It's only difficult to work out where you are supposed to fill in what!
Actual use of the sandbox is pretty simple.
First, create a developer account by visiting
Then log in at
using those account details.
Don't confuse this developer account with your Sandbox test accounts
Once logged in to the developer site you can create test accounts. The accounts can either be buyers or sellers.
For the site I am working on, I set up two accounts:
A Seller (which was the ID I used when sending my cart data to PayPal)
A Buyer account, which I can use to test making payments with a PayPal account
You can log in to
using these accounts and they behave exactly as a 'normal' account would.
When you create these test accounts Paypal will generate fake Credit card numbers and address details for you.
Now, where I got stuck was in testing credit card payments.
If you try and use a test account, or a card number from a test account, then you are told that you have to log in using the test account details.
What you need to do is generate a new, fake card.
Do this by logging in to a test account. Go to Profile, then click 'add card'. The system will generate a fake card number etc for you. Don't save it, just write the card details down.
You can then use this card info to test credit card (i.e. Non-Paypal account) purchases.
<honk>*:
O)</honk>
Tyres: Mine's a pint of the black stuff.
Mike: You can't drink a pint of Bovril.