online ordering - cookies & failure

Problem
=======

Shopping cart sometimes fails. Customers complain. It appears to be a
cookie related problem.

Background
==========

ASP/Windows 2000, Cookie based, all financials handled via phone.

Shopping items at redburg.co.uk, but button links to merrows.

Cart at merrows.com - required for future use with different sites of
merchant account with Barclays, but the bank allows one URL per
account.

Code
====

-- basket id is stored on a DB and then all cart items are referenced
from that.
-- cookie holds only this id, URL, expiry

if cartEmpty then
getNewBasketShopperID
Response.Cookies ("shoppingcart")("BasketShopperID") =
thisBasketShopperID
thisExpiry = DateAdd("d",1,Now)
Response.Cookies ("shoppingcart").Expires = thisExpiry
else
thisBasketShopperID = Request.Cookies
("shoppingcart")("BasketShopperID")
end if


Request
=======

Has anyone got any ideas on the failures in the cart at merrows.com?

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed sales (AT) logicians (DOT) com (Trevor) writing
in news:88a9861a.0310040126.95649a9 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com:

Problem
=======

Shopping cart sometimes fails. Customers complain. It appears to be a
cookie related problem.

Background
==========

ASP/Windows 2000, Cookie based, all financials handled via phone.

Shopping items at redburg.co.uk, but button links to merrows.

Cart at merrows.com - required for future use with different sites of
merchant account with Barclays, but the bank allows one URL per
account.

Code
====

-- basket id is stored on a DB and then all cart items are referenced
from that.
-- cookie holds only this id, URL, expiry

if cartEmpty then
getNewBasketShopperID
Response.Cookies ("shoppingcart")("BasketShopperID") =
thisBasketShopperID
thisExpiry = DateAdd("d",1,Now)
Response.Cookies ("shoppingcart").Expires = thisExpiry
else
thisBasketShopperID = Request.Cookies
("shoppingcart")("BasketShopperID")
end if


Request
=======

Has anyone got any ideas on the failures in the cart at merrows.com?

Do some response.writes for the value of the cookie, with various levels of
privacy. The privacy level may be what's causing the problem.

--
Adrienne Boswell
Please respond to the group so others can share
http://www.arbpen.com

Adrienne <arbpen (AT) sbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed sales (AT) logicians (DOT) com (Trevor) writing
in news:88a9861a.0310040126.95649a9 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com:

Request
=======

Has anyone got any ideas on the failures in the cart at merrows.com?


Do some response.writes for the value of the cookie, with various levels of
privacy. The privacy level may be what's causing the problem.

Can you expand on cookie privacy levels?

I do not what privacy levels are or how to access them.

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed sales (AT) logicians (DOT) com (Trevor)
writing in news:88a9861a.0310040601.5d26d5ff (AT) posting (DOT) google.com:

Adrienne <arbpen (AT) sbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:<Xns940A1F7487070arbpenyahoocom (AT) 207 (DOT) 115.63.158>...
Gazing into my crystal ball I observed sales (AT) logicians (DOT) com (Trevor)
writing in news:88a9861a.0310040126.95649a9 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com:




Request
=======

Has anyone got any ideas on the failures in the cart at merrows.com?


Do some response.writes for the value of the cookie, with various
levels of privacy. The privacy level may be what's causing the
problem.

Can you expand on cookie privacy levels?

I do not what privacy levels are or how to access them.

In IE6 , go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Privacy - Advanced

Other browsers, procedure is similar.

You should also read up on: http://www.w3.org/P3P/

--
Adrienne Boswell
Please respond to the group so others can share
http://www.arbpen.com

"Trevor" <sales (AT) logicians (DOT) com> wrote

Has anyone got any ideas on the failures in the cart at merrows.com?

It doesn't matter that its "only" the shopper ID being stored in the
cookie... if the user has cookies disabled or their company's internet
security/firewall won't allow them, then the cart will not work for them

You have only 2 options here:
- Use an online ordering system that doesn't rely on cookies
or
- Go with what you got now, and deny some customers the use of your system

Clint