Shipping questions

First off, thank you very much for this software. Who knew you could get so much for free? :) I will do my best to word my question(s) as logically and intelligently as possible. If I screw it up it's because I don't really know what I am talking about. So, here goes...

Our store is going to sell bulbs (the kind that flowers grow out of, not light bulbs). Let's assume we have already figured out the average weight of the bulbs and we are going to give every bulb that weight. We have decided we are going to have one size shipping box. Let's assume we know the weight of the box and packing material combined. We have decided we can safely fit a maximum of 10 bulbs per box.

Now, with all that in mind, what would be the recommended way to set up the shipping modules? At some point in the near future this will be integrated with the USPS module. Should I anticipate great difficulties with this?

I hope the questions makes sense. I will be happy to provide any information I may have missed. Thank you for your time.

You are very lucky. I wish my shipping requirements were so simple.

Take the weight of the box and packing material and add together. This is your Tare Weight. Enter that in admin-> Configuration-> Shipping/Packaging -> Package Tare - small to medium. Since you know the exact Tare weight you can enter it as 0:xx where xx is the weight in pounds (you can enter a fraction of a pound as a decimal number (i.e. 1/4 pound enter 0:0.25). (the figure before the colon (:) is for estimating tare as a percentage of product weight. Since you know the exact weight you won't use the percentage, but instead enter the exact tare weight after the colon). Set "Enter the maximum package weight you will ship: to slightly more than your tare weight plus the actual weight of 10 bulbs (this only works if you are not selling other products that use different box and packing weights)

On your product information pages, enter the average weight of one bulb. If you have a minimum order requirement then enter that minimum in the Product Qty Minimum box. (You might want to consider selling in packs of 10 bulbs to simplify shipping, inventory, etc. If you do, use the weight and price of ten bulbs when setting up this page or set the Product Qty Minimum to 10.)

By limiting the maximum package weight you are forcing the system to apply an tare whenever the shipping weight exceeds that weight. If the customer orders 50 bulbs, the system will apply a tare for 5 boxes and packaging.

You would set up your USPS, UPS, Fedex etc. shipping modules in a normal way. You would not need to change any of the settings for these modules to handle your requirement as you described.

Ron

Correct this paragraph in Post #2 as follows:

Change "Product Qty Minimum" to read "Product Qty Units":

On your product information pages, enter the average weight of one bulb. If you have a minimum order requirement then enter that minimum in the Product Qty Minimum box. (You might want to consider selling in packs of 10 bulbs to simplify shipping, inventory, etc. If you do, use the weight and price of ten bulbs when setting up this page OR set the **Product Qty Units **to 10.)

ronlee67 - Thank you very much for your response. I have to say though, I'm not so keen on setting a minimum order.

Utilizing what you described above, it would not matter how many bulbs a customer ordered, Zen would automatically figure out how many boxes per order, correct?

If they order 5 bulbs they would get one box. If they order 11 bulbs, they get two boxes.

Again, thank you so much for your help. I can not believe all this help is free :)

Utilizing what you described above, it would not matter how many bulbs a customer ordered, Zen would automatically figure out how many boxes per order, correct?

Correct. Glad to help.
Ron

Snarg -

I can not believe all this help is free :)

Not just the help, but the program too. We do like an extra cup of coffee now and then though. :)

Prior to integrating the USPS module and, for testing purposes, what module would you recomend I use to test with?

Snarg:

Prior to integrating the USPS module and, for testing purposes, what module would you recomend I use to test with?

It might be a good idea to create an account in your own name so you can place test orders and see the final results including any emails that normally go to the customer.

For payment use the COD or Money Order feature. That way a payment won't get initiated. When finished, simply delete the order.

As for shipping, you can have your shipping modules turned on, and you should see the results you need to verify shipping costs by creating a dummy order and then viewing the Shipping Estimater results from the shopping cart. You will also see the shipping options and costs during checkout in Step 1 Delivery Information page. You don't have to complete checkout to do this, but it won't hurt if you select payment by money order.

Ron