What module for drop shipping from the US and to US/Canada only?

Hi, I am a newbie Zencart user. I hired a company to implement my cart and honestly the back end support I have been getting leaves much lacking. One of my pressing issues is I need to get a different shipping module installed. I am drop shipping all my products from different locations and using Paypal upon checkout. It was recommended I not accept the responsibility of credit cards through the site direct. I see there is a CEON's Advanced Shipper module that seems to have alot of nice features and functions however not sure if this is the best option for my biz. I will be selling and shipping only to US and Canada. I am in the US. They installed a flat rate module on my site but Flat Rate seems to be high on some of the lower value items. Can someone give me some advice?

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Originally Posted by katgirl72

Hi, I am a newbie Zencart user. I hired a company to implement my cart and honestly the back end support I have been getting leaves much lacking. One of my pressing issues is I need to get a different shipping module installed. I am drop shipping all my products from different locations and using Paypal upon checkout. It was recommended I not accept the responsibility of credit cards through the site direct. I see there is a CEON's Advanced Shipper module that seems to have alot of nice features and functions however not sure if this is the best option for my biz. I will be selling and shipping only to US and Canada. I am in the US. They installed a flat rate module on my site but Flat Rate seems to be high on some of the lower value items. Can someone give me some advice?

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Unless something has changed recently, Advanced Shipper is no longer orderable. Conor released his module with the code open source but the documentation was copyrighted. After Conor's death JSweb had an arrangement with Conor's family to sell, modify, and support the module. They switched to an annual license and hid the source. They have since ended their relationship with Conor's family. That was the only usable option I found for drop shipping. There's no perfect solution to drop shipping from multiple locations.

What I've recommended to my clients is to find a ship from location that on average will make you whole. If most of your drop shippers are in California pick a zip in the center of your drop shippers. What this means is that sometimes you'll win, sometimes you'll lose, but on average your shipping costs will be close to what you charged you customers. At one time I researched this and Montana was the center of the UPS universe for US destinations if your drop shippers are all over the place. Once you've picked a location, use the live rate modules from USPS, UPS, or Fedex with that zip and track how you're doing. You can always add a surcharge or discount if you need to on the calculated rates.

I'll send you a PM.

Oh wow some back story. I am surprised there is not a solution to this. I'll read your PM. Thanks

OK so this other option would be to configure something in my cart without getting the advanced shipper (older version) module? Bear with me, I am not a techie. Looking at my existing modules, he installed a Flat Rate module which I changed to False but there is also a Table module which he configured to Table Method - Weight, Shipping Table- 25:8.50,50:5.50,10000:0.00, Tax Basis - Shipping Tax Class - Taxable Goods, Shipping Zone - None. I have no idea where he came up with these #s. If you think finding a central place like Montana to ship from would be a feasible solution, I can give it a whirl. I have no idea where to start with that however. Is there a manual somewhere for Zencart?

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Originally Posted by katgirl72

OK so this other option would be to configure something in my cart without getting the advanced shipper (older version) module? Bear with me, I am not a techie. Looking at my existing modules, he installed a Flat Rate module which I changed to False but there is also a Table module which he configured to Table Method - Weight, Shipping Table- 25:8.50,50:5.50,10000:0.00, Tax Basis - Shipping Tax Class - Taxable Goods, Shipping Zone - None. I have no idea where he came up with these #s. If you think finding a central place like Montana to ship from would be a feasible solution, I can give it a whirl. I have no idea where to start with that however. Is there a manual somewhere for Zencart?

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Using a table rate is a best guess also. What I was suggesting is using one of the live rate calculators like USPS or UPS with a ship from zip of a central location. That at least will give you an actual rate from that zip for the contents of the order. Still based on weight but probably closer to making you whole than a guess without any history to back it up.

Oh and if you have an order that has products from multiple drop shippers you should expect to take a beating if you don't use the advanced shipper module. Instead of a single package for the entire order, you'll have multiple packages from different locations. Drop shipping seems like it should be easier but that's not always the case.

i have seen sites selling the older version of advanced shipper

Thanks yes I did talk to a developer that said he could offer the older version without documentation

Too bad about Advanced Shipper, that was an excellent module when it was working. Has anyone used Fishbowl's inventory integration for dropshipping?

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Originally Posted by floattubefishing

Too bad about Advanced Shipper, that was an excellent module when it was working. Has anyone used Fishbowl's inventory integration for dropshipping?

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Advanced shipper is reported that will become available again through CEON. So, I wouldn't give up hope on it. :)