help with shipping for a complete novice

[zxcvb]

hi all
im new to all this - im a complete novice and am really struggling with shipping costs.
i have read through numerous threads on this forum about shipping but am starting to go boz-eyed
ive been working on my side for several days now and am making very slow progress - my site is shirtmasters.co.uk

im based in uk and want to ship my items worldwide.
ive tried using the zones section but no price is showing when i test a product on my website.
ive tried just using price per item and shutting off the weight options but still no joy.
i am wanting to have the following prices:
recorded uk £3.10 per item then 50p per additional item
special del uk £6.00 per item then £1 per additional item
europe £7.50 per item then £1.50 per additional item
rest of world £9.50 per item then £1.50 per additional item

is there anyway i can do this simply - bear in mind im a complete novice and dont understand much more than basic jargon.

i hope this doesnt duplicate things too much but like i say ive spent hours reading posts on this forum.
any help or pointing in the right direction is greatly appreciated
thanks

[schoolboy]

First question you should ask yourself is:

WHO is going to do the shipping?

Whoever does it for you will charge fees based on a range of formulae and conditions.

In my experience, just "setting up shipping" basing your rates on some arbitrary thumb-suck is a sure-fire way to erode profits...

So... you are UK... SOMEONE (other than you) is going to take your packages and deliver them to your customers. In the UK, this could be Royal Mail / ParcelForce, DHL, FedEx, TNT....

... each one has their own formulae to calculate rates...

In general, however, shipping is based on THREE PARAMETERS:

1. Destination Address (how far away must the packet be sent)
2. Weight (how heavy is the damned thing)
3. Volume (how big is the damned thing)

Many shippers (esp. those using Airfreight / Airmail) will have a FOURTH criteria called VOLUMETRIC WEIGHT, which is a "blend" of weight and volume. This is to cater for the fact that some parcels may weigh very little, but occupy huge space - and in a Jumbo Jet that's important stuff (space). So they have a threshold where VOLUME takes over as being the more important criteria from WEIGHT.

Anyway... the point is to DECIDE on who will do your shipping.

You may choose ONE provider, or SEVERAL... It does not matter how many. You may have one provider delivering small packets and another taking over for the big packets.

Zencart can cater for MOST combinations as there is (technically) no limit to the number of shipping modules you install and configure.

Choose your shippers, then look at their rates tables... different prices for different delivery parameters...

It will all start to look very hazy at first... but once you have worked out WHO will do your shipping and HOW they will do it, you can start looking for modules that can FIT their methodology.

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You say your shop needs to deliver to the UK... I would imagine that you are thinking about Royal Mail / Parcelforce, and if you are, you face an immediate challenge...

... a standard install of zencart does not divide the UK up into counties and zones.

In fact, all you have is "UK" - Just the country...

There are no counties - and certainly not the FIVE ZONES that constitute Royal Mail's delivery system (UK Mainland, UK Highlands, Northern Ireland, UK Islands and Channel Islands).

So, until you have inserted all the UK counties and "sectioned" them off into the various zones, you cannot apply an accurate Royal Mail rate.

(There is a Royal Mail module in the downloads, but I have not used it - so I don't know if it inserts the counties and sets uo the zone definitions)

Goh Koon Hoek's book gives a very good explanation of how to configure the zones, and the zone definitions. It is one area of zencart that is functionally good, but confusing to use, because the word ZONES is applied to two completely separate parameters. If you look at the top of your screen you will see the advert for this book.

I have also found the ZONETABLES module to be extremely flexible, and it can be CLONED several times to cater for different situations. (YOU MUST have all your zone definitions set up BEFORE you install and use zonetables, however).

And lastly, there is CEON's Advanced Shipper module which resolves practically every shipping situation you could think of. It is at CEON.NET