Control Shipping options by product or catigory

We have a store that has very complex shipping issues. :wacko: We need to be able to control which shipping modules are available for any given product or category. We have products that are local pickup only, but in multiple locations; that is these are not at the store location. We have products that our drop shipper gives us a set of flat rates. I think that table rates would work well here. Finally we have products that are just fine with basic UPS & USPS shipping.

I've been searching the forums, plugins, etc to no avail :frusty: can anyone help me?

Beau91324:

We have a store that has very complex shipping issues. :wacko: We need to be able to control which shipping modules are available for any given product or category. We have products that are local pickup only, but in multiple locations; that is these are not at the store location. We have products that our drop shipper gives us a set of flat rates. I think that table rates would work well here. Finally we have products that are just fine with basic UPS & USPS shipping.

I've been searching the forums, plugins, etc to no avail :frusty: can anyone help me?

Almost all shipping modules have a line ( or more) of code that reads like:

$this->enabled = true ;
or
$this->enabled = false ;

By adding your own tests and checks for products, categories, customers, etc, etc and changing the $this-enabled setting according to the results will give you the control that you need.

There are many examples posted throughout these forums that you can use as an example/guide for your specific needs.

It isn't at all difficult to achieve, but every store is different, so the code also needs to be written/adapted to suit the needs.

Cheers
RodG

And what happens if a customer orders 3 products in the same order - one that is local pickup, one that ships from the drop shipper and one that ships via UPS/USPS? What happens in such a case, how should the calculation work? Because, the $this->enabled flags would simply disable ALL shipping modules in this case (or would enable all and customer would/could select only one of those...

balihr:

And what happens if a customer orders 3 products in the same order - one that is local pickup, one that ships from the drop shipper and one that ships via UPS/USPS? What happens in such a case, how should the calculation work? Because, the $this->enabled flags would simply disable ALL shipping modules in this case (or would enable all and customer would/could select only one of those...

Who are you asking?

Is this going to be an actual problem for any given store, or just a possible problem?

What do you think should happen?

The problem (if it is going to be one) can be resolved in several different ways.

1. If the order contains a local pickup item, this can simply be excluded from the shipping calculations.

2. If the order contains products from a drop shipper, these costs are often known in advance. Simply add the known amount(s) to the calculated (variable) amounts.

3. If the order contains 2 or more variable rates, retrieve/obtain the rates individually and add them together, giving the customer a single shipping option without specifying the methods used. This can be expanded to provide 'fast' delivery rates or 'cheap' delivery rates.

4. If the customer needs to make a choice of methods from multiple shippers, create an alert to inform them that there is a shipping conflict with the products in the cart and advice them to remove the conflicting product(s) from the cart and place a second order for them.

5. If the customer needs to make a choice of methods from multiple shippers, create an alert to inform them that shipping can't be calculated at the present time and to contact the store owner for costs.

6. If the customer needs to make a choice of methods from multiple shippers, modify the zencart orders code to automatically create multiple orders to resolve the conflict(s). This one will be the most difficult solution, and since to the best of my knowledge no one has created a module to perform this action, there hasn't been a practical need for it.

Meanwhile (since we are discussing possible problems), why not complicate things even further and assume that the customer is shopping for gifts and the products need to be delivered to several different addresses? The point I'm trying to make here is that there is a solution to all of the possible problems, but the 'trick' is we only need to consider the problems that actually exist, rather than all of those that could exist.

In most cases the $this->enabled method is all that most merchants will ever need. At least that has been my experience.

Cheers
RodG

RodG:

Who are you asking?

Hehe, well, the OP, of course.

What do you think should happen?
IMHO, quite simple, actually. Just sum all costs. Although not simple to do.
Let's say there's one local pickup item, one drop shipper ($10) and one USPS ($15). The quote returns $25 and a note saying "some items are local pickup only".

The problem (if it is going to be one) can be resolved in several different ways.

1. If the order contains a local pickup item, this can simply be excluded from the shipping calculations.

2. If the order contains products from a drop shipper, these costs are often known in advance. Simply add the known amount(s) to the calculated (variable) amounts.

3. If the order contains 2 or more variable rates, retrieve/obtain the rates individually and add them together, giving the customer a single shipping option without specifying the methods used. This can be expanded to provide 'fast' delivery rates or 'cheap' delivery rates.

4. If the customer needs to make a choice of methods from multiple shippers, create an alert to inform them that there is a shipping conflict with the products in the cart and advice them to remove the conflicting product(s) from the cart and place a second order for them.
   I hope you're aware how unfriendly and bad for UX this would be...

Meanwhile (since we are discussing possible problems), why not complicate things even further and assume that the customer is shopping for gifts and the products need to be delivered to several different addresses? The point I'm trying to make here is that there is a solution to all of the possible problems, but the 'trick' is we only need to consider the problems that actually exist, rather than all of those that could exist.
I'm perfectly aware that we could come up with 20 other additional complications, but that's not the point.

My question was meant for the OP (yeah, sorry, forgot to quote HIS post) and I believe the question was perfectly legit. I've seen quite a few similar cases but just wanted HIS confirmation before I do something silly and recommend he takes a look at Ceon's Advanced Shipper which would probably solve all of his problems. The only reason I didn't mention it in my first post is because I'm not a huge fan and certainly don't like what jsweb did with that module and subscriptions...

balihr:

I believe the question was perfectly legit

Yes, it was. At the very least it would have given the OP a few additional things to consider that may not have been obvious at 1st glance. In addition to that you have now made the OP aware of Ceon's Advanced Shipper module, which although I've never used, I understand that it may be the solution the OP is looking for if the simple $this->enabled method isn't up to the task.

Cheers
RodG