restrict shipment methods based on payment method

Hi,

Here's a problem I have as a store owner:

I can take money from customer via paypal/CC or via bank transfer. I can send stuff to customers via either a registered method (with tracking) or via unregistered method. PayPal/CC requires a method with tracking otherwise the customer can say I didn't get it and your money is gone is a puff of smoke (as are your goods). What some customers do  is the choose  cheap unregistered / uninsured shipping option and then when they don't get it (or get it but claim they didn't) Paypal or credit card company (ccc) happily returns the customer their money. I am VERY sure this problem / requirement is quite common.

Currently there is no way to restrict which shipment options are available based on payment method. Also we're asking customer about shipping options before PAYMENT options which BTW actually makes a lot sense.

Possible solutions:

1. Reverse the order - first ask about payment than hide (or better gray out with explanation) shipment methods which are not available due to payment restrictions.

2. Leave the order as is but restrict payment methods based on shipping option chosen. Grey out unavailable options and offer explanation why the're unavailable. Customer can go back one step and choose a different payment option if they want.

So I am writing this post to pick minds and gather thoughts of the community before submitting the issue to the codeplex for development team consideration.

Thanks!

Filip

I'm thinking about one more solution which could fit your needs and does not require much source code changes. You allow a customer to choose a shipping method, then he selects a payment method. If both of them are allowed (together), then a customer goes to a payment info page and completes an order. But if they are not compatible, then you display something like "The chosen shipping method is not compatible/allowed with this payment message" to a customer and asks him to choose a shipping method again. But now you already know a chosen payment method and can restrict a list of allowed shipping methods based on it.