input type “number” is one of several new types of input supported under HTML5. This type is not supported by older browsers including IE 8 and older. From your description it sounds like the value is changing when you click or enter the number which is the expected functionality.

Why the value isn’t making it through when you submit the form is not entirely clear. For example a form like this:

<form method="POST" action="/somescript.php">
  Quantity (between 1 and 5):
  <input type="number" name="quantity" min="1" max="5">
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

This form should work to allow you to change the number and the result will be sent as a POST variable to “/somescript.php”. If you are using javascript to validate the form on submission or to gather form fields before submission this is where I would look for a problem.