The Options field in Store Editor and Catalog Manager allows merchants to set common options for an item such as color and size, as well as specialized options such as monograms, inscriptions, or incremental pricing based on the option selected. For security reasons and unless explicitly set to not validate, Turbify validates that the options of an item match the Options field at the time the item is added to the shopping cart, to prevent unrecognized options from being accepted. Unrecognized item options are those not following the accepted syntax for the field or options not defined in the Options field by the merchant. Merchants can choose to allow or not allow items with unrecognized options from being added to the shopping cart.

Advantages and disadvantages of allowing or not allowing unrecognized Item Options

Warning: Turbify strongly recommends against setting your Item Option Validation setting to allow item with unrecognized options. While this setting will not reject an item with improperly formatted options or options not defined in the Options field of a potentially valid order, you will be exposing your store to a security vulnerability whereby a person wishing to commit fraud could enter invalid options to an item when adding that item to the shopping cart. The only protection against such fraud is to properly define your item options in the Options field of the Store Editor or Catalog Manager.

Review your current Item Option Validation setting in Checkout & Registration Manager

1. Sign in to your My Services page.
2. Click the Store link.
   
3. Go to Checkout & Registration Manager.
   
4. Go to Advanced Settings.
   
5. In the Item Option Validation section:
   • Select or clear the checkbox to allow items with unrecognized options.
   • If allowed, select the checkbox if you do not wish to be notified about items with unrecognized options.
   • Review the agreement for the selected setting.
   • Select the I agree to the terms checkbox.
   
6. Click the Save button.
   
7. Return to Store Manager and publish your Order Settings.
   

If you elect to allow item with unrecognized options

1. Carefully review the Merchant Notes field of each order.
2. If the Merchant Notes field contains the line Item Options not recognized, review the order further.
3. For each item in the order, review the Options listed to verify the options match those of the item (for example, the incremental price options are for the correct amount).
4. When you are certain the item options match those entered by you, proceed with your normal order review and approval process.
5. Review the items in the order marked Item Options not recognized for proper syntax and that they are defined in the Options field of the item in either the Store Editor or Catalog Manager.

When you are certain all items contain properly formatted item options and are defined in the Options field, you can elect to not allow items with unrecognized options to prevent someone wishing to commit fraud from using the item options security vulnerability.

If you elect to not allow items with unrecognized options (as recommended by Turbify), you will have less exposure to this security vulnerability, but you should review the options (if any) for each item in your store to ensure the items are properly formatted and defined in the Options field so the item can be added to the shopping cart.