Benefactor Renewal Confusion - Improvements, Maybe?

[TGO David]

Good morning, TGO.

I made some changes to the software that I hope will make it a lot less confusing for people when they graciously wish to continue supporting the site by renewing Benefactor memberships.   Here's what has changed:

• As of now whenever a Benefactor membership expires the renewal invoice is valid for only 30 days.  After that time it expires and members will be able to once again purchase a new Benefactor membership if they so desire.
   
• If an active renewal invoice exists for a member and they attempt to buy a new membership instead of renewing, an improved error message is shown with some helpful information and a link to where they can find their previous purchases.

 

Quote

Oops!  It looks like you already purchased a subscription and just need to renew it instead of buying another.  You can click this link to Manage Your Purchases and renew from an existing invoice there.  If you encounter any problems, please be sure to contact us.  Thank you!

 

I hope that this makes things a lot easier on our Benefactor members.  You guys truly are the lifeblood of TGO and I can't thank you enough for your support and, frankly, your patience working through what has been one of the worst parts of our software for several years now.

I wish I'd thought to make these tweaks sooner.  Please let me know if they make things better or worse?

--David

[E4 No More]

Or get a lifetime and not worry about it ever again.  

[KahrMan]

11 minutes ago, E4 No More said:

Or get a lifetime and not worry about it ever again.  

[jhc77]

I think I’ve manually renewed once. Card is saved somewhere and gets charged automatically. Need to check on the Lifetime shortly. 

[DBTN]

Where is the invoice inside the manage your purchases link?  When I click on ii I am taken to my previous purchases but do not see an invoice or anything to click on to renew.   

[TGO David]

2 hours ago, DBTN said:

Where is the invoice inside the manage your purchases link?  When I click on ii I am taken to my previous purchases but do not see an invoice or anything to click on to renew.   

I sent an email to you earlier.  I didn't see any in your account showing a renewal option available.  Is the system saying that you can't purchase a new one and that you have to renew?

 

[DBTN]

I have not seen the email.  It says I am unable to purchase a new one and give me the ling to manage a previous purchase.

[TGO David]

43 minutes ago, DBTN said:

I have not seen the email.  It says I am unable to purchase a new one and give me the ling to manage a previous purchase.

I saw two that were Expired but no option to renew.  I just canceled them.  Can you see if it lets you purchase a new one now?

Sorry for the headache.  This is going to let me know if there's still a problem with the logic in the way these invoices are processing, though. 

 

[deerslayer]

Trying to renew Benefactor status and not sure if I'm missing something.  I placed an order to renew last night and never got an email.  I checked on it again tonight and it still said Pending.  I read this thread and realized that my chance to renew had expired and I just needed to purchase a new one.  I cancelled the order from last night and purchased a new one, but still didn't get an email.  When I go to Store/Orders, it says Pending and has an option to pay the invoice now. BUT I already did.  What am I doing wrong?

Edited February 5, 2020 by deerslayer

[btq96r]

Time for my yearly confusion about this.

I got the email that my benefactor status was expiring.  Right now I can only see the option to upgrade, not renew.  Do I have to wait until it expires on 03/30/2022 to renew?

[TGO David]

20 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Time for my yearly confusion about this.

I got the email that my benefactor status was expiring.  Right now I can only see the option to upgrade, not renew.  Do I have to wait until it expires on 03/30/2022 to renew?

Thanks for pointing this out.  I had configured a setting improperly, so I am fixing that now.  I'll respond back in a few minutes after I see what the result is.

 

[TGO David]

40 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Time for my yearly confusion about this.

I got the email that my benefactor status was expiring.  Right now I can only see the option to upgrade, not renew.  Do I have to wait until it expires on 03/30/2022 to renew?

 

16 minutes ago, TGO David said:

Thanks for pointing this out.  I had configured a setting improperly, so I am fixing that now.  I'll respond back in a few minutes after I see what the result is.

 

 

Alright, here is how it will work now:  You cannot renew the ahead of your expiration, but it gives you 7-days as a grace period afterward during which time you can renew.  During that period, you remain a Benefctor.  If that period elapses and you haven't renewed, it cancels the subscription and you would just purchase a new one.

 

[btq96r]

25 minutes ago, TGO David said:

 

 

Alright, here is how it will work now:  You cannot renew the ahead of your expiration, but it gives you 7-days as a grace period afterward during which time you can renew.  During that period, you remain a Benefctor.  If that period elapses and you haven't renewed, it cancels the subscription and you would just purchase a new one.

 

Thanks, David.  Will it send a reminder email, or do I need to set an alert for myself?

[TGO David]

7 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Thanks, David.  Will it send a reminder email, or do I need to set an alert for myself?

It should send out a reminder.  And we've been having really good success with email going out lately.  I made some changes there earlier this week and they've proven successful.

 

[btq96r]

1 hour ago, TGO David said:

It should send out a reminder.  And we've been having really good success with email going out lately.  I made some changes there earlier this week and they've proven successful.

 

It was the email I got the other day that prompted me.  System is working as hoped it seems.  I know that doesn't happen by accident, and can't say thanks enough for the unseen work.

[TGO David]

21 minutes ago, btq96r said:

It was the email I got the other day that prompted me.  System is working as hoped it seems.  I know that doesn't happen by accident, and can't say thanks enough for the unseen work.

Thanks for the kind words.  Email is one of those things that has vexed us for a while now.  I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[btq96r]

So, it let me renew.  Got an email at about midnight last night that the invoice had been generated.

Paid up, you're all stuck with me for another year.

[TGO David]

4 minutes ago, btq96r said:

So, it let me renew.  Got an email at about midnight last night that the invoice had been generated.

Paid up, you're all stuck with me for another year.

Thank you!   

[Joe86]

I am trying to renew my membership. I cannot renew without my member ID number. I just moved and cannot find my ID card. Can I find my membership number on my profile or somewhere else on the web page?  I can't pay my dues without it.

 

[TGO David]

6 hours ago, Joe86 said:

I am trying to renew my membership. I cannot renew without my member ID number. I just moved and cannot find my ID card. Can I find my membership number on my profile or somewhere else on the web page?  I can't pay my dues without it.

 

Joe, we've never issued ID cards of any sort.  What are you trying to renew that is asking you for a membership number?

[Joe86]

And what I am asking is where do I find this number.

Thank you

 

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, Joe86 said:

And what I am asking is where do I find this number.

Thank you

 

Joe, we don't issue member numbers.  What are you trying to renew?  Are you confusing us with TFA?