custom shipping quotes

I use the MZMT shipping module currently, with a table for US, Canada, and Other International. I sell a lot of heavy items (100+ lbs), and due to certain circumstances I'm finding that the only way I can accurately assess international shipping is to custom quote it, based on logistical factors besides just weight and ship-to location (which is all I'm doing now). How can I have international customers delay checkout and wait for me to custom quote the shipping, which will then allow them to check out on the website?

I'd like to make the process a little smoother for customers so that they can shop, get a quote back soon, and check out, instead of getting an explanation by me that I'm emailing them a paypal invoice with the custom shipping quote (and what the heck paypal is and how it works, just in case) or that they need to order over the phone.

bump

Anyone?

I have the same issue. International customers would need to call/email for custom shipping quotes. Domestic orders use ups or usps. So I was looking for suggestions on how others are handling this. I guess it could be handled over the phone through the clients virtual terminal or possibly through zencart by setting up a product for 'custom shipping payments' that has a cost of $1 and the client can enter the amount and add it to their cart. I've searched the forums, but havent found much info. Sounds like I'd need to set up a zone and use free shipping for international orders but display a message that they need to get a quote. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks.

What I found by accident in the past is if you set it up by defining the customer's zone but with no valid shipping options for the zone then on checkout it will bring the customer to a page saying that there are no shipping options available. We could just modify that message to have them call or email for a quote.

So I think I'll do that. In the absence of a mod, I think this is the only option. Even though it doesn't allow customers to check out through zencart, at least it's consistent and won't result in receiving invalid orders by customers who think they're getting a great deal on shipping and get to be disappointed later.

Thanks for the info. That's a good idea in case the client would prefer to block the checkout rather than to have 'accidental' orders to deal with.