Royal Mail Basic UK Shipping Modules

A Zen Cart port/update of the OsC 'UK Shipping Methods is now available from the downloads area 'Shipping Modules' section as 'Basic UK Mail':
http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=product_contrib_info&products_id=2001

The mod implements a basic set of UK Royal Mail shipping routines for UK based stores.

Features -

Shipping Methods Added:

(1) Royal Mail First Class Standard Post
(2) Royal Mail First Class Recorded Post
(3) Royal Mail Second Class Standard Post
(4) Royal Mail Second Class Recorded Post
(5) Royal Mail Standard Parcels
(6) Royal Mail Airmail
(7) Royal Mail International Signed for
(8) Royal Mail Airsure
(9) Royal Mail Surface
(10) Parcelforce 48

All the Royal Mail methods along with the Parcelforce 48 method allow you to:-
Set minimum and maximum delivery weights.
Set minimum and maximum delivery values.
Split shipments based on maximum delivery weight, maximum delivery value, or both, in combination with the built in Zen Cart shipment splitting.
Shipping methods which have insurance options now allow you to set different charges for different compensation levels.
Zen Cart Version : v1.3.9h

Hello Chucki... This mod will no doubt be warmly received.

But how does it differ from Big Royal Mail - functionally - if at all ?

I see you put a post on that thread too.

Fairestcape, A difficult one to answer, since this is a port/modification of a totally different package, not an update of BRM. I only posted a note on the BRM thread to give people a heads up that there was another possible solution for them.
Big Royal Mail implements a module for each and every one of the Royal Mail options. Basic UK Mail tries to give you a working shipping setup for the UK with a minimum of config and effort. The shipping options offered to customers are determined automatically, based on the most common criteria. If someone needs a really complex setup with all sorts of caveats, then it's probably not the package. Heck try it and see :)

(Oh, and give my regards to the fairest Cape when next you are there)

Hi Chuckl,

Great to come out with a Royal Mail add on that works. I would love one more Shipping Methods Added: Royal Mail Airmail "Small Packet" as this would be the cheapest option for my customers.
Do you know where I can find this information to implement in your Royal Mail Basic ?

Kim

Kim,
Thanks for the kind words, the whole 'ethos' behind the Basic Modules is that they should be easy to use and aimed at the typical users requirements.

This means that there are assumptions made about the proposed usage and inherent in the settings and config, such as that items being sent using the modules will be small packages rather than letters.

So I'm happy to be able to tell you that the rates in the 'Airmail' module ARE the Small Packet rates, and no changes are necessary..

:smile:

You can get the current RM rates here, as a useful cross reference -
ftp://ftp.royalmail.com/Downloads/public/ctf/rm/pricing_made_easy.pdf

Rgds,

Chuck

Chuck,

Great news, I have immediately installed the 'Airmail' module.
Many thanks.

Kim

Good to hear Kim, don't forget to check that the numbers produced by the installed module look reasonable

Regards,

Chuck

Hi there and thanks for putting these modules together.
I've just installed them and they seem to work great except one thing:
If I set the maximum value to ship to 50 for 1st class or 2nd class recorded, shouldn't that disable the module if shopping cart is bigger than £50? Well it's not happening on my website. I even tried changing the module file from:

		if ( ($order->info['subtotal'] / $my_shipping_num_boxes) > MODULE_SHIPPING_RMSECONDREC_MAX_VALUE) {
			$this->enabled = false;
		}

To:

		if ( $order->info['subtotal'] > 50) {
			$this->enabled = false;
		}

But still no joy.

Any pointers would sure be appreciated.

The default limit for 1st and second recorded is set to £46, as that is the insurance cap.
When you say that it is not 'disabling the module' when the cart value reaches £50, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you talking about the shipping estimator, or the store checkout?
I'm not sure that the shipping estimator code checks the max. value, but the checkout routines certainly do.

I've just tried it on a test site on 1.3.9h, and if I'm not logged in as a customer, the shipping estimator gives does not check the order value, only the weight. As soon as I log in as a customer, it does check the order value, and restricts the options to the valid ones.

Hi,

Does not work with 1.5

Thanks for the mod though..

Sorry tested it on a test site and didnt edit the tare. It seems to work fine. Thanks looks very nice!

Yup, The tare settings trap more people than any other :)

Some minor updates/changes/fixes have been uploaded to the free software area. Should be available in the next couple of days.

hi i've installed Royal Mail Basic UK Shipping Modules and have configured zone 1 post codes. my problem is i get The delivery/shipping fee cannot be determined at this time in the delivery section of the check out pages the total is correct as i want to provide freeshipping for orders over a certain amount and charge delivery for under that amount. as distance get further away the amount to be ordered to get freedelivery will increase so i cant use the free delivery option in the admin panel. how do i delete this warning to stop customers seeing it?
any help would be appreciated.
I've posted this here as i cant find where to start a new post.:frusty::oops::(

That message usually means that either the weight of the shipment is higher tham the allowed weight of the particular module, or that there is not enough information for the shipping module to determine either where the shop is, or where the goods are being shipped.

You dont' say which of the modules you have installed, or what shipping weight is involved, so it is difficult to know where to advise you to look.
I would note that the modules do NOT use postcodes, or zones, they use country codes, so the effect of adding such should be nil, or at worst negative.
Also note that there are two 'freeshipping' modules with very different targetted uses and effects on other modules, including disabling them, so it's best not to install and activate too much simultaneously.

:)

Hi Chuckl,

Thank you for releasing this module!

I was wondering if it was possible to include Royal Mail's Special Next Day Delivery (http://www2.royalmail.com/delivery/business-delivery-options-uk/special-delivery-next-day%29?

Also, in the shopping cart you can click to pay via PayPal (Express) and it will take you straight onto the PayPal side without selecting a shipping option, how does this module handle that?

Ashley, The Royal Mail Special Next Day as in rmspecial.php is already the Royal Mail Special Next Day delivery module. There are a couple of problems with that statement -

Firstly, the Basic UK mail modules are set up with a default assumption that the user is a small business paying the 'over the counter' rates available at the nearest post office.
Secondly, That above all else the modules should be easy to install, and 'just work' in a default 'almost right' configuration, suitable for most users. Ease of installation and default config above all else.
Thirdly, That it should be possible to reasonably easily make changes when the above two assumptions don't hold.

So, if you're using a franking machine or are a registered business customer, the rates are probably not right for you.
There's a spreadsheet in the Misc folder, enter the rates that ARE right for you, the spreadsheet will produce the configuration string, and paste that into the admin-modules-shipping section for rmspecial.
Or if you prefer, do them on a piece of paper, edit to suit YOUR rates, and customise to your hearts content.
If you need all of the special rates options and exceptions - 'Special Saturday guaranteed' and so on, Sorry, can't help you, this is not the package to use, without some major custom configuration.

Regards,

Chuck

Sorry, forgot the second bit -

The shipping modules do not play any 'active' part in the checkout or any other process. When instantiated and queried/triggered by core Zen Cart routines, and provided with an 'order' with a weight and perhaps a 'ship to' location, they attempt to return a 'cost of shipping' to the core routine.

As such, the use or otherwise of Paypal Express or any other payment system is not something that can be set or influenced by a shipping module, or the code therein.

You could try reading this perhaps?

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156951

Thanks a lot Chuckl, we do operate the basic rates from the PO and would also take advantage of the Special Saturday Guaranteed option if available but not necessary. Currently we are just using the stock zencart shipping module zone-based. Thanks for referring me to that other thread too, shall dive into this further when I have time!

EDIT: Okay that wasn't long to read at all lol, looks like I was confused regarding the checkout process with PayPal Express and this should still work?? Will have to test :)

Hello. Thanks for releasing this module. I'm currently using Zone table mod since I want a rate for GB and another for EU countries. This has worked perfectly so far however I want to add your 1st & 2nd class Recorded in conjunction with my current mod. I've installed the ones I wanted but the only one showed on my dummy order is my old Zone Table. When I turned off my Zone Table and turned your modules on, the shopping option didn't work i.e. "Sorry, we are not shipping to your region at this time. Please contact us for alternate arrangements." Not sure how to fix this. Can you help please?