments in HUF so I'm not sure.
 

Touching on your theories:

13 hours ago, D.Alex said:

(1) maybe this is by design and MPTF requests PayPal confirmation without the discount

1) That'd be a really weird design or something very misleading. If I'm being easy on MP.TF I'd say my theory is that PayPal's web application does not see the discounts and therefore displaying the subtotal which is in this case is the total... Nonetheless... either way I look at it, it's just weird.

13 hours ago, D.Alex said:

(2) most people do not see the total amount in PayPal popup anyway or are not as observant as you are

2) Both can be a possibility.

13 hours ago, D.Alex said:

(3) after you click "Continue" in PayPal popup you get to MPTF final confirmation screen

3) Can also be a possibility. Many sites do that. Some just charge you instantly. On this particular site I wouldn't try out of curiosity just yet. I will explain why.

13 hours ago, D.Alex said:

(4) and then after you confirm there MPTF charges the correct amount with the discount

4) I highly doubt at this point in time, but I can be completely wrong.

 

13 hours ago, D.Alex said:

So I'm guessing you've never actually came through with the payment, right? 

Correct, never came through with the payment.

So here is why I wouldn't try it just yet: I believe using PayPal would be safe, but I'm constantly in a Checkmate position.
1) I don't want to use my MasterCard directly again, because my bank very much disliked the 2 verification charge by flagging them, blocking my card for suspicious activities and giving me a call. This has been already resolved and I even got the refund from MP.TF as promised. I know I can tell my bank to not flag any other charges coming from that account, but I just don't want to put myself in a similar situation again over some virtual items. I mostly use PayPal online anyways.
2) If I were to make a test purchase using code "uncle" I would (I think) lose my ability to use "getawhale" which is 10% off first order. Since I want the most out of it, that would go against the whole purpose (if it indeed charges full price)

 

When I contacted support, they said similar things to your theories:
1) I should be able to safely proceed with my order and the correct, discounted amount will be charged.
2) They haven't recieved any reports of what I have reported, but they recieved confirmation that it should charge the correct amount at the end regardless of what was shown.
This is all good news, but based on my past experiences with online support, I don't want to fall fool to empty words. By the way, contacting support was my first thing.
After that I joined the discord channel and asked the community members. I got one respond. They basically said that "PayPal might not be picking up the discounts, but that's weird." which is indeed weird.

 

I tried bypassing this dilemma by trying to purchase wallet funds, but they are no longer selling them, so that idea failed.

 

So here I am, trying to get to the bottom of this. I'm only invested in this because if it's true then it's a greater problem that effects everyone using PayPal.

 

@Bafir low-key confirmed my suspicion. I would like to hear more from their side. So Bafir, if you want to share your experience making discounted orders on MP.TF using PayPal in more detail, please do.