title: paypal ipn script won't work
body: <p>Not quite sure what the problem is, but I hope someone can help me. I went to <a href="https://www.paypaltech.com/SG2/" rel="nofollow">https://www.paypaltech.com/SG2/</a> and used their tool to create a php script that writes to the db (MySQL). Here is the exact script it gave me back (except for the credentials, obviously):</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;?php
  
  // Revision Notes
  // 11/04/11 - changed post back url from https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr to https://ipnpb.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
  // For more info see below:
  // https://www.x.com/content/bulletin-ip-address-expansion-paypal-services
  // "ACTION REQUIRED: if you are using IPN (Instant Payment Notification) for Order Management and your IPN listener script is behind a firewall that uses ACL (Access Control List) rules which restrict outbound traffic to a limited number of IP addresses, then you may need to do one of the following: 
  // To continue posting back to https://www.paypal.com  to perform IPN validation you will need to update your firewall ACL to allow outbound access to *any* IP address for the servers that host your IPN script
  // OR Alternatively, you will need to modify  your IPN script to post back IPNs to the newly created URL https://ipnpb.paypal.com using HTTPS (port 443) and update firewall ACL rules to allow outbound access to the ipnpb.paypal.com IP ranges (see end of message)."
  
  
  /////////////////////////////////////////////////
  /////////////Begin Script below./////////////////
  /////////////////////////////////////////////////
  
  // read the post from PayPal system and add 'cmd'
  $req = 'cmd=_notify-validate';
  foreach ($_POST as $key =&gt; $value) {
  $value = urlencode(stripslashes($value));
  $req .= "&amp;$key=$value";
  }
  // post back to PayPal system to validate
  $header = "POST /cgi-bin/webscr HTTP/1.0\r\n";
  $header .= "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\r\n";
  $header .= "Content-Length: " . strlen($req) . "\r\n\r\n";
  
  // If testing on Sandbox use:
  $fp = fsockopen ('ssl://www.sandbox.paypal.com', 443, $errno, $errstr, 30);
  
  //$fp = fsockopen ('ssl://ipnpb.paypal.com', 443, $errno, $errstr, 30);
  
  
  // assign posted variables to local variables
  $item_name = $_POST['item_name'];
  $business = $_POST['business'];
  $item_number = $_POST['item_number'];
  $payment_status = $_POST['payment_status'];
  $mc_gross = $_POST['mc_gross'];
  $payment_currency = $_POST['mc_currency'];
  $txn_id = $_POST['txn_id'];
  $receiver_email = $_POST['receiver_email'];
  $receiver_id = $_POST['receiver_id'];
  $quantity = $_POST['quantity'];
  $num_cart_items = $_POST['num_cart_items'];
  $payment_date = $_POST['payment_date'];
  $first_name = $_POST['first_name'];
  $last_name = $_POST['last_name'];
  $payment_type = $_POST['payment_type'];
  $payment_status = $_POST['payment_status'];
  $payment_gross = $_POST['payment_gross'];
  $payment_fee = $_POST['payment_fee'];
  $settle_amount = $_POST['settle_amount'];
  $memo = $_POST['memo'];
  $payer_email = $_POST['payer_email'];
  $txn_type = $_POST['txn_type'];
  $payer_status = $_POST['payer_status'];
  $address_street = $_POST['address_street'];
  $address_city = $_POST['address_city'];
  $address_state = $_POST['address_state'];
  $address_zip = $_POST['address_zip'];
  $address_country = $_POST['address_country'];
  $address_status = $_POST['address_status'];
  $item_number = $_POST['item_number'];
  $tax = $_POST['tax'];
  $option_name1 = $_POST['option_name1'];
  $option_selection1 = $_POST['option_selection1'];
  $option_name2 = $_POST['option_name2'];
  $option_selection2 = $_POST['option_selection2'];
  $for_auction = $_POST['for_auction'];
  $invoice = $_POST['invoice'];
  $custom = $_POST['custom'];
  $notify_version = $_POST['notify_version'];
  $verify_sign = $_POST['verify_sign'];
  $payer_business_name = $_POST['payer_business_name'];
  $payer_id =$_POST['payer_id'];
  $mc_currency = $_POST['mc_currency'];
  $mc_fee = $_POST['mc_fee'];
  $exchange_rate = $_POST['exchange_rate'];
  $settle_currency  = $_POST['settle_currency'];
  $parent_txn_id  = $_POST['parent_txn_id'];
  $pending_reason = $_POST['pending_reason'];
  $reason_code = $_POST['reason_code'];
  
  
  // subscription specific vars
  
  $subscr_id = $_POST['subscr_id'];
  $subscr_date = $_POST['subscr_date'];
  $subscr_effective  = $_POST['subscr_effective'];
  $period1 = $_POST['period1'];
  $period2 = $_POST['period2'];
  $period3 = $_POST['period3'];
  $amount1 = $_POST['amount1'];
  $amount2 = $_POST['amount2'];
  $amount3 = $_POST['amount3'];
  $mc_amount1 = $_POST['mc_amount1'];
  $mc_amount2 = $_POST['mc_amount2'];
  $mc_amount3 = $_POST['mcamount3'];
  $recurring = $_POST['recurring'];
  $reattempt = $_POST['reattempt'];
  $retry_at = $_POST['retry_at'];
  $recur_times = $_POST['recur_times'];
  $username = $_POST['username'];
  $password = $_POST['password'];
  
  //auction specific vars
  
  $for_auction = $_POST['for_auction'];
  $auction_closing_date  = $_POST['auction_closing_date'];
  $auction_multi_item  = $_POST['auction_multi_item'];
  $auction_buyer_id  = $_POST['auction_buyer_id'];
  
  
  
  //DB connect creds and email 
  $notify_email =  "hidden_for_StackOverflow";         //email address to which debug emails are sent to
  $DB_Server = "hidden_for_StackOverflow"; //your MySQL Server
  $DB_Username = "hidden_for_StackOverflow"; //your MySQL User Name
  $DB_Password = "hidden_for_StackOverflow"; //your MySQL Password
  $DB_DBName = "hidden_for_StackOverflow"; //your MySQL Database Name
  
  
  if (!$fp) {
  // HTTP ERROR
  } else {
  fputs ($fp, $header . $req);
  while (!feof($fp)) {
  $res = fgets ($fp, 1024);
  if (strcmp ($res, "VERIFIED") == 0) {
  
  
  
  //create MySQL connection
  $Connect = @mysql_connect($DB_Server, $DB_Username, $DB_Password)
  or die("Couldn't connect to MySQL:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  
  
  //select database
  $Db = @mysql_select_db($DB_DBName, $Connect)
  or die("Couldn't select database:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error(). "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  
  
  $fecha = date("m")."/".date("d")."/".date("Y");
  $fecha = date("Y").date("m").date("d");
  
  //check if transaction ID has been processed before
  $checkquery = "select txnid from paypal_payment_info where txnid='".$txn_id."'";
  $sihay = mysql_query($checkquery) or die("Duplicate txn id check query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  $nm = mysql_num_rows($sihay);
  if ($nm == 0){
  
  //execute query
  
  
  
      if ($txn_type == "cart"){
      $strQuery = "insert into paypal_payment_info(paymentstatus,buyer_email,firstname,lastname,street,city,state,zipcode,country,mc_gross,mc_fee,memo,paymenttype,paymentdate,txnid,pendingreason,reasoncode,tax,datecreation) values ('".$payment_status."','".$payer_email."','".$first_name."','".$last_name."','".$address_street."','".$address_city."','".$address_state."','".$address_zip."','".$address_country."','".$mc_gross."','".$mc_fee."','".$memo."','".$payment_type."','".$payment_date."','".$txn_id."','".$pending_reason."','".$reason_code."','".$tax."','".$fecha."')";
  
       $result = mysql_query($strQuery) or die("Cart - paypal_payment_info, Query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
       for ($i = 1; $i &lt;= $num_cart_items; $i++) {
           $itemname = "item_name".$i;
           $itemnumber = "item_number".$i;
           $on0 = "option_name1_".$i;
           $os0 = "option_selection1_".$i;
           $on1 = "option_name2_".$i;
           $os1 = "option_selection2_".$i;
           $quantity = "quantity".$i;
  
           $struery = "insert into paypal_cart_info(txnid,itemnumber,itemname,os0,on0,os1,on1,quantity,invoice,custom) values ('".$txn_id."','".$_POST[$itemnumber]."','".$_POST[$itemname]."','".$_POST[$on0]."','".$_POST[$os0]."','".$_POST[$on1]."','".$_POST[$os1]."','".$_POST[$quantity]."','".$invoice."','".$custom."')";
           $result = mysql_query($struery) or die("Cart - paypal_cart_info, Query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  
       }
      }
  
  
  
      else{
       $strQuery = "insert into paypal_payment_info(paymentstatus,buyer_email,firstname,lastname,street,city,state,zipcode,country,mc_gross,mc_fee,itemnumber,itemname,os0,on0,os1,on1,quantity,memo,paymenttype,paymentdate,txnid,pendingreason,reasoncode,tax,datecreation) values ('".$payment_status."','".$payer_email."','".$first_name."','".$last_name."','".$address_street."','".$address_city."','".$address_state."','".$address_zip."','".$address_country."','".$mc_gross."','".$mc_fee."','".$item_number."','".$item_name."','".$option_name1."','".$option_selection1."','".$option_name2."','".$option_selection2."','".$quantity."','".$memo."','".$payment_type."','".$payment_date."','".$txn_id."','".$pending_reason."','".$reason_code."','".$tax."','".$fecha."')";
       $result = mysql_query("insert into paypal_payment_info(paymentstatus,buyer_email,firstname,lastname,street,city,state,zipcode,country,mc_gross,mc_fee,itemnumber,itemname,os0,on0,os1,on1,quantity,memo,paymenttype,paymentdate,txnid,pendingreason,reasoncode,tax,datecreation) values ('".$payment_status."','".$payer_email."','".$first_name."','".$last_name."','".$address_street."','".$address_city."','".$address_state."','".$address_zip."','".$address_country."','".$mc_gross."','".$mc_fee."','".$item_number."','".$item_name."','".$option_name1."','".$option_selection1."','".$option_name2."','".$option_selection2."','".$quantity."','".$memo."','".$payment_type."','".$payment_date."','".$txn_id."','".$pending_reason."','".$reason_code."','".$tax."','".$fecha."')") or die("Default - paypal_payment_info, Query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
      }
  
  
      // send an email in any case
   echo "Verified";
       mail($notify_email, "VERIFIED IPN", "$res\n $req\n $strQuery\n $struery\n  $strQuery2");
  }
  else {
  // send an email
  mail($notify_email, "VERIFIED DUPLICATED TRANSACTION", "$res\n $req \n $strQuery\n $struery\n  $strQuery2");
  }
  
      //subscription handling branch
      if ( $txn_type == "subscr_signup"  ||  $txn_type == "subscr_payment"  ) {
  
        // insert subscriber payment info into paypal_payment_info table
        $strQuery = "insert into paypal_payment_info(paymentstatus,buyer_email,firstname,lastname,street,city,state,zipcode,country,mc_gross,mc_fee,memo,paymenttype,paymentdate,txnid,pendingreason,reasoncode,tax,datecreation) values ('".$payment_status."','".$payer_email."','".$first_name."','".$last_name."','".$address_street."','".$address_city."','".$address_state."','".$address_zip."','".$address_country."','".$mc_gross."','".$mc_fee."','".$memo."','".$payment_type."','".$payment_date."','".$txn_id."','".$pending_reason."','".$reason_code."','".$tax."','".$fecha."')";
        $result = mysql_query($strQuery) or die("Subscription - paypal_payment_info, Query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  
  
           // insert subscriber info into paypal_subscription_info table
          $strQuery2 = "insert into paypal_subscription_info(subscr_id , sub_event, subscr_date ,subscr_effective,period1,period2, period3, amount1 ,amount2 ,amount3,  mc_amount1,  mc_amount2,  mc_amount3, recurring, reattempt,retry_at, recur_times, username ,password, payment_txn_id, subscriber_emailaddress, datecreation) values ('".$subscr_id."', '".$txn_type."','".$subscr_date."','".$subscr_effective."','".$period1."','".$period2."','".$period3."','".$amount1."','".$amount2."','".$amount3."','".$mc_amount1."','".$mc_amount2."','".$mc_amount3."','".$recurring."','".$reattempt."','".$retry_at."','".$recur_times."','".$username."','".$password."', '".$txn_id."','".$payer_email."','".$fecha."')";
          $result = mysql_query($strQuery2) or die("Subscription - paypal_subscription_info, Query failed:&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_error() . "&lt;br&gt;" . mysql_errno());
  
  
               mail($notify_email, "VERIFIED IPN", "$res\n $req\n $strQuery\n $struery\n  $strQuery2");
  
      }
  }
  
  // if the IPN POST was 'INVALID'...do this
  
  
  else if (strcmp ($res, "INVALID") == 0) {
  // log for manual investigation
  
  mail($notify_email, "INVALID IPN", "$res\n $req");
  }
  }
  fclose ($fp);
  }
  ?&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>When I use the online IPN Simulator at <a href="https://developer.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/devscr" rel="nofollow">https://developer.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/devscr</a> it says that the IPN is successfully sent, however, I see nothing in my database, and I am emailed nothing. What could possibly be wrong? </p>