USPS Shipping Module [Support Thread]

[lindasdd]

Finally upgraded to the latest version of this plugin today and I too am seeing the rate differences mentioned by others.

This has nothing to do with ShipStation or any other shipping tool.

The rates returned on Zen-Cart (via the USPS API) are not what they should be for the associated shipping account. I verified this by comparing the rates returned on stamps.com when logged into stamps.com.

That said, I do not have access to USPS developer services to actually debug the rate quoting that is happening in the programming.

[dbltoe]

What is your setting for "Retail Pricing or Online Pricing?"?

You should probably have it set for Online if using ShipStation.

Of course, tare weights set elsewhere can affect the quote as well.

[lindasdd]

What is your setting for "Retail Pricing or Online Pricing?"?

You should probably have it set for Online if using ShipStation.

Of course, tare weights set elsewhere can affect the quote as well.

I have played with both settings. Neither is correct.

I will re-iterate again though, this has nothing to do with Shipstation, Shipworks, PirateShip, Shippo, or any other shipping tool.

It has to do with the rates being returned from USPS via the API being incorrect for the account number / meter number. I have played with weights and dimensions and everything else to no avail.

Although my understanding of the Zen-Cart module is not strong, I have contacts in USPS that might be able to connect me with their dev. team to try and troubleshoot.

[lindasdd]

I have played with both settings. Neither is correct.

I will re-iterate again though, this has nothing to do with Shipstation, Shipworks, PirateShip, Shippo, or any other shipping tool.

It has to do with the rates being returned from USPS via the API being incorrect for the account number / meter number. I have played with weights and dimensions and everything else to no avail.

Although my understanding of the Zen-Cart module is not strong, I have contacts in USPS that might be able to connect me with their dev. team to try and troubleshoot.

Upon furthur review, it seems the Priority rates *might* be coming through correctly (although I had thought not yesterday and I think toggling the retail pricing on and then back to online pricing helped for some reason) and the issue was with the Ground Advantage rates.

Upon review of the code, I believe the following change needs to be made to includes\modules\shipping\usps.php
line 1281 should be changed from $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE'; to $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE COMMERCIAL';

I have made this change and it appears to be quoting correctly for me now.

That does leave one extra wrinkle for shippers to keep in mind - there is a 2nd tier (lower pricing) of Ground Advantage rates. Ground Advantage Cubic. I personally tap into that with the combination of product volume settings and shipping based on volume. Only important if you can utilize the cubic sizes and are shipping to far zones.

[njcyx]

Upon furthur review, it seems the Priority rates *might* be coming through correctly (although I had thought not yesterday and I think toggling the retail pricing on and then back to online pricing helped for some reason) and the issue was with the Ground Advantage rates.

Upon review of the code, I believe the following change needs to be made to includes\modules\shipping\usps.php
line 1281 should be changed from $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE'; to $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE COMMERCIAL';

I have made this change and it appears to be quoting correctly for me now.

That does leave one extra wrinkle for shippers to keep in mind - there is a 2nd tier (lower pricing) of Ground Advantage rates. Ground Advantage Cubic. I personally tap into that with the combination of product volume settings and shipping based on volume. Only important if you can utilize the cubic sizes and are shipping to far zones.

Thanks for your input! I just tried it on my end and it worked (Ground Advantage)!

[lat9]

Heads Up to all USPS shipping module users!

From this (https://www.usps.com/business/web-to...ease-notes.pdf) USPS documentation:

Summary: Effective January 31, 2024, Web Tools will require the password be provided with the USERID in each label API XML request. Otherwise, an error will return. In TBD 2024, the password will be required for all API requests. Integrators are strongly encouraged to provide this information in advance of the change to avoid any service disruptions or integration issues. Contact [email protected] for any questions or concerns.

2. Summary: Effective TBD December 2023, API access and permissions will be added separately after registration. To obtain these permissions, contact [email protected] and provide in your request for access:
- Username/UserID (from the automated registration email):
- USPS Mailer ID (MID):
- Company Website:
-Are you a shipper or software provider? Please provide details on how your business will use the
APIs.
-List of API(s) to which you would like access and expected volume (peak daily, weekly, monthly) – reference www.usps.com/webtools for a complete list of APIs

You'll need to request access to the RatesV4 and IntlV2 APIs.

Existing users note: You'll need to find you oldy-moldy email from USPS that includes that password. A forthcoming release of USPS will include a setting through which you can supply the password (which, for backward compatibility can be blank).

[lat9]

USPS Web Tools API shipping-module version 2024_02_14_K11j is now available for download: https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1292

Adds the PASSWORD setting that USPS will require for Web Tools API requests sometime in 2024, see GitHub issue #41 for details.

Additional documentation is provided at the shipping-module's Wiki: https://github.com/lat9/usps/wiki

Please Note: USPS plans to deprecate (no-longer support in non-tech-speak) the Web Tools API sometime later in 2024. I'm currently reviewing their new API and will have a new USPS shipping-module available within the next couple of months. That module will be designed to work with Zen Cart 1.5.8 and later, requiring a minimum PHP version of 8.0, so if your site is currently shipping with USPS on an older version of Zen Cart it's a great time to start planning your upgrade!

[njcyx]

USPS Web Tools API shipping-module version 2024_02_14_K11j is now available for download: https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1292

Adds the PASSWORD setting that USPS will require for Web Tools API requests sometime in 2024, see GitHub issue #41 for details.

Additional documentation is provided at the shipping-module's Wiki: https://github.com/lat9/usps/wiki

Please Note: USPS plans to deprecate (no-longer support in non-tech-speak) the Web Tools API sometime later in 2024. I'm currently reviewing their new API and will have a new USPS shipping-module available within the next couple of months. That module will be designed to work with Zen Cart 1.5.8 and later, requiring a minimum PHP version of 8.0, so if your site is currently shipping with USPS on an older version of Zen Cart it's a great time to start planning your upgrade!

Hi @lat9, thanks for your updates! I just updated my site from 11i to 11j and it worked fine. I only entered the account password. All the settings are the same as before after the upgrade. It seems working fine.

Do you have any comments regarding post #354? $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE' or $service = 'GROUND ADVANTAGE COMMERCIAL' ?

https://www.zen-cart.com/showthread....77#post1398277

[HeleneWallis]

I need to exclude one product from some shipping services, something I've done with multiple other products. For whatever reason, this product number is being ignored in the statements that should be able to find it. I need to figure out what product id the program is actually seeing, since it's clearly not seeing the number that Zencart allegedly assigned to it. I've been trying to figure out the variable name for the product id in the cart array, and so far have not been successful. Can anyone help?

[lat9]

I need to exclude one product from some shipping services, something I've done with multiple other products. For whatever reason, this product number is being ignored in the statements that should be able to find it. I need to figure out what product id the program is actually seeing, since it's clearly not seeing the number that Zencart allegedly assigned to it. I've been trying to figure out the variable name for the product id in the cart array, and so far have not been successful. Can anyone help?

... and what are "the statements that should be able to find it"?