UPS real time shipping

[Jamie]

This was requested via email

[denny]

I was one of the requestors I suppose. The reasoning behind my customers needing the UPS Toolbox is simple.

When an order is placed and you are using weight X items = shipping, no matter how many rules you can put in you do not end up with EXACT shipping. This results in over (or under) charging for shipping and only helps the competition.

Thank you for considering ths feature!

Denny

NextnetHosting.net

[Jamie]

Hi Denny,

You are right. We put this in here based on your suggestion. Feel free to put your own requests in here as well, if you think of anything you would like to see in the cart. If it fits with our goals for the cart, then we will do our best to make any changes customers suggest.

This is definitely a good idea (linking to UPS). We also will be looking into linking to other courier's software, such as FedEx, USPS, etc...

Here is a question I've always wondered about in regards to shipping. Here is a make believe scenario (it's fun to play make believe!):

- customer orders 10 items
- item weight total is 50 lbs
- courier charges $33 for a single 50lb package

so...how would this work if only 5 items will fit in a box? wouldn't that mean 2 boxes, and possibly 2 shipments, depending on the courier? If that is the case, then the shipping cost could be different?

I don't do much shipping! If anyone out there wants to throw their 2 cents in, please feel free. I've always wondered how accurate shipping can be calculated from another source (ie UPS, FedEx, etc...) if they don't necessarily know how many boxes you are shipping.

[denny]

The easy way is to make a couple of asumptions.

1. We make a rule we only ship boxes that weight 20lbs. This allows us to use total weight / 20 = box count. This would make your example a 3 box shipment. (Yes you will only ship 2 boxes and the real cost will be less then charged.)

2. You must know your products!!
- Customer orders 500 bubble mailers
- mailers weight total is 20lbs
Using the above we would ship 1 box at 20lbs. WRONG
The mailers are boxed 250 per box 10lbs a box BUT UPS/FEDEX charge dimentional weight of 30lbs a box (or 60 lbs. total)

3. We make another rule L * W * H = X (X = dimentional weight)
[UPS uses L * W * H = X / 194 = Weight]

Will this work?
We know that 250 bubble mailers weight 10lbs and we also know that the shipping charge will be 30lbs.
One mailer weights 0.04
One mailer volume 23.22

In the product weight field we put 0.04 in the box field L 9 W 6 H 0.43

Now the math
Weight * Item count
0.04 * 500 = 20 lbs
Volume * Item count
23.22 * 500 = 10260 / 194 = 59.84 lbs

if weigth > volume use weight else use volume

So Example would be:
Charge 3 20lbs boxes for a total of 60lbs (Yes you will only ship 2 boxes and the real cost will be less then charged.)

Copied from customers email to Denny

[Jamie]

Hi Denny,

Thanks for the info. I really have to think this one over quite a bit. I was thinking about this quite a while back, and played with the idea of programming in the different size boxes someone may have. It seemed so complicated that I decided to just go rule based, and see if people could make the rules fit their particular needs. One thing that really messed with my brain 8O was things like this:
what if someone orders say 5 compact discs, and a sweater (ridiculous combination, but you get the idea). We can definitely assume that if all the products you ship are the same size, shipping is easier. But in this scenario, with multiple items, all of different weights and sizes, it seems tough to figure out how many boxes you'd need. You would have to figure out how many of the first item you could fit in the same box with the second item. Volume seemed good to me at first, but then I realized that volume doesn't exactly work all the time, depending on the shape of the item. Picture this, you fill up a 1' (w) x 1' (h) x 1' (d) box with a bunch of items, and their is some remaining space at the top of the box, which is 1' (w) x 1' (h) x .5 " (d) (basically, you have a half an inch of empty space at the top of the box). Now, say you have another item that you need to get in the box, and it is 1" x 4" x 4". Volume would fit, if you liquified it! Otherwise, it would not. So this means the cart would have to figure out remaining volume in a box AND the dimensions of this remaining volume. It was at that point that my brain started to hurt! I will have to take a good look at the software UPS offers, and figure out the best way to do this.

[gtroll]

I would like it if weight was looked up from the USPS chart and depending on the shipping address the order was charged the correct amt. if they could compare shipping rates by carrier and time to deliver that would be awesome. :D

[denny]

Any time frame yet?...Denny

[tetra]

i think that even if you setup a zone rule that would help and make things simpler usps ups and fed x use zones so if the customer was in washington state 98290 that would be zone 1

USPS priorty
the rule could read:
if zone =1
and is 1LB or less than
3.95
priority=1

UPS ground
the rule could read:
if zone =1
and is 1LB or less than
5.95
priority-1

all that would have to be done is actualy find out which zip codes were in each zone for each service and then that would work fine i belive.

we realy need this badly

go to our site www.c-cure.us and you will see :wink:

[tetra]

if you go to this website at usps http://208.254.221.11/postcalc/zonecharts/

it gives you a zone chart all you do is enter in the first 3 digits from your zip code

if you could make a page that we input the information that defines zones then we could enter it in in the following manner

005-098=zone8
100-212=zone8
214-268=zone8

and so on then when the cart looks at the first 3 digits of the customers zip it would tell them what zone and then could apply the zone rule for usps

i dont know if all the services use the same zone information

[gamblersgifts]

I had an odd thing happen, an order came through that had a few seperate items that normally fit a large qty to a box,

Squirrelcart not only added one of the items to a seperate box, on an earlier order it gave a different shipping method for the second package.
This seems really goofed up, FYI this is an "out-of-the-box" RTR for USPS and UPS setup

So on the order detail it came out:
too cheap for one thing,
$5.2125


Why did it break up into two packages?

Shipping Breakdown:
-----------------------------------------------
Package #1:
Postage: $
Ship using:
Ship from:

Specified by: Customer
Weight: 3 (lbs)
Note: This package qualified for UPS dimensional weight billing.


Package #2:
Postage: $
Ship using:
Ship from:
Specified by: Customer
Weight: 2 (lbs)
Note: This package qualified for UPS dimensional weight billing.

Thats a whole 5 lbs, and it all barely fills up a medium sized box.


Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Canyon
Webmaster
GamblersGifts.com