Considering switching to ZenCart from PayPal buttons

Hey folks

I presently use PayPal buttons on my site and ship solely via USPS Priority, but now newer USPS rates cause the price to ship an item change dramatically depending on size of the box vs the shipping distance - and there is no way to fix this with PayPal buttons. This is the reason I am shopping cart shopping!

So - Is there a way in Zen to first pull actual rates for a particular shipment (box size, weight and destination ZIP code) directly from the USPS, then add a mark up for packaging and handling?

Unrelated question: Is there a list of merchant account companies that this cart will work with so I can check to see if mine is listed?

Thx all,
RG

Zencart has the USPS module built-in. I know it will handle weight and zip code, but I don't use USPS, so i don't know what triggers package size.

If you install a Zencart test site, you can go to Admin - Modules - Shipping - United States Postal Service and click Install to see the configuration options.

I don't think there's a list of payment options, but you can go to Admin - Modules - Payment to see what's built-in, and 'Free Software Add Ons' at the top of this page to see mods for others, or you can post the name of yours and we'll let you know.

The USPS module calculates the shipping based on your location (your zip code) against the end shipping address. This is based on weight of the parcel and connects to USPS to calculate the cost. Depending on the weight certain shipping options are show (the most relevant).

You can add a "Handling Fee" to cover the cost of Postage and Packaging, but this is one fee set for all. It's not something you can set differently for each shipment.

Vger