Combo orders (virtual & actual product) - how to configure shipping?

[Valaroopie]

Hey guys! I have a shop that sells both virtual products and real life products that require shipping. The real life products are very small, weighing an average of 5 ounces each.

Many of my customers will order both product types in a single order.

I've been reading through documentation, fiddling with the ACP and various shipping modules for several days ... and now I'm at a point where I'm so terribly confused, I could REALLY use some advice!

Obviously virtual products don't require a shipping fee, so that rules out the order total-based shipping table. I'm thinking I should use a weight-based shipping option, and set all the virtual products to a 0 weight.

Please, can one of you Zen guru's give me a basic step-by-step? There are just SO MANY shipping settings all over the ACP, I'm afraid I'll miss something.

[Ajeh]

Are your Products both virtual and physical at the same time?

When you say virtual do you mean a download? Or, do you mean something else?

[Valaroopie]

Are your Products both virtual and physical at the same time?

When you say virtual do you mean a download? Or, do you mean something else?

Wow, this has the potential to be very confusing :)

1) Some of my products are virtual (meaning downloadable).

2) Some of my products are physical.

3) Some of my products are both ~ meaning I ship one part of the order, while they download the other part.

[Ajeh]

These are Downloads -- OR -- Physical -- OR -- a Combo

Downloads and Physical ... there is a difference from Virtual which is more like a Gift Certificate or Service ... something that does not require a Shipping address ...

But again, Downloads are NOT Virtual Products ... there is a clear distinction in how they are handled for shipping and checkout etc.

There is a setting for:

Always Free Shipping:
Yes, Always Free Shipping
No, Normal Shipping Rules
Special, Product/Download Combo Requires a Shipping Address

Try the Special, Product/Download Combo Requires a Shipping Address ... for the ones that are Physical -- and -- have a Download at the same time ...

Rule of Thumb ...

Downloads use:
Always Free Shipping:
No, Normal Shipping Rules
Product is Virtual:
No, Shipping Address Required

Physical uses:
Always Free Shipping:
No, Normal Shipping Rules
Product is Virtual:
No, Shipping Address Required

Virtual Products use: (Gift Certificates, Services and the like that do not require a shipping address)
Always Free Shipping:
No, Normal Shipping Rules
Product is Virtual:
Yes, Skip Shipping Address