ozpost shipping module

[RodG]

Rod, this is a topic we have actually discussed before (say 2-3 yrs ago)

I'll concede that it's a similar topic, but as I recall, the topic then was the best way to 'pack' any given assortment of items. This current thread is a lot simpler in that it is just a matter of determining 'will it fit'.

But it may be possible to improve on what you currently do without entirely solving the issue. For me the main problem with your module is that it doesn't know when to stop trying to calculate the costs and we, as shopowners, have no way of setting boundaries for it to test and drop to a generic "Call for price" when exceeded.

I guess there is no reason I couldn't add a 'call for price' option should any given quote exceed a preset value.

In my case I have three differently 'shaped' products in my store: charts, which ship in tubes, B4 books, and flatpacks of charts (700 x 1000 mm). Each of these alone can cause problems, but when mixed in a single order the shipping costs are invariably absurd.

It is the 'things that fit into things' that would be your biggest issue... namely the charts ...

1. I can and do pack up to six charts in a tube 100mm dia x 1000mm. Your software doesn't handle this properly because it doesn't understand that multiple charts can be rolled into a tube without changing the dimensions of the package

The computer suffers a meltdown when it tries to combine multple 3d objects without altering the dimensions in any way <g>

and therefore adding the largest dimensions is meaningless. I think it would be really useful in this instance to have an option in the product page where I can specify how many products will fit into the tube (or indeed any defined package).

I'm reluctant to travel this path at the moment because it can only be done by modifying the core code, which is something I'd like to keep to an absolute minimum (for ease of installation/updates)

This case is directly analogous to the teatowel problem you handled above. The shopowner should be able to specify the dimensions of the package and the number of a given product that will pack into it.

Perhaps one day I'll even supply a dropdown menu for a selection of different package type/sizes ... (It HAS been considered, and several courier companies have similar inputs), but I honestly can't see this happening in the forseeable future.

The shipping code will also need to test for item count and weight in order to determine the number of packages to create and then cost.

This is a good place to remind you that there are two different topics/issues at hand here... The PACKING of items and the cost to SHIP the items.

The ozpost server is predominantly concerned with producing accurate shipping costs based on any given input data. This it does.

It is for the client software that deals with the 'packing', and yes, I am also the author of the client code, but I see this more as a base code for others to build upon, whilst I concentrate more on the server code/maintenance.

2. I often get orders for a book and a chart, usually for export. You can't fit the book into the tube or vice versa but Ozpost will calculate the shipping cost at about $35 whereas in fact it will cost $60 ($35 + $25) to send it to the UK, blowing away any profit.

Unless I'm mistaken, the reason why it costs $60 is because you send them as two separate items? If so, don't do that. Just find a box that'll fit both items (or tape 'em together) and send them as a single parcel, then it'll only cost what you were quoted for. :-)

I haven't got a simple answer for this but note that there is code out there for setting up discounts for a product when another is also purchased at the same time. Such links could be exploited to set up the "call for price" message described earlier.

This function/feature would be best performed by another module entirely, one that detects the condition and negates all other shipping options (including ozpost)

I'm already happily subscribing to your postal service but if you were to find a widespread support for any of the features I've described I'm prepared to contribute towards any work you do on it.

If things go well I'll have a lot more time to devote on the project, so who knows where it will lead.

Cheers
Rod

[zekin]

Dear Rod

The codes to determine whether items can fit in satchel or not, eg calculation of girth and length, and validating actual weight against satchel's allowable weight, and the information of all kinds of satchel's dimension, is it all in your ozpost server?

[RodG]

The codes to determine whether items can fit in satchel or not, eg calculation of girth and length, and validating actual weight against satchel's allowable weight, and the information of all kinds of satchel's dimension, is it all in your ozpost server?

The code that calculates the parcel weights and dimensions is performed by the client code. (the store module)

The determination as to whether it'll fit a letter, satchel, or whatever is made by the server code.

Cheers
Rod

[gmturner]

Love the module, easy to install and configure.

Few issues:

The fastway module i have for cubecart has the option to turn certain colours of label on or off and add specific handling fees for certain labels.

For our company we post large items(25kg) and sending to Grey ticket areas is often hugely expensive and sometimes not even possible as fastway uses different couriers for these areas, so we just turn them off.

Also sometimes it wont retrieve costs at estimate shipping, but if you log in with full town and postcode etc it will estimate the shipping.

So it would seem it needs town name for some costs? this is mainly for Australia post it would seem.

I would really like a option that if this cant calculate postage it offered a option to submit the cart contents to us for freight calculation and we could then submit a postage price and they could log back in and finish the transaction. Sort of like ebays "request postage cost" feature. I dont expect that from this module but if someone knows of one please let me know.

[RodG]

The fastway module i have for cubecart has the option to turn certain colours of label on or off and add specific handling fees for certain labels.

But I haven't ported ozpost to cubecart (yet) ;-)

For our company we post large items(25kg) and sending to Grey ticket areas is often hugely expensive

I always let the client decide whether shipping is too expensive or not.

and sometimes not even possible as fastway uses different couriers for these areas, so we just turn them off.

I would assume that the FastWay servers wouldn't return a quote for areas where they don't deliver.

Also sometimes it wont retrieve costs at estimate shipping, but if you log in with full town and postcode etc it will estimate the shipping.

So it would seem it needs town name for some costs?

All FastWay quotes require the town/suburb names. These are currently derived at the server, based on the postcodes supplied by the client. This is not the BEST option (which would be for the client to supply the suburb names) but it is close enough for most practical instances (so far).

I would really like a option that if this cant calculate postage it offered a option to submit the cart contents to us for freight calculation and we could then submit a postage price and they could log back in and finish the transaction. Sort of like ebays "request postage cost" feature. I dont expect that from this module but if someone knows of one please let me know.

The ozpost module aleady has the ability to disable itself if it can't obtain suitable quotes from the server, so the job is 'half done'. I don't know if there is another module available (call for shipping quote) to use under a no_quote_available condition or not.

To cause ozpost to disable itself, all you need to is enter negative values for the 'fixed cost' data.

Cheers
Rod

[gmturner]

I would assume that the FastWay servers wouldn't return a quote for areas where they don't deliver.

Fastway are franchises, and the ability to post a item to a certain place for a certain price falls upon the franchise owner. As our items are so large and often beyond size limits we have a special deal that allows them to go, BUT when these items are travelling to grey zones and carried by other companies etc it can lead to the local franchise losing money and it can and has led to difficulties with items getting lost, although covered by fastway insurance it is troublesome.

Because grey tickets cover like 2% of customers if that, we would prefer not to send to them or at least have them contact us so that we may work out a solution which sometimes involves greyhound bus freight and picking up from a depot which no module could ever work out. So disabling grey tickets isnt possible and not going to be possible in the near future?

[RodG]

Because grey tickets cover like 2% of customers if that, we would prefer not to send to them
<snip>
So disabling grey tickets isnt possible and not going to be possible in the near future?

Handy with a text editor? If so, make the following changes to
/includes/modules/shipping/ozpost.php

First, locate the following code segment:

-----------------------
case "FWL";
if(in_array("FastWay Labels", $this->allowed_methods)) $handlingFee = MODULE_SHIPPING_OZPOST_FWL_HANDLING ;
break;
-------------------------

Replace this block of code with:
---------------------------------------------------------
case "FWL";
if(in_array("FastWay Labels", $this->allowed_methods)) {

if(!strstr($quote->description, "GREY" )) {
$handlingFee = MODULE_SHIPPING_OZPOST_FWL_HANDLING ;
}
break;
-----------------------------------------

This will (should) prevent the Grey label quotes from showing.

Oh, I will also state that I'm really not that familiar with the FastWay pricing structure, nor the meanings of the colours of their labels, so would it be right/wrong for me to add a toggle to enable/disable all of the different colours. You also mentioned different handling fees .. again, would it be right/wrong to support a different handling fee for each colour?

Cheers
Rod

[gmturner]

thanks seems to work, although you put a extra { in that i had to remove to make it work.

Also prices for Australia post satchels are incorrect. It gives $10 for a normal 3kg satchel and $11 for a express one. They are $10.30 and $11.70 respectively.

[RodG]

thanks seems to work, although you put a extra { in that i had to remove to make it work.

Actually, it appears I left one of them out.

The corrected code should read:

case "FWL";
if(in_array("FastWay Labels", $this->allowed_methods)) {

if(!strstr($quote->description, "GREY" )) {
$handlingFee = MODULE_SHIPPING_OZPOST_FWL_HANDLING ;
}
}
break;

Also prices for Australia post satchels are incorrect. It gives $10 for a normal 3kg satchel and $11 for a express one. They are $10.30 and $11.70 respectively.

The server is providing the correct quotes. I'm not sure why your store is chomping off the cents... this'll need further investigation.

Cheers
Rod

[gmturner]

ahh right well it worked by taking it out, not sure if its causing any other side effects. Will add in the extra ones later.

Yeh im not sure why mine is quoting whole dollars and constantly rounding down. Pretty sure it didnt used to, will have to have a look later.