Previously, when a person applied to join a prepay-only event, we would give them forty minutes to complete the checkout with PayPal. We do this to prevent people from signing up for an event but then never paying from taking up a spot that could be used by someone else.

After looking at the rate at which events fill up, we’ve extended this time to twenty-four hours. This time limit should give people who have trouble checking out (such as not having a credit card on hand) a chance to complete the prepayment, while still making sure people who never will pay don’t block others from joining an event.

After these twenty-four hours have expired, the person can still apply again to join the event. As long as the event isn’t full yet, they can immediately apply again and pay. If the event has filled up, they can join the waitlist for the event.

We think this change will improve the prepayment checkout experience for everyone.