Australia Post Delivery Rate Server Down

[bx1]

Hi All,

I am also having the same problem...

ERROR:Unable to obtain a valid quote from the Australia Post Server.
Please try again later, or contact the store owner if problems persist. Item girth outside valid ranges

I haven't received in order since Christmas and was thinking it was a bit odd then I got a message from a customer notifying me of this.

I am using version 1.3.7

Any help to get this up and running would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[RodG]

G'day bx1,

> I am also having the same problem...

A Similar problem, but not the SAME problem.

> ERROR:Unable to obtain a valid quote from the Australia Post Server.
> Please try again later, or contact the store owner if problems persist.
> Item girth outside valid ranges

This error message is telling you EXACTLY what your problem is. Namely, the item girth is outside valid range.

The Maximum dimensions for Australia Post parcels is length 105cm, girth 140cm.
The girth being ((width * 2) + (height * 2))

If your products really are larger than this, AustPost won't accept them. If your items are not this large simply define the correct dimensions and all will be well.

Cheers
Rod

[bx1]

Thanks RodG. Has Aust Post changed it's configuration? I only say this as I haven't changed any dimensions of my products and now none of them work. I'll fiddle around with it though and see what I can come up with.

[RodG]

G'day bx1,

> Thanks RodG. Has Aust Post changed it's configuration?

Yeah, they seem to have put a check in for your IP in order to give you different results than everyone else. <grin>

> I only say this as I haven't changed any dimensions of my products > and now none of them work.

None of them?

What was the last thing you changed when it stopped working?

I've just checked out your site and picked several items at random and got a valid quote each time. The only time I didn't get a valid quote was when the total item price exceeded $75, and that is a result of your free shipping over $xx module kicking in.

If you could point me to an item or two where I'm able to duplicate your girth error I'll be happy to take another look into it,

Cheers
Rod

[bx1]

Hi Rod,

I did not test all the products but the product that my customer pointed out was Mirenésse Secret Weapon Mascara Super Thick. I tried another mascara which was bought recently and worked and that didn't work when I tested it either (Mirenésse Secret Weapon Mascara Super Curl). All the settings are the same. I had a few orders before Christmas and haven't touched my site since (wanted the holidays hehe). So I'm a bit stumped at what went wrong Thanks for your help on this!

[RodG]

G'day bx1,

> I did not test all the products but the product that my customer pointed out was
> Mirenésse Secret Weapon Mascara Super Thick.

OK, I just tried this and got the same error. The problem is that your parcel dimensions are actually too small.
This problem only started to appear back in november (there have been discussions about it). I did release details on how to patch the AP module to circumvent this problem, and the fix has been incorporared into the latest release (V2.0.1)

You have 3 options.
1. Locate the earlier thread and patch your own copy of the module.
2. Download and use the latest version.
3. Adjust the dimensions of your items so that the girth is always going to exceed 50mm.

It is easy to 'prove' that this is a girth issue by adding two of those mascara's to the cart, because that does give a valid result.

My recommedation is to upgrade to the latest version of the AP module.

Cheers
Rod

[poohbear]

n 16 00:53:43 2008] [error] PHP Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/includes/modules/shipping/austpost.php on line 391
[Wed Jan 16 00:53:43 2008] [error] PHP Warning: file(http://austpost.vcsweb.com/ratecalc....e_Type=EXPRESS) [<a href='function.file'>function.file</a>]: failed to open stream: Connection timed out in /home/includes/modules/shipping/austpost.php on line 799

Need help here also, my austpost_improved module is also not working,
on checkout, the website just hangs there and does nothing..

I'm using 1.37 and the lastest austpost module

any idea? Thanks..

[RodG]

Hi poohbear,

> <a href='function.file'>function.file</a>]: failed to open stream: Connection timed out in
> /home/includes/modules/shipping/austpost.php on line 799

Timeout errors (such as this) can often be caused by transient network or server problems, so hopefully you've tried this more than once?

Assuming you have tried more than once, and the problem is persistant, I need the following information in order to give any useful advice or suggestions.

1. What is the URL of your store
2. Was the AP module working for you BEFORE you upgraded V2.0.x, or is this a first time installation?

Cheers
Rod

[RodG]

G'day Centaur,

> While I want to offer choice of insurance or no insurance to my
> customers, and for most parts of the world, it isn't a problem.
> It becomes a reflection on me and my site when a service is
> offered, and I cannot provide.

I can certainly appreciate the problem, but at the moment there isn't an 'easy' solution. This is because the AustPost server itself doesn't provide any insurance calculations at all, these are all done by the AustPost module based on nothing more than the current insurance rates and the value of the parcel.
In order to exclude certain destinations from having an insurance option I'd need to build my own database listing those exclusions.
Probably not a difficult thing to do, but could be time consuming (and even a nightmare to keep it updated).

Perhaps if you (or someone) could provide me with a *shortlist* of common but uninsurable destinations (such as Canada) I'll see what I can do. (no promises)

Cheers
Rod

[Dreamwater]

Hi Rod,
Firstly, cheers for what you have done for the austpost module....awesome job..

Secondly, just wanted to let you know I was experiencing the same error as earlier posts regarding not being able to connect with the auspost server..

After changing the curl string as you suggested on page 2 of this thread, all is working fine...

Thanks

Jas