Buying a SSL certificate

WebHost Admin · #1 (**permalink**) 02-04-2006, 12:05 PM

Damn - had problems ordering a SSL as ev1servers kept refusing to process my Credit Card (they were getting pre-authorisation, but I guess my old friends at Royal Bank of Scotland were sending a "Warning" on the transaction).

I got the client to pay for it, but I selected "Other" e-mail address rather than their list, which inadvertently meant waiting a few days to be contacted before the order could be processed.

Okay, so, fine - I dug out my old HSBC Mastercard which I'm supposed to be in the process of cancelling - order went through fine, went through the verification process...

No e-mail sent - looks like I'm getting flagged for a manual review (huh?).

And to cap it all off, Geotrust support is only open Mon-Fri.

I had an ecommerce site I was trying to ensure was all ready and up and running for Monday - looks like that won't happen now, and that I'm going to have to arse around waiting for support to come online at 9am PST - (approax 5pm GMT).

Completely messes up my plans for Monday as well - was supposed to be in Edinburgh for a business meeting then go see HSBC about personal finances, but it looks as if I may not be able to make any of these after all.

Really hate it when you don't have support options through 7 days of the week.

I guess the lesson is to ensure your SSL cert purchase is all clear before a weekend.

WebHost Admin · #2 (**permalink**) 02-04-2006, 03:12 PM

Hoo-ray! The order came in after a couple of hours.

Hoosierhunter · #3 (**permalink**) 21-09-2006, 04:44 PM

I hate the run around, especially on something so essential. Did you take notes for next time?

brian · #4 (**permalink**) 25-09-2006, 04:47 PM

Looks like it was a credit card verification issue - got a SSL cert coming up for renewal, but I'll let the client pay for it this time.

webme · #5 (**permalink**) 28-02-2007, 02:42 AM

I once bought an SSL Certificate for one of my sites but never used it. I can't seem to figure out how to properly configure it so I just let it go.

jimberan · #6 (**permalink**) 14-03-2007, 02:20 PM

I purchased a SSL certificate for my online travel website. Prior to having the SSL certificate I had many clients asking me about my SSL certificate so I guess it's a must have for any serious e-commerce company.

desbest · #7 (**permalink**) 15-03-2007, 03:10 PM

60% of companies make ssl certificates way too expensive.
so be weary.
i think one of those ssl reselling companies would sell cheap ssl certs.

TWD_Tony · #8 (**permalink**) 15-03-2007, 06:38 PM

Don't buy CHEAP SSL Certs!

You need a good one that is recognised by as many browsers as possible and won't give SSL errors to customers / visitors

monaghan · #9 (**permalink**) 16-03-2007, 12:30 AM

With a SSL certificate, you're saying to the customer that you value their security and have made a choice to protect their data.

The fancy Geotrust certificates we use on our customer's sites are not cheap, but they are fully verified by getting copies of the customer's business details and as a result our customer is happy paying for this service, after all it's only a small cost in comparison to the additional business that they can generate for the end customer.

You can get cheap SSL certificates and these work fine, however they don't have the same degree of confidence that the pro certificates have.

You pay your money and take your chance, but your accountant will sort out the costings and it won't cost your business any more in the long run to have a decent certificate.