Thank you, directing customers to the cart first will be an improvement, and since it is a setting, there is a choice to have this function or not. Will make the checkout more flexible.
I have a question concerning gift certificates and coupons. I like the way these can be entered in the cart near the shipping. But, the coupon field and gift certificate field may also be shown again during the checkout process at a later step. If this is the case, and a customer already entered the codes in one or more of these fields in the cart, how will you handle it later on in the process? The customer could try to enter them again? Would the fields that were already completed be grayed out later on in the process? Maybe let customer know the discount and/or certificate was already applied.
Just wondering how this will be configured.
Thanks,
Bob
[quote name=‘BarryH’]Could CS cart show a default shipping charge, dependant on whether you’re using weight/order/no items to calculate shipping. As soon as the items are added to the cart it is working out how much shipping would be. Don’t know if cs can do this, other carts seem to. Perhaps there would be a need to have a default location setting.[/QUOTE]
I believe that a lot of the sites that show an “in-process” shipping charge are using manual shipping methods which makes this feasible. If you are using realtime rates, you would be polling the rate server each time a product is added which might slow things down quite a bit. One option would be to use a manual rate to provide an “in-process” shipping estimate then calculate the realtime rates at the end. I am not so sure that I would like this because, if the realtime rates were higher, there is a bait-and-switch quality to this. At any rate, in-process shipping estimates would not be part of this specification.
Personally, I like the shipping estimator used at B&H Photo (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/). I think it does a great job of collecting the destination data and clearly displaying the results. Perhaps, something similar can be used for the cart page although that change is also probably separate from this specification.
Bob
Personally I really like how I have the shipping estimator set up. This is how my cart page looks:
The way I have it, the estimation box is very clear and stands out. There isn’t any kind of funky link or anything for anyone to have to click on.
As for how the estimation works, I think the only way for the cart to estimate is to know the users information. If you just use a set default value than you are giving the user false information. One thing I hate is being told one price just to find out that it is really a higher price. I think the way the estimation is currently done is just fine, it just needs to be displayed better.
Brandon
[quote name=‘pbannette’]I have a question concerning gift certificates and coupons. I like the way these can be entered in the cart near the shipping. But, the coupon field and gift certificate field may also be shown again during the checkout process at a later step. If this is the case, and a customer already entered the codes in one or more of these fields in the cart, how will you handle it later on in the process? The customer could try to enter them again? Would the fields that were already completed be grayed out later on in the process? Maybe let customer know the discount and/or certificate was already applied.
Just wondering how this will be configured.[/QUOTE]
I would prefer that gift certificates and reward points be entered on the payment page only. To me, they are just another form of payment which is why I suggested that they be shown explicitly after the order total and before the balance/total due:
[url]http://forum.cs-cart.com/showpost.php?p=81280&postcount=8[/url]
Coupons could probably be entered on the cart page.
Bob
[quote name=‘brandonvd’]I think the way the estimation is currently done is just fine, it just needs to be displayed better.[/quote]
Accepted. This will be reworked in 2.1 as well.
[quote name=‘admin’]Accepted. This will be reworked in 2.1 as well.[/QUOTE]
Very glad to here! 
I agree that the way Brandon has the shipping calculator displayed is a much better way in that it is much more prominently displayed rather than a link which is quite easy to overlook. Shoppers need to know the shipping cost of their orders and need to be able to display them without much confusion to prevent frustration.
Just to be real picky, I think “estimate” should be changed to “calculate”. The word “estimate” implies that this is not the actual shipping cost and the site may unexpectedly change it on you. The word “calculate” is more definite and would eliminate any hesitation that “estimate” would invoke.
[quote name=‘moka’]Just to be real picky, I think “estimate” should be changed to “calculate”. The word “estimate” implies that this is not the actual shipping cost and the site may unexpectedly change it on you. The word “calculate” is more definite and would eliminate any hesitation that “estimate” would invoke.[/QUOTE]
Can’t this be changed in the languages? It can be in version 1.3.5
Yes and no. I just changed mine, but I decided to change the template file and add a new language variable. Since I don’t know where else the estimate variable is used I didn’t want to change that.
Brandon
[quote name=‘Lyn’]Can’t this be changed in the languages? It can be in version 1.3.5[/QUOTE]
Yes, I already have it changed. But I think it should be standard out of the box.
[quote name=‘moka’]Yes, I already have it changed. But I think it should be standard out of the box.[/QUOTE]
I think “calculate” is much better then “estimate”. As moka points out, “calculate” carries none of the negative connotations of “estimate”.
Bob
[quote name=‘jobosales’]I think “calculate” is much better then “estimate”. As moka points out, “calculate” carries none of the negative connotations of “estimate”.
Bob[/QUOTE]
I agree with the rest of you on this. Estimate should not be used since the presented shipping costs are the actual shipping cost the customer ends up paying. Calculate is better. Also this block should not be seen if all the products in cart have free shipping and should calculate shipping on those items that do not have free shipping .
This is off topic but the Free Shipping feature needs to be improved from the way it is now a free shipping image should show in the product list and the product detail pages out of the box with no mods otherwise it is useless the way it is now.
[QUOTE]The way I have it, the estimation box is very clear and stands out[/QUOTE]
Why would you have two “call to action” buttons for the same action? I think that’s confusing especially when the titles are different.
Personally I find the top down approach for field entries in the checkout easier to read because all the amounts are in the right column. Whether it be shipping/promo/gift card entries, the amounts are shown in a single column.
Seems to me with all the different variations of checkout page needs that a possible concept would be a configurable block approach where those data elements needed can be captured over a 1,2,3, or 4 page workflow chosen by the customer. The code blocks of which could be “over-ridden” for customization as a whole component could be placed on any page in the checkout flow. So code blocks would exist for promo codes, estimated shipping, shipping address, etc, similar to how you can add custom html blocks for other pages as done today on other pages. If done right the code blocks would be generic enough from a CSS standpoint where they could be easily reformatted unlike what exists today within a template with little effort.
[quote name=‘bitmanx63’]Why would you have two “call to action” buttons for the same action? I think that’s confusing especially when the titles are different.[/QUOTE]
The Estimate Shipping “Button” is just an image and isn’t clickable. I thought about doing the image different to help reduce confusion, but I haven’t figured out a better way to do it and have it look good.
I figure that since the image isn’t clickable than that only leaves the blue button as the only choice. So far I haven’t had any calls or emails complaining.
Brandon
[quote name=‘bitmanx63’]Seems to me with all the different variations of checkout page needs that a possible concept would be a configurable block approach where those data elements needed can be captured over a 1,2,3, or 4 page workflow chosen by the customer. The code blocks of which could be “over-ridden” for customization as a whole component could be placed on any page in the checkout flow. So code blocks would exist for promo codes, estimated shipping, shipping address, etc, similar to how you can add custom html blocks for other pages as done today on other pages. If done right the code blocks would be generic enough from a CSS standpoint where they could be easily reformatted unlike what exists today within a template with little effort.[/QUOTE]
There is a suggestion in the Ideas forum to allow custom block-based presentation of the checkout. It probably makes more sense to implement this as a core feature rather then as an addon, but this would at least get the concept on the developers’ radar:
[url]http://cscart.uservoice.com/forums/40782-general/suggestions/500275-add-on-to-custom-configure-checkout-steps[/url]
I don’t think we will get anything like this in 2.1 so let’s just make sure what we do get is addresses as mant concerns as possible.
Bob
This may have already been said, but if you plan to have guest checkout, allow us to turn that off in the admin section. We don’t want to allow customers to checkout as a guest.
Also, it’s somewhat unfortunate that you’re messing with the whole setup. I think the CS-Cart 1-page checkout is one of the best on the web. Personally, I like having the cart summary on the checkout page. Nothing frustrates me more than to be locked into Amazon’s checkout process and feel like I can’t easily update my cart if I think to change a quantity or product.
Minor tweaks are needed. The most common complaint I hear is that users are unclear what to do with the “save” button during the shipping method step.
[quote name=‘knoxbury’]This may have already been said, but if you plan to have guest checkout, allow us to turn that off in the admin section. We don’t want to allow customers to checkout as a guest.
[/QUOTE]
I doubt that they will take this option away. You can currently disable anonymous checkout in General settings.
Bob
Hi- I would LOVE it if you could allow us to manually adjust the customer’s shipping/delivery cost inside the admin in the “Edit Order” section.
For example if the customer calls us on the phone after they have place the order online and they wish to add a product or remove a product, I would like the ability to be able to use the “Edit Order” and change the shipping total price manually. Or be able to add an extra handling charge If I want.
We do local driver delivery as well as online overnight shipping and this would be soooo convenient.
Thanks A Bunch!
AlmondJoy~
[quote name=‘almondjjoy’]Hi- I would LOVE it if you could allow us to manually adjust the customer’s shipping/delivery cost inside the admin in the “Edit Order” section.
For example if the customer calls us on the phone after they have place the order online and they wish to add a product or remove a product, I would like the ability to be able to use the “Edit Order” and change the shipping total price manually. Or be able to add an extra handling charge If I want.
We do local driver delivery as well as online overnight shipping and this would be soooo convenient.
Thanks A Bunch!
AlmondJoy~[/QUOTE]
You can already do just what you are mentioning, the ability is already there.
[quote name=‘almondjjoy’]
For example if the customer calls us on the phone after they have place the order online and they wish to add a product or remove a product, I would like the ability to be able to use the “Edit Order” and change the shipping total price manually. Or be able to add an extra handling charge If I want.[/QUOTE]
You can do this already. When you edit an order, you can override the shipping cost in the “Totals” page by ticking the checkbox on the shipping amount line and typing your charge into the input box to its right. Then click the “Save” or “Proceed to next step” button.
But this thread is not about changes in the admin area - it is about the checkout experience your customers have in the storefront up to where they place their order by clicking the “Place order” button.
Bob