ozpost shipping module

[seanymph]

Hi RodG,

Well I dont know what the issue was that caused both paypal and Auspost modules to give error messages and Justhost have not got back to me since the last email I sent to them asking for further assistance. But it seems that all is working right now thanks for your help in this matter without your assistance I would have probably still be no where with Justhost.

seanymph

[RodG]

Curls seem to work, however you are being rejected or refused connection from most of them.

Those rejections/refusals are/were to be expected if/when the servers are queried with no valid data.
The 'important' thing they should have noted was that *some* of the queries they ran from the command line were successful, yet *none* of them were successful via the test script (or the ozpost module).

Cheers
Rod

[RodG]

Hi RodG,

Well I dont know what the issue was that caused both paypal and Auspost modules to give error messages and Justhost have not got back to me since the last email I sent to them asking for further assistance. But it seems that all is working right now

I can confirm that all is OK now. In fact if you run the ozpost test script yourself you'll have a better idea of what to expect when things are working. This can be a great aid if things ever get broken again.

Keep in mind that the ozpost system has 3 different servers on 3 different networks. If they all report 'FAIL' the problem is almost certainly something amiss with the stores host.

thanks for your help in this matter without your assistance I would have probably still be no where with Justhost.

With some hosts you've just got to persist a little more than others. It'll be interesting if they report back to you with what they needed to do to fix it. Actually, it'll be useful info for me to know, that way I can be more precise with the next person with the same(?) issue.

Cheers
Rod.

[RodG]

Hi Folks,

Just received from Australia Post.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Customer,
Our records indicate that you registered for an API key to utilise Australia Post’s postage assessment calculator (PAC) and postcode search (PCS) API’s. This email is to advise that from October 22nd 2012 Australia Post will be changing postage prices and the way that the U.S. security surcharge is incorporated.

As part of the price changes the $9 U.S. security surcharge will no longer be separately itemised in the total postage cost. Instead, this cost will now be incorporated into the regular pricing cost.

We believe that this change should have no impact to your implementation of the PAC API but wanted to bring this activity to your attention in any case.

Should you have any questions about this change please contact us via this link:

https://auspost.com.au/devcentre/support.asp

Regards,

Aus Post Web Support.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This change will NOT have any direct effect on OzPost users, who have been lucky enough to have had this surcharge included in the postage costs (where applicable) for almost a year now (when the surcharge was first introduced). However, it does mean that I need to reconsider how this charge is presented to the customer.

At the moment this surcharge is being listed as a separate charge from the postage. My question is, do the ozpost users have any preferences in this regard? Should I update the ozpost module(s) to include this surcharge as a part of the shipping costs (As Australia Post are going to be doing), or do you prefer to have it listed as a separate item, as it currently is?

Majority Rules, so make your voice count.

Cheers
Rod

[lucidlee]

Since this is an unavoidable cost I see no particular advantage to showing it separately.

[RodG]

Since this is an unavoidable cost I see no particular advantage to showing it separately.

The argument against this is that it helps avoid 'postage shock' for those affected by the surcharge. OK the final cost is the same, but wouldn't people be more receptive at seeing

Product Cost $50.00
Postage Cost $39.00
Security surcharge $ 9.00
-------------------------
Total $98.00

Rather than:

Product Cost $50.00
Postage Cost $48.00
-------------------------
Total $98.00

Hmmm.. perhaps not..

Your vote has been noted, and thanks for stating your reason. Much appreciated.

Cheers
Rod

[lucidlee]

Rod
I have a fairly limited product range but only one group of products really works with OZPost (well Australia Post really). These ship in tubes, up to six products per tube.
If I sell these products in bulk (ie >25) they ship as a flat pack via Pack & Send, who handle packaging and then contract shipping via DHL, FedEx or whatever. They quote for specific quantities and destinations - automated lookup to a remote server seems impossible. Anyway I occasionally get an updated quote for my common pack sizes and destinations so really the table rate module is what is needed here.

To offer shipping prices on my website for these 'flatpacks" and tubes I'm figuring that I need to be able to invoke one shipping module or another according to package type or, given how my site is organised, by product category. Zen cart seems adept at swapping shipping modules according to zones, weight, $Order or units but not according to product category. Is this indeed an insurmountable limitation or just not thought of?

I don't know if I'm alone in this regard so I'm asking if you can provide a technical feasibility response - and if your other users can indicate an interest.

All being well maybe we can crowdfund this.

Lee

[RodG]

To offer shipping prices on my website for these 'flatpacks" and tubes I'm figuring that I need to be able to invoke one shipping module or another according to package type or, given how my site is organised, by product category. Zen cart seems adept at swapping shipping modules according to zones, weight, $Order or units but not according to product category. Is this indeed an insurmountable limitation or just not thought of?

I don't know if I'm alone in this regard so I'm asking if you can provide a technical feasibility response - and if your other users can indicate an interest.

This is actually quite easy to do and there are several threads that cover the information needed. Here's a link to one of them.

http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.p...g+product+type

The main reason why this isn't 'standard code' is because each and every store will have their own unique category structure, and each store will have their own selection of shipping modules. Trying to create a universal interface to satisfy everyones needs is a tough ask, doubly so when the principles behind it are so simple.

It is more of a user interface problem rather than a technical problem.

Cheers
Rod

[Peter Homann]

Hi Rod,

There appears to be a problem with your site shop.vcsweb.com/

Currently it is off the air, and as such no postage calculations are being performed.

This a major issue so hopefully you are aware of it.

Cheers,

Peter.

[GAM]

Hi Rod,

There appears to be a problem with your site shop.vcsweb.com/

Currently it is off the air, and as such no postage calculations are being performed.

This a major issue so hopefully you are aware of it.

Cheers,

Peter.

Seconded.

Cheers
GAM