AustPost Improved

[RodG]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, Ive been checking with my shipping estimator.. All is correct.. my items are CDs in slip cases (approx 2mm thick) all with the same dimensions, so they don't vary much with multiple items. It's the fact that a 50g item is charging the same as anything up to 500g, when, according to the Auspost site, there should be 4 increments - 0-50g, 50-125g, 125-250g & 250-500g, each with different prices. Most of my items come in between 100g and 200g but are being charged at the base 50g price. From what I've read on other threads Rod was "a bit slack" (his words!) with the coding for letter sized objects, so Rod - if you have any insight here that would be appreciated. Thanks again...

Hi Guys (esp exoticcorpse & 10gallons)

Firstly, I *hate* being misquoted. The 'bit slack' that was mentioned was in relation to destination ZONES. Please go back and re-read the original message(s).

There is nothing amiss in regards to the dimensions (or weights) of letter sized objects themselves.

Secondly, 10gallons stated "As I added items, the size of the package changed".

This is normal and expected. The austpost module is designed produce *accurate* quotes in a REAL WORLD scenario. I can't think of any physical object that will NOT change dimensions of a parcel as more of the items are added. The 'solution' of setting the dimensions to 0x0x0 is not only absurd, but it is also not doing what you think it is doing. The fact is, assuming the module did try to quote for an item of zero dimensions it will simply produce an error message (go to the online postage calculator and try it). For this reason, any item that *appears* to have zero dimensions will automatically be re-dimensioned to the australia post *minimum parcel* size, specifically, 50mm x 50mm x 50mm. This effectively means that such items will never qualify for letter rates.

Thirdly, when entering dimensions you need to use the dimensions of the ITEMS and NOT the packaging that the items will fit into. This is especially true with letter sized objects where the dimensions become rather critical. Furthermore, please note that even though there are 3 different letter rates based on weight, these are ALSO dependent on *size*, which means that even if an item weighs <125gm (small letter), it the size is larger than allowed (for a small letter) it will be quoted as a larger letter.

exoticcorpse, you stated "Most of my items come in between 100g and 200g but are being charged at the base 50g price.".

I find this a little odd on account of the fact the 0-50gm pricing is only available for overseas letters. The aust letters the lowest rate is 0-125g. So, in the interests of simplicity (and to err in favour of the merchant), the Austpost module ignores the 0-50gm possibility, and will use the <125gm rates as the *minimum* charge, which doesn't quite gel with what you have stated, so even I am a bit confused over this one.

I'm not really sure if any of these comments really help either of you, but seriously, the best advice I can give you both is for you to use accurate weights AND dimensions for all of your store items, and the module will give you accurate results no matter how many of any given item is added to your carts. If you try to 'cheat' the module by setting dimensions to zero, or using package dimensions rather than item dimensions, you'll only end up with confusing results as more items are added to the cart.

DON'T try to second guess things by stating you can fit "x" number of items into a "y" size parcel, because the reality is that even if what you say is true, you will also be able to fit the same 'x' number of items into a parcel that is (say) 10 times the size of the 'y' you specified - it basically means you'll be mailing a lot of 'air'.

Again, accurate quotes means accurate weights and dimensions. Most times 'close enough' will be ok, but if your item is 1.9mm thick, and you specify it as 2mm, if/when 10 of these items are ordered at the same time, that 0.1mm will make the difference between a letter rate and a parcel rate.

Cheers
Rod