UPS module not calculating zipcode zones?

[daffy]

I have been testing the UPS shipping mod, set up for UPS Ground (USA domestic shipping.) No matter what address I use for Checkout, the shipping cost is the same. WA state or TN (far zones or near zones) it comes up with the same shipping rate for the same item.

I'm amazed that the onboard UPS module doesn't calculate by zipcode zones for UPS Ground. As it is, this is just a flat rate shipping calculator and it doesn't reflect true UPS rates at all. UPS Ground calculates by zipcode zones, that's how it's done. And that's what they bill me for.

Unless there's something I've missed in the setup?

[daffy]

I do have my zipcode setup properly in the Admin.

[daffy]

Never mind... it seems to be working ok.

One thing that threw off my testing was an address in TN that came up with very high shipping quotes. Which made me wonder if the UPS module was accurate. Apparently that one address is rural or something: it returns higher rates than the far zones.

When testing other addresses, I'm getting results that are more what I'd expect.

I did figure out one thing though, that might be useful for others. I'm using the ZipCode Zones shipping module to offer a lower cost shipping rate for lower priced packages.

(For small packages, US Mail is the better way to go. UPS is a little pricey for the small, cheap orders.)

So... I made ONE entry in each of the 8 zones (in Admin shipping setup), 18:7.00 which states that packages under 18 dollars will ship for $7.00. So... now that option appears on the shopping cart for small orders, but once the order is over $18, it's not offered as a shipping option.

I wasn't sure if the mod would work that way, but it does.

I also changed the language to say US Priority Mail, since ZipcodeZones says UPS Ground.

[daffy]

I wish we could edit posts.

Ok, I finally solved part of the problem. The UPS module really was NOT working good, I was right about that. The shipping costs it was quoting were driving me crazy. $10 to ship three huge case lots to anywhere? Not likely. And then it would quote $14 to ship a six ounce package to a near zone.

So I removed the UPS module and then installed it again, and now it's kicked in the way things should be.

And NO, the ZipCodeZone module is not doing things the way I thought it was... that does not work.

So... This is my problem. I've been doing shipping for many years. We have all sizes of packages, from teeny items that fit in a small bubble envelope all the way up to huge case lots. And, we ship Domestic as well as International.

I ship small items under 1 pound by US mail. I ship all International by US mail. I cannot lump these items together. We charge a handling fee for international items because of all the extra costs, handling and the currency exchange fees associated with the transaction. What I really need is a shipping module for DOMESTIC US Mail services and a shipping module for INTERNATIONAL US Mail services. So, I wish the USPS module was split up into domestic and international: I wish it was two modules rather than one, because the configuration is very different. Right now I just have it set up for international.

UPS works out fine for most US packages that are over 1 or 2 pounds.
USPS works fine for most international packages.

But none of these Zen Cart modules work fine for SMALL packages under 1 pound. For years I've always adjusted the shipping costs manually in order to give small items a break in shipping. I could set up a Flat Rate shipping module, YES, but the problem is, if the customer is offered a flat rate of $4.00 for a teeny envelope, that's what they will select no matter what the size of anything they're ordering. So I can't offer the cheap options, not without some controls.

I had some custom USPS code written for another Shopping Cart (that I'm not using and never did use) and I was trying to figure out how to adapt the USPS code to work in Zen Cart. The USPS code worked fine, it was the overall shopping cart I didn't use. The Postal code has a very simple control in it that works like this:

If total weight is over 7 ounces, then First Class is false.
If total weight is over 16 ounces, then Priority Mail is false.

So, the shopping cart checkout did not offer First Class or Priority Mail if the package was over the weight limit.

There. That's my dream system for shipping options at Checkout. I rather suspect there are other online sellers who could use a similar system.

Cyndy