I have fully implemented Google Checkout on my app, but I am less than happy with the service. For the most part, it works as advertised and I'm fine with that. I use Python and my own code to handle the API requests and callbacks, and technically the system seems fine.
But there were two times that someone with Checkout decided to suspend my account *without warning* and I had to first discover the reason for the suspension and then deal with non-responsive support engineers half a world away. I would get a single email reply a day while my customers were left waiting for my site to resume. Even after I faxed and emailed the requested documentation within minutes of their email reply, I would have to wait another day to get my account restored. Poor customer service by Checkout! Another thing that I didn't expect is that some customers are afraid of Google. They don't like the idea of handing their credit card information over to this giant company. It's only a few customers, but their fear is enough for them to send a check instead of using Checkout for payment. If Checkout would allow for a one-time payment without requiring customers to create an account, that would be great. That is, I want an Authorize.net style gateway for Checkout so people can enter all of their credit card info and be done with the payment in just one step, without having to leave my website. I like how Social Gold allows for multiple payment options (including Checkout), and I hope the fees are closer to 2-3% (not the 6-10% shown on their FAQ). I just signed up for the beta, maybe this will be what I am looking for. In any case, there needs to be someone that I can call 24x7 for customer support, especially when Google wants to take actions without warning. I really hated the fact that they could contact me with any questions but just suspended activity without warning. It was really unprofessional. I got halfway through implementing the PayPal payment system when that happened, and I will complete that the next time Checkout behaves that way. I don't like the PayPal API, though. It's too cumbersome. Authorize.net is really nice but I need to open my own merchant account for that, and they're not cheap (monthly fees, etc.). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google App Engine" group. To post to this group, send email to google-appengine@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to google-appengine+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-appengine?hl=en.
