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osCommerce

The e-commerce.

RodG

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Posts posted by RodG

  1. There are several 'Australia Post' shipping modules,  but from your description of the options that you are seeing, I will assume that you are referring to the 'ozpost' module.  

     

    First and foremost -  ozpost itself will never ever provide a 'free shipping quote'.    As far as ozpost is concerned a shipping cost of $0.00 is considered an error, and will not be displayed.  

     

    What ozpost can/does do though is check for any products in the cart that has been flagged as being a 'Virtual' or 'Always free shipping'  -  These settings/options are to be found in the product settings.    

     

    If such a product is the *only* product in the customers cart the ozpost module disables itself.  OsCommerce itself *should* do whatever it would normally do when a product is suitable for free shipping.  Ozpost plays no part in this whatsoever.  

     

    If the product is placed in the cart with *other* products that are subject to shipping costs, the ozpost module will 'silently' ignore them. They won't form a part of the quote,  (Enabling the ozpost 'debug' will actually show you if/when products like this are being ignored).  

     

    The product weight settings (and the ozpost options for what to do with zero weight items) won't come into play with these virtual/freeshipping products. They are removed from the processing before that part of the ozpost code is reached.  

     

    If a product is NOT a virtual, and hasn't been configured to be always free shipping then it is quoted based on its weights and dimensions.  Ozpost *cannot* provide a quote for a product that doesn't weigh anything - Such products are physically impossible,  so it gives you the option to use the 'default' weight (as set in the ozpost module), OR, it can be set to just ignore the product, In other words - it will behave as though it *were* a virtual/freeshipping product,  BUT in this instance  OsCormerce itself doesn't know about this - so there will be no shipping cost from ozpost, and no 'free shipping' output from the FreeShipping module either.         

     

    So, now that I've detailed what is going on 'behind the scenes' perhaps if you could provide a little more detail about the actual problem(s) you are having, I may be able to offer more help.    It reads as though ozpost is quoting for a product that it shouldn't be quoting for -  and that really can't (or shouldn't) happen.   A link to the product so that I can see the problem for myself would be a great aid.

     

    None of this is relevent if you aren't using the ozpost module though.  

    Cheers

    RodG

  2. How it reacts depends on two factors:

     

    1) Whether the Free shipping module has been activated or not.  If so, then ozpost doesn't come into play, so the question is moot. 

    2) What your settings are for the ozpost option for 'Action on Zero weights'.    If you've set this to 'ignore' and there are no other products in the cart then the total weight to be calculated for shipping will also be zero, so the ozpost module can't/won't provide any quote at all  (How can it?).  

     

    So, to answer your question, yes this is one of the possible results that you can expect.   

     

    Cheers

    RodG

  3. The ozpost module doesn't have (or need) this functionality.  FREE SHIPPING can be determined by many factors, and when the conditions apply there is no need for the functions of ozpost (or any other shipping module) to even be activated. 

     

    The ozpost module treats zero weighted products placed in a non FREE SHIPPING package either be excluding it from shipping calculations or be applying a default weight (both user settings).

     

    Cheers

    RodG

  4. @@RodG the reason I require to set these items to post with this specific Postage Cost, EG - Door Mural = $16.50, Wall Mural = $25.00 is that is what I have been told by our supplier that they should be shipped via these prices.

     

    I have been told by the supplier that they are shipped by Australia Post Tubes. I don't know the weight of these items yet as the supplier hasn't told me this yet. Others that sell these items also ship using these variables so to be competitive I need to ship at the same rates or less or our customers may go to our competition to purchase these items.

     

    I hope that all makes sense as I have had a very long day, been up since 4am and now is 11.40pm.

     

    As always, all help is appreciated.

     

    Seems to me like you are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. If the Murals are posted in the AustPost tubes, then those are the dimensions you'll need to enter for the shipping calculations. Ozpost will provide the correct/actual cost dependent on the destination. If your competitors offer a cheaper rate and you wish to incur the same losses the ozpost module allows you to enter negative handling charges. On the other hand, if your competitors are charging a fixed price shipping for the murals and are not incurring a loss, then they must be overcharging on shipping, in which case the ozpost module will give you the edge by providing the cheapest quotes without incurring a loss.

    Hmmm, that's the two main principles I keep telling people about... :)

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  5. @@RodG Although I hate to sound stupid but as a relevant newbie in PHP Coding I am not sure what you have stated in the following statement:

     

    if ($inCart == $Item) $this->enabled = false ; // will disable the ozpost module if the condition matches

     

    Is the correct code to use for the OzPost Module to ignore the Per Item Module?

     

    No, its not 'the correct code' as in you can't just cut and paste it. You need to create your own variables to check against. These are generally store or product specific. It isn't something I/we can 'guide' you on. The doing is going to be faster than the explaining.

    Also how does this effect things if products from both places are in the cart? EG: Product A from Per Item + Product B from OzPost Calculated item is in the same cart, does the end result include both of these postage prices calculated together?

     

    This would depend on your test criteria, but keep in mind that the $this-enabled variable is going to be either true or false, meaning the module(s) will either be enabled or disabled. There is no way to use the quotes from one module to affect the quotes from another (well, not without additional custom coding).

     

    Frankly, I don't see why you need to do any of this. The ozpost module has been created so that merchants don't have to use fixed prices, or make adjustments in order to avoid suffering losses. If the module is letting you down somehow then perhaps if you could explain the situation I may be able to suggest a better solution than those you are attempting.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

     

    ps. 'burt' is correct about the file backup/rename.

  6.  

    Thanks for your input on this. Now that I know where I am looking and what part of the module to change I am pretty sure that I have it right now. Only problem now is that I have another shipping value that I need to calculate the same way for another set of items.

     

    This new set of items are the Wall Murals we supply to our customers and need to have a set shipping rate of $25.00.

     

    How would I go about adding this extra postage rate to the OzPost Module?

    If I have it right how the hell do I put these formula's into the OzPost Module so it will work for our store?

     

    The simple answer is you don't.

     

    The ozpost module has been designed with two principles in mind.

    1) Protect the merchant (from underquoting)

    2) Provide *accurate* quotes.

     

    The changes you propose negate these two principles, and neither I, or the ozpost module is going to aid a merchant in shooting themselves in the foot.

     

    Currently I have the store setup to calculate these items using the PER ITEM SHIPPING MODULE.

     

    Have one of the per item shipping set to $16.50 calculating it using the TAX CLASS as Door Murals and Shipping Zone to Australia.

    Copied the same per item shipping and set to $25.00 calculating it using the TAX CLASS as Wall Murals & Shipping Zone to Australia.

     

    Unfortunately with this setup the customers still see the OzPost Shipping Module Calculations with these items still.

     

    The ozpost module, like all good modules, supports the $this->enabled variable. To disable the ozpost quotes for these items is just a matter of adding a suitable if/then statement somewhere near the start of the ozpost code, but after this variable has been initialised.

     

    In simple terms, something like:

     

    if ($inCart == $Item) $this->enabled = false ; // will disable the ozpost module if the condition matches

     

    You can also add a similar line of code to your per item shipping module so that it only gets enabled if the product(s) match your condition. IOW, by adding the same check to both modules, with one set to 'true' on a match, and the other set to 'false' you can effectively display either the ozpost quotes, or the per item quotes, based on what is in the cart. This would be a far easier 'solution' than trying to hack the ozpost code into doing things it was never designed to do.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  7. If this is possible could someone help me work it out please or if there is already a module that I could use please point me in the right direction.

     

    It's code. anything is possible.

     

    The real question is how good are your coding skills?

     

    Step#1. Ensure you are using the latest ozpost client V3.5.x or later.

    Step#2. Set the products weight for the items needing special treatment to be zero.

    Step#3. Configure the ozpost module to ignore products with zero weights.

    (That's half of the solution right there)

    Step#4. Identify the portion of the ozpost code that calculates the final price for any given method. (somewhere around line#1628)

    Step#6. Check the value of the ozpost "$skipvalue" variable. (This value hold the number of items skipped from the normal calculations).

    Step#7. Add $16.50 to the ozpost calculated totals for each of the skip values (assuming $16.50 for each item of this type),

     

    That should do it, but please don't ask me to be any more specific than that.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  8. obtain a copy of the file /catalog/install/oscommerce.sql

     

    Copy the lines starting with

    INSERT INTO zones .....

     

    Paste them into your database using your favourite SQL editor (probably phpmyadmin)

     

    Alternatively, save the line out to a new file, the 'import' the file.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  9. There are major problems with the primary ozpost server at the moment.

     

    Both backup servers are fully functional.

     

    Most of the ozpost client modules will detect the svr1 problem and use srv2.ozpost.net instead (and if that fails they should use svr0.ozpost.net).

     

    If you are experiencing an issue as a result of this current outage, you have three options.

     

    1) update to the latest ozpost code.

     

    2) Load the code /includes/modules/shipping/ozpost.php into a text editor.

    Locate the line of code that reads:

    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL,"svr1.".$server.$request);

    (it'll be somewhere around line #1477)

     

    Change 'svr1' to 'svr2'.

     

    Resave the file.

     

    This'll force the module to use the secondary server 1st :)

     

    or

     

    3) Be patient. svr1 will be back online ASAP.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  10. Hi

    My website is currently not adding a shipping cost to the customers order.

    I am not sure how this happened it did work a few months ago.

     

    Any ideas ?

     

    You may get a better response by providing more info, such as what version of Osc are you using? What shipping module(s) do you use?

     

    Without this info (and more), my best guess is 'something is broken' :-)

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  11. Hello,

     

    I have been searching long and hard and have haven't found a situation like mine.

     

    That is the problem with shipping - everyone has different needs..

     

    I am from Australia and am operating a shopping cart, shipping only within Australia.

    <snip>

    Any help would be kindly appreciated, and if you would like me to elaborate on anything, please let me know.

     

    Have you considered ozpost.net?

    http://shop.vcsweb.com/index.php?main_page=

     

    Cheers

    Rod

  12. G'day Folks,

     

    I'm a newcomer to this forum so probably won't know any of you. However, some of you may possibly have heard of me.

     

    I am the author of the 'ozpost' shipping calculator for zen-cart. I have recently been looking at other carts, including oscommerce. As a result I have ported this module for the benefit of oscommerce users.

     

    I've uploaded the module to this site (ozpost_oc_v1.0.0), but as it is a little over 300k in size it needs to be approved before it is made available. I have no idea how long this takes.

     

    Alternatively, this module can be downloaded from it's primary site at http://ozpost.vcsweb.com/

     

    Please contact me with any questions or problems.

     

    Cheers

    Rod

     

    ps. This is only really suitable for Australian Merchants.

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