multiple promo codes

[Mknott]

David,
The "return customer discount" works like this: if a customer buys product Y, they are eligible to get a $50 discount if they purchase product X in the next 30 days.  We have a promocode rule in place using a "X product for Y discount" based on the action product of X.  In order to validate the eligibility of the previous purchase of Y, we introduced a custom service.  At time of checkout, the customer must input a code which was provided to them from the first order.  If the input code is eligible for discount, we then follow the "X product for Y discount" rule.
 
We also create standard promo codes we would use in print ads or email marketing as "input this code at time of checkout to receive <$ or %> off this product".  These also follow the "X product for Y discount" style rule.  The customer inputs code "DISCOUNT123" in the cart and the price of product x reduces.
 
When I apply a second unique promo code for the same base product_id, the first promo code gets clobbered.  So my main question is if the promo code logic supports two separate promo codes to provide two separate dollar off discounts on a single product?  If not, what is an alternate method to achieve the same result?  Would there be a similar conflict when having multiple products in a single cart, even though each has one promo code applied?  I am trying to lay the groundwork for supporting a cart that can handle multiple items, each with a unique promo code applied with a discount amount.  For the "return customer discount", should we apply a price rule instead?
 
Michael
 

On Jan 20, 2010, at 9:28 AM, Michael Knott wrote:

> I'm looking for a solution on using multiple promotions for a single product.  I have a product configured like this:
> - base price (i.e.; $500)
> - price rules to allow personalized discounts based on the party_group of the customer (i.e. if customer is a "preferred" customer, they get $25 off product)
> - promotional discount based on an input promocode (i.e. input DISCOUNT-123 for $20 off product)
> - discount based on previous purchase of related product (user inputs previous orderID of a related product and becomes eligible for $50 off this product)
> 
> Which would look like this in the cart:
> 
> $500 product price
>  -$25 preferred customer
>  -$20 promotion code applied
>  -$50 return customer discount
> --------
> $405 Net price
> 
> It seems that there is a limitation of one promo code in the cart for each per product.  Am I reading this incorrectly?  I need to know how to configure this product if a customer is eligible for all 3 discounts.  Any suggestions?

This sounds more like an issue with promotion rule conditions or actions that "consume" quantities of items in the cart than something to do with promo codes. Normally promo codes are associated with the entire cart and when a promotion depends on a code then it is just a check of whether a qualifying code is associated with the cart or not.
The item quantity "consume" issue comes into play when you have BOGO style and certain types of promotion conditions and actions. With these you have to keep track of each quantity of each item so you know if it was used to qualify for a promotion (the buy-one, or buy-X) or if it was used as a beneficiary of a promotion (the get-one, or get-Y) so that it is not used to qualify for or benefit from another similar type of promotion.
All of that said, there isn't enough detail in your message about how your price rules and/or promotions rules are setup to guess at what is actually happening for you. To make things more interest, the "return customer discount" where the user inputs an orderId sounds custom and could be doing pretty much anything, ie like something weird with promo codes and/or something weird with consuming item quantities.
-David