Standard Shipping Rules mixed with Flat Rate

[hyperstress]

Hello,



We have two books that we are selling. I have added in the weight of each product on their product pages. I have also selected Large Envelop with max 3. But if I ship more then three they will go in a box instead... does that matter when calculating the shipping charges?



The main problem I'm having is I want to give the customer an option of Free shipping if they choose USPS Media Mail and the Option of a paid UPS Ground.



I have used the standard UPS Ground rule so that it will calculate the actual amount of shipping.



I have also created a flat rate rule called USPS Media and left it set to 0.00 for the amount.



But in the cart I do not see the drop down for the two options. It still just says 0.00 for shipping. But if I take off the flat rate it automatically calculated the UPS ground cost.



What am I missing/doing wrong?



Thanks,

Stacy

[hyperstress]

Also we'd like to only ship to the United States. Don't know if that helps to know.

[E-junkie_Monster]

Hi Stacy,



There's a known issue with the UPS calculator that might be causing your problems here, so if you want to offer a UPS versus USPS choice to your buyers I do not recommend using the UPS calculator at all.



The UPS calculator is locked to an "all countries" setting even though it can only be used for shipments within the US, which makes it very hard to combine that with any other US-only shipping options. You can still use UPS of course, but I would recommend calculating your shipping by other means because even in the best conditions the UPS quotes are are able to automatically obtain from their website are very basic and not necessarily accurate. We've tried to improve on our integration with UPS but they weren't really willing to play ball with us.



What would be the average cost of a UPS shipment for your book?

[hyperstress]

Usually between $6-8 but it can be as much as $15-$20 if it goes to Hawaii or Alaska. So its hard to put a guesstimate for the flat rates. We don't want to charge everyone the larger price, but if we end up with a lot from Hawaii or Alaska we don't want to be stuck paying the extra ourselves for shipping.



Is there a way to do a flat rate for the 58 states and then a separate rate for Alaska and Hawaii?

[E-junkie_Monster]

Yes, you can create one rate for the US in general and then create special rules for Alaska and Hawaii respectively.



Our shipping rules are set to ignore general locations in favor of specific ones, so it would not be necessary to create a specific rule for every single state or country.



Here's some example instructions to set this up with just a few shipping rules, which means you don't have to mess with any packaging costs or capacity settings, etc:



Go to Seller Admin>View/Edit/Delete Products:

Select an existing shippable product of yours and click Edit;

On the first screen, if Shipping/Buyer's Address is not checked there, tick that box;

Click Next until you can Submit to save settings;

Repeat this for all your tangible goods;

When adding new shippable products, remember to enable Shipping/Buyer's Address.

Go to Seller Admin > Cart Shipping Settings and set up the following:

Shipping Origin: select your country and enter your zipcode;

Shipping Destinations: select United States as the only country you will ship to;

Leave all other settings blank or 0.00;

Click Next to save settings and proceed to the Shipping Rules screen.

In the Existing Shipping Rules menu, select and Delete any Rules you may have saved there.



Set up your first Shipping Rule for free media mail:

Shipping Rate Calculator: Flat

Shipping Amount: 0.00

Shipping Method Description: Media Mail (the description field is very short, you might need to abbreviate)

Country: Select United States;

Click Submit to save the Rule.

Set up a flat rate for UPS in the continental US:

Shipping Rate Calculator: Flat

Shipping Amount: 7.50 (or any base cost you prefer)

Shipping Method Description: UPS

Country: United States;

Click Submit to save the Rule.

Now, to create special rates for Alaska and Hawaii, enter the following:

Shipping Rate Calculator: Flat

Shipping Amount: 17.50 (or any base cost you prefer)

Shipping Method Description: UPS

Country: United States;

State: Alaska

Click Submit to save the Rule, repeat these steps for Hawaii as well.

If you stop here, the free media mail option will not be offered to buyers in Alaska or Hawaii, they will only get the UPS option. If that's what you want, you're done. Otherwise you will need to also create a Media Mail alternative for both of those states, by creating two more shipping rules with the following settings:

Shipping Rate Calculator: Flat

Shipping Amount: 0

Shipping Method Description: Media Mail

Country: United States;

State: Alaska

Click Submit to save the Rule, repeat these steps for Hawaii as well.