Additional Shiiping Options Required in Zone Rates

[shags38]

v1.5.5f

I have the requirement to have a clickable option for shipping at checkout for a couple of different circumstances. I have searched shipping modules but they provide far more than I require.

Requirements;
1. for Australian based (domestic) customers, an Express Post option
2. for International customers an option for Priority shipping

I use Zone Rates as all Australian based sites ship within Australia and Internationally and for sites hosted in the U.S. targeting that market the product is shipped from Australia.

I am aware that there is an excellent Australia Post plugin by RodG however it is an overkill for what I want to do.

Reason for requirement:
All my sites are currently v1.5.1 but in the process of being upgraded to 1.5.5f and using a modern (sidebox-less) template look - so on the sites currently I have domestic express post and international priority as 'products' and use an image in an editable sidebox to alert customers to this and also some added text to the checkout page suggesting they consider adding priority shipping particularly for international customers - it is very messy indeed and very hit and miss.

Shipping internationally from Australia is less than wonderful with the options being 'economy parcel post' (non-tracking) and 'standard parcel post' which has tracking as standard - it is now Australia Post's 'standard' method so some bright spark in marketing in Australia Post (AusPost) has named it 'standard' - imagine asking a customer in the U.S. to pay extra for a shipping method called 'standard'? Another reason why a standard AusPost API based module would not work. We have avoided making shipping the tracked method as standard because of the cost of shipping - for many items the economy shipping rate is $15 for a $45 item (average) so about plus 33% on the cost of the item (needless to say we get a lot of drop outs from checkout page ) so to make that a trackable shipment makes it about $19 - if the customer is OK with $15 they may be OK with paying the extra $4 for priority
____

So what I would like to see is in Zone Rates an additional editable option for each of the 3 Zones for Priority Shipping and for that to then reflect in checkout as an add on cost, e.g. normal shipping cost shown as it is now then with a radio button selection for 'priority shipping' $x
1. is this possible? OK, anything is possible, especially in ZenCart - is it easy enough to facilitate by me with some help I suppose is what I meant
... or
2. will it require a developer to develop a program for me? (if so I can advertise in help wanted)

cheers,
Mike

if there is a simpler solution I am all ears

[mc12345678]

Seems to me that if using the zones module, a related result could be obtained by cloning the module, changing the text as appropriate and applying the associated fee(s). It wouldn't necessarily offer a "check-box" but would at least be able to offer the desired information.

[shags38]

Seems to me that if using the zones module, a related result could be obtained by cloning the module, changing the text as appropriate and applying the associated fee(s). It wouldn't necessarily offer a "check-box" but would at least be able to offer the desired information.

Hello MC - many thanks for your response - sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I am not sure what you mean in the above regarding cloning however I will require the ability for the customer to add the express shipping in the cart, so ostensibly a radio or other button - if I am reading you correctly, putting information on the shopping cart page, which I have done before, requires having a link back to that 'product' for the customer to then add it to the cart - so they are leaving the cart - as indicated previously it is a bit messy with the risk a customer will think the same and abandon the cart altogether.

thanks again for your assistance,
Mike

[shags38]

update - I just posted in Commercial Help Wanted thread - wish me luck, no posts in that forum in the past 365 days it says (said).

[mc12345678]

Hello MC - many thanks for your response - sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I am not sure what you mean in the above regarding cloning however I will require the ability for the customer to add the express shipping in the cart, so ostensibly a radio or other button - if I am reading you correctly, putting information on the shopping cart page, which I have done before, requires having a link back to that 'product' for the customer to then add it to the cart - so they are leaving the cart - as indicated previously it is a bit messy with the risk a customer will think the same and abandon the cart altogether.

thanks again for your assistance,
Mike

Well for other readers then, the above response indicates that I didn't communicate effectively.

Here is what seemed to be expressed as desired:
When using the zones shipping module and choosing a shipping option to have a radio button to show normal shipping and in the same row of text a checkbox to select that would instead add some expedition fee to that normal method.

What I hear: I want to be able to have zone shipping where it is possible to have two different fees available. The description of each to be clear and identify whether it is express shipping or not. If it can be done with a checkbox then that would be a personal preference, but in either case I want to be able to offer a method to both the customer and in the admin identifying that expedited shipping has been chosen.

To accomplish what I "hear", the zones module can be copied, changes made so that the copied code works independent of the original (cloned) and the text associated with that copy be changed to offer the explanation of what it means for selecting that option. In this way, each zone can have a difference in the price for each zone displayed.

Then when the shipping options are displayed, the customer can make a choice of using regular shipping or the now available expedited shipping. Little to no additional work necessary other than following the FAQ instruction on cloning a shipping module...

[mc12345678]

update - I just posted in Commercial Help Wanted thread - wish me luck, no posts in that forum in the past 365 days it says (said).

As far as this information of no posts in the last 365 days... well, it still says that even though you report above having posted there...

The reason? It's private so that only those opting in to provide support can SEE the posts that have been made. As such when accessing the thread without being logged into the group that has opted in, there are no posts to be seen... I would suspect that now that you have posted there that there is now a different result for you. Plus, the only one who CAN post a reply to your post there, is YOU.

[shags38]

Well for other readers then, the above response indicates that I didn't communicate effectively.

I hope I did not give that impression, if so it was unintended

Here is what seemed to be expressed as desired:
When using the zones shipping module and choosing a shipping option to have a radio button to show normal shipping and in the same row of text a checkbox to select that would instead add some expedition fee to that normal method.

What I hear: I want to be able to have zone shipping where it is possible to have two different fees available. The description of each to be clear and identify whether it is express shipping or not. If it can be done with a checkbox then that would be a personal preference, but in either case I want to be able to offer a method to both the customer and in the admin identifying that expedited shipping has been chosen.

To accomplish what I "hear", the zones module can be copied, changes made so that the copied code works independent of the original (cloned) and the text associated with that copy be changed to offer the explanation of what it means for selecting that option. In this way, each zone can have a difference in the price for each zone displayed.

Then when the shipping options are displayed, the customer can make a choice of using regular shipping or the now available expedited shipping. Little to no additional work necessary other than following the FAQ instruction on cloning a shipping module...

Thanks for that explanation - I will now read that FAQ and look to achieve what I am looking for following your advice and that of the FAQ. Just to clarify what I need in case I didn't explain it in enough detail.

On the checkout page I want the existing standard shipping to show at its standard value for the appropriate zone - then below it (preferably) or next to it a 'selection' radio button or other form of tab that will show 'additional' cost of expedited shipping (preferably, i.e. 'add $x for expedited shipping', as opposed to showing a total of the standard zone shipping inclusive of the additional cost of expedited shipping. The reason for this is because the numbers are big anyway (standard zone shipping cost of USD17.00 to ship a USD45.00 item is very steep as it is) which in itself is a deterrent to sales completion and a major contributor high cart abandonment, it is just the way it is with international shipping from Australia for items over 20mm (3/4") in thickness, regardless of weight up to 2kg (4.5lb). So it is far more palatable for a customer already accepting $17.00 shipping to spend an extra $4.00 for expedited delivery, psychologically, than see a number of $21.00. It would be good also for that expedited shipping to show as a separate item in the items in the list of costs at the bottom of the form just above 'confirm order' button, i.e. item, shipping, 'expedited shipping', - redeemed coupon >> total.

So I am not sure if that can be achieved or whether it will have to show as two 'large' numbers - I suppose I will find out when I try the cloning as per your suggestion.

So MC, many thanks again for your assistance (and patience with me).

cheers,
Mike