D&D General D&D Player's Handbook PayPal Orders Suffer Processing Issues

According to forum comments on D&D Beyond, it appears that many customers who pre-ordered the 2024 Player's Handbook using PayPal are receiving emails which say that their payments failed to go through.

LaTia Jacquise, the D&D community manager, has asked those affected to file support tickets so that WotC can look into and rectify the issue.

The book's release is on September 17th. For those who pre-ordered the three core rulebooks, it appears that only the Player's Handbook is affected at this stage. Those who pre-ordered the digital and physical bundle were charged for--and received--their digital books previously; the physical portion of the order was charged separately, and it seems that this portion is the one that is failing.

Hey all! (Again, big font for visibility.)

I come with an update on these PHB pre-order cancellations. There were two potential reasons for these cancellations, and we are working to resolve the issues quickly.

The first reason was a tech issue that caused some orders to fail payment processing when shipping started which caused the order to automatically cancel. On September 11th, customers in this category were notified via email that we will attempt to re-process their order after 24 hours with the opportunity to opt-out by contacting customer service.

The second reason was due to payment failure of the original payment method used for the pre-order when shipping started which caused the order to automatically cancel. This payment failure could include things like insufficient funds or an expired card. In this case, customers will be notified today with instructions on how they can re-order the PHB book using an updated payment method.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience but wanted to keep everyone informed as we quickly work to resolve the pre-orders.

- LaTia Jacquise, D&D community manager​

​

 

[Iosue]

They aren't canceling paid-for orders. They charged for the digital DDB bundle when you ordered, but not the three hardcopy books, instead intending to charge for the individual books as they're released. My understanding is that, because of how the transactions were structured, the PayPal authorization for the charges expired in the meantime, so when they try to charge, PayPal rejected the charge, which then led to that book from the order being canceled - and not charged.

The first problem is that if I reorder from DDB, I don't get the bundle discount.

The second (and third) problems are that this seems likely to happen again with the DMG and MM when they're ready to ship.

As someone affected by the cancellations, I can confirm that this is the case. My PayPal was charged at the time of order for the digital version, but was not charged for the physical book. WotC is not running off with people's money.

 

[Theory of Games]

Wow. Wizards.

 

[CleverNickName]

As someone affected by the cancellations, I can confirm that this is the case. My PayPal was charged at the time of order for the digital version, but was not charged for the physical book. WotC is not running off with people's money.

So...it's really not that big of a deal?

Great. Just great. How am I supposed to complain about Wizards of the Coast now? I had blocked off my entire Friday for this.

 

[Iosue]

So...it's really not that big of a deal?

Great. Just great. How am I supposed to complain about Wizards of the Coast now? I had blocked off my entire Friday for this.

Well, this certainly indicates delays in delivery!

It is regrettable that this mix-up has happened. I don't know how much of it is a Wizards thing, and how much of it is a PayPal thing. It seems it would have been easier to process the whole payment at the time of the transaction. But, I can imagine that that would have caused problems if there was some other kind of delay, or if people wanted to cancel their physical order before delivery.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Well, this certainly indicates delays in delivery!

It is regrettable that this mix-up has happened. I don't know how much of it is a Wizards thing, and how much of it is a PayPal thing. It seems it would have been easier to process the whole payment at the time of the transaction. But, I can imagine that that would have caused problems if there was some other kind of delay, or if people wanted to cancel their physical order before delivery.

Yeah. They could have charged everything together. But they tried to be more friendly by charging one at a time... and prduced the next drama...

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Wow. Wizards.

In your heart of hearts, you genuinely think they were trying to steal from their customers?

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

In your heart of hearts, you genuinely think they were trying to steal from their customers?

hey, a reason to complain does not have to be logical. A conspiracy theory is an ever hungry beast that need to be fed with any scraps you can find or make up.

Great. Just great. How am I supposed to complain about Wizards of the Coast now? I had blocked off my entire Friday for this.

try something like this: ''they stole the money to pay for the Pinkertons building their walled-garden, non-OGL, MMO of the next edition" or something.

 

[TiQuinn]

PayPal is just the worst.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

hey, a reason to complain does not have to be logical. A conspiracy theory is an ever hungry beast that need to be fed with any scraps you can find or make up.

Yes. Which is what it is more or less.

try something like this: ''they stole the money to pay for the Pinkertons building their walled-garden, non-OGL, MMO of the next edition" or something.

Yeah. Some people already try to build that narrative.

 

[Nikosandros]

The D&D Beyond store front seems to be having a lot of problems with PayPal. For a short while, at the beginning of May, I was unable to utilize it to pay. Customer service solved the issue, but not for everyone. There's still many users who cannot use it. A few posters suggested a technical solution to be implemented by DDB, but I don't think that the situation changed.

The issue in the OP in new, but I wonder if it is somehow connected.

They are also having some trouble in fulfilling the pre-order perks and I think that customer service is currently swamped. Hopefully, in the future they will hire more people.

Of course, the narratives about WotC stealing from the customers are ridiculous.