getting the users country when they sign up.

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9/8/2010 12:28:22 AM
lexius
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getting the users country when they sign up.

my scenario is, the user signs up and gets forwarded to a payment page, i need to know which country they are in in order to select a currency.

Is there anything in mojoportal that allows me to pick up the users location/country. or should i just add a country drop down on the on the sign-up page?

 

9/8/2010 7:20:37 AM
Joe Audette
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Re: getting the users country when they sign up.

there isn't anything built in for that other than there is a /Controls/CountryStateSetting.ascx which implements ISettingControl so it could be used as a custom user profile property. It stores and returns a pipe separated string like ISOCode|Code where the first is the country code and the second is the city code.

However, it might be wiser to implement a currency picker and only list the currencies you will actually support.

9/8/2010 2:11:14 PM
lexius
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Re: getting the users country when they sign up.

thanks for the response Joe.

Actually the currency wasn't an issue, your right that is easy with a drop down.

The issue was about charging Tax, anyone outside of the UK we shouldn't be charging tax (vat) to. But as we don't actually send them anything in the post we don't take the address.  I was thinking that you probably collect the ip address around the sign up time and that could perhaps be used. but maybe  thats not reliable enough.

 

Maybe I need to rethink the process a bit.

9/8/2010 4:30:42 PM
lexius
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Re: getting the users country when they sign up.

Actually would I be correct in thinking that if i configured the the settings in Core Data Administration I wouldnt need collect the country and apply a tax rate as MP would do this for me?

If this is the case:

1 I just nee to set a tax rate for the UK which I can do no problem. But is there a way to set a zero rate for all other countries, or will it still allow people from these counties to purchase, and just not apply a tax rate to them (as one isnt set up)?

2. I think there is a small bug (it might be me not understanding the process). Administration Menu > Core Data Administration > Tax Rate Administration

I set up  2 tax classes Taxable and non Taxable

I put both these in for the UK as some goods are taxable and some arent. But only 1 line shows when I select the re-select the country(UK)

but when i select edit to edit the rate, then both records show.

 

Am I doing something wrong, should I only be adding 1 tax record per country?

 

9/10/2010 7:46:28 AM
Joe Audette
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Re: getting the users country when they sign up.

Hi,

First thing to understand is that the WebStore feature is an alpha level feature because it has limited implementation and is not yet a full blown general purpose ecommerce solution. It may not do what you need it to do. The TaxRates as currently implemented works for United States and tax rates are defined at the Country/State level. Tax Rates are applied based on Tax Class, so a product must be marked with the tax Class Taxable. It works only when using direct payment such as with Authorize.NET where payments are processed without the user leaving the site. For PayPal or Google, what I do is configure tax rates in my PayPal and Google Accounts. In my case I only have to charge tax if the billing or shipping address is in North Carolina and it is easy for me to define a tax rate for NC in both.

In reality taxes are a very complex problem because rates and rules vary widely by locality. I do not claim to have a complete solution for it. For example, sales tax in North Carolina varies by County, there is a base state sales tax rate and in each county within the state there are some county tax also added so the sales tax rates vary from county to county and a merchant must collect the correct amount depending on which county(s) the business operates in. So when I configure tax for North Carolina in PayPal, I have to configure the correct rate for Mecklenburg County which is where my business is located. If I had multiple locations it would be even more complicated.

I think you always need to collect at least a billing address to be able to calculate tax at all and it also help enforce credit card security and may be required for you to pass that information to the card processor such as Authorize.NET. When PayPal or Google Checkout are used they collect the billing address and it is returned back to you.

You don't need to configure tax rate for anything with Tax Class not taxable.

Hope it helps,

Joe

9/10/2010 11:54:15 PM
lexius
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Re: getting the users country when they sign up.

Thanks for your response Joe.

How does it know what Tax rate to apply, is it looking at IP address or does the user have to select one of the country/regions for it to be applied?

so for bombarding you with questions, I did look for documentation, but I assume its not done yet as its in aplha (or did i miss it?)

thanks again

Lex

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