I ship a variety of package sizes but typically it’s a rather small box, say 10x8x4 or a very large box (motorcycle exhaust) that will be about 32x12x12. Obviously this gets in to ‘Large’ package shipping charges with USPS and UPS.
My shipping charges were far too low…under charging for shipping by a good bit.
For example:
UPS Ground (1-5 Days) - $14.35
UPS Next Day Air Saver (1-2 Days) - $43.67
Keep in mind that this box is about 32x12x12 and is 20 lbs.
When I enter the shipping info for a quote at ups.com I get these rates which are more accurate from my experience:
For example…
UPS Ground: 22.45 USD
Next Day Air Saver: 56.18 USD
Obviously that’s quite a difference. I’ve made several test orders using various addresses domestically and international testing real time rates. International via USPS seems pretty accurate out of the box but UPS domestic is hit and miss… mostly miss.
I’ve been playing around with Weight dependences by adding 2-4% for anything over 15 lbs. It’s not perfect but at least I reduce (not eliminate) the risk of undercharging for shipping.
It’s almost impossible to receive accurate real time shipping charges without dimensional calculations.
USPS has a dimensional size for ‘Large’ packages but only for Domestic shipments. I only use USPS for International shipments so why no option there?
UPS let’s you set a default package size but no ‘Large’ dimensions.
At the very least one should be able to define ‘Large’ package dimensions within each shipping method then have a checkbox in each product setup section where you could define that product as a ‘Large’ package.
Ideally however it would be best if we could have dimensions W L and H for each product.
I ship both types of packages so it makes things very difficult to get the shipping charges right.
I’ve read the forums and bugs section and added my opinion in a bug report, that I and many others certainly need dimensional options for shipping. I consider this a real short coming to CSC which otherwise is a great product.
Yes, unless you are only shipping tiddly winks with fixed rate shipping costs, then CS-Cart needs quite alot of work in the shipping rate calculations area! 
There is a suggestion for improvement made in the “Ideas” / Uservoice section which if you are concerned, we need your votes on this!
[quote name=‘Struck’]There is a suggestion for improvement made in the “Ideas” / Uservoice section which if you are concerned, we need your votes on this![/QUOTE]
After all the complaining over the years about the lack of dimensional shipping and support for multi-box shipments, you would think that this idea would be getting many more votes.
Bob
[quote name=‘jobosales’]After all the complaining over the years about the lack of dimensional shipping and support for multi-box shipments, you would think that this idea would be getting many more votes.
Bob[/QUOTE]
Exactly my thoughts Bob!
This is a huge issue for all companies doing any shipping volume at all and has an enormous effect on a companies bottom line! Without accurate shipping rate calculations and flexibility, you only have two choices, #1 You overcharge your customers on shipping costs (often making you non-competitive within your industry) or #2 Your company looses money on shipping charges! Either way, you are playing “Russian Roulette” 
This is unfortunate, and I hope someone has a solution for the obvious UPS shipping discrepancy.
Here’s a theory:
What if I was to add (under ‘Product Features’) the Height, Width, & Length, would it be possible to then link these ‘features’ to the ‘ups.php’ shipping processor as the H/W/L?
As I can see from the ‘ups.php’ file, it generates an XML file where it plugs in the shipping dimensions from the ‘Shipping Settings’ area, seen here:
$height = $shipping_settings['ups']['height'];
$width = $shipping_settings['ups']['width'];
$length = $shipping_settings['ups']['length'];
And here…
$measure_unit
So, if we can get the Features to plug into the ‘ups.php’ then we would have an active, accurate, shipping processor!
Well, then again, this should have been the way it was done from the beginning, in my opinion.
As it stands, CS-Cart shouldn’t even list Shipping as a feature, as it’s horribly stunted and has absolutely no room for real-time shipping configurations (at least UPS doesn’t).
I took a look into ‘product_features.tpl’ to see if I could easily decipher and clone some code over, but to no avail… I just don’t know the SMARTY system too well, it seems…
Any help would be great.
I would not go with the product features approach. A standard install includes fields for length, height and width in the cscart_products table; these fields have existed for quite some time (since 1.3.5 if I recall correctly which just makes this all the more maddening). I think you would be better off making these existing fields accessible in products.update and then figuring how to use them in the shipping calculations.
For anyone who wants this fixed, make sure you vote for it in the UserVoice/Ideas area:
[url]http://cscart.uservoice.com/forums/40782-general/suggestions/502983-add-dimensional-weight-handling-for-shipping-with[/url]
Bob
Hello Camicro,
While you are fiddling around with it, we need your quick vote (actually 3 of them)!
Only takes 2.7 seconds to vote…
Good to know! So, all I need to do is…
Enable editable fields attached to those L/W/H cells in the database and link it to the ups.php file…
Now, a thought just occurred… Does the UPS processor calculate for every box (ie: every item) or just once with the total weight?
See below (from ups.php):
// define weight unit and value
$weight = $weight_data['full_pounds'];
OH! AND EVERYONE WITH THIS ISSUE: VOTE!!!
[url]http://cscart.uservoice.com/forums/40782-general/suggestions/502983-add-dimensional-weight-handling-for-shipping-with[/url]
Everyone with this problem, go vote now!
[quote name=‘camicro’]
Now, a thought just occurred… Does the UPS processor calculate for every box (ie: every item) or just once with the total weight?
See below (from ups.php):
// define weight unit and value
$weight = $weight_data['full_pounds'];
[/QUOTE]
It currently presumes a single box which is also stupid. Other carts allow for specifying on each product that it must ship in its own box (and some allow you to specify the number of that item that will fit in one box). There is another Bug Tracker thread covering this:
[url]http://forum.cs-cart.com/vbugs.php?do=view&vbug_id=1253[/url]
We need to make sure that this is also covered in the UserVoice post: I was a bit vague when I mentioned “multi-box” shipments.
Bob
Ok, I see, so we’re dead in the water until CS-Cart decides to add this functionality.
How upsetting… =\ A seemingly perfect product, but with this one module completely out-of-whack, CS-Cart becomes completely useless…
[quote name=‘camicro’]Ok, I see, so we’re dead in the water until CS-Cart decides to add this functionality.
How upsetting… =\ A seemingly perfect product, but with this one module completely out-of-whack, CS-Cart becomes completely useless…[/QUOTE]
Hello Camicro,
Perhaps give us some details about your particular product shipping scenario, then perhaps we can at least provide some quick ideas as a workaround until we get some more flexibility in CS-Cart shipping settings.
Well, simply put, I am shipping MANY different sized/weight boxes via the UPS shipping processor. In addition, I am shipping the items UPS Ground, 3-Day Select, 2-Day Air, Next Day Air… And the shipping processor simply can’t handle it… =\ Or, at least, can’t give me actual rates/values.
… =\
[quote name=‘camicro’]Well, simply put, I am shipping MANY different sized/weight boxes via the UPS shipping processor. In addition, I am shipping the items UPS Ground, 3-Day Select, 2-Day Air, Next Day Air… And the shipping processor simply can’t handle it… =\ Or, at least, can’t give me actual rates/values.
… =[/QUOTE]
I can easily relate!
We process / ship orders every day with combined weights of Everywhere between 1/4 Lb letter sized to several thousand Lbs, and offer Fedex, UPS, US Postal, & custom shipping methods for LTL common carrier trucking.
So, based upon your response, it appears you should first focus on getting accurate parcel rates for your UPS shipments. So, I would start out simple by working with a basic 20 Lb parcel in a 12" cube box and compare the rates returned thru CS-Cart to what you are certain the UPS Ground rates should be & see how they compare. On a rather simple shipment like this your rates should be very close, if not exact, as long as you have the shipppings settings all correct in CS-Cart!
BTW, have you setup your same shipping scenario previously through another online cart prior to your CS-Cart store?
Uh oh, this could put CS-Cart out of the running for me.
Here’s my scenario: I don’t use UPS live rates. The cart I’m currently using allows me to set a table of shipping rates by weight. The cart just adds up the various items, chooses a shipping rate based on the total weight, and that’s that. We occasionally adjust the weight of an item accordingly… for example, some of our products weigh very little but they’re big and delicate, so we bump up the weight to ensure an appropriate shipping fee for the large box.
Can CS-Cart do something like that? If so I’ll be happy!
Currently, we have a couple items that have to ship oversize, and we just made them weigh some figure that is off our current scale. This stops the checkout process and forces the customer to call/email for a custom shipping rate. The good side it that we can make sure they are not getting charged more than necessary, plus we can sell them on the high cost (it’s insured, double-boxed, etc.) We also can see that we don’t undersell ourselves! On the downside, people get a red error message at checkout and often just leave. No sale.
If the cart can offer a better solution than that for oversize titems, I’ll be more than happy, I’ll be thrilled!
[quote name=‘Dardanus’]Uh oh, this could put CS-Cart out of the running for me.
Here’s my scenario: I don’t use UPS live rates. The cart I’m currently using allows me to set a table of shipping rates by weight. The cart just adds up the various items, chooses a shipping rate based on the total weight, and that’s that. We occasionally adjust the weight of an item accordingly… for example, some of our products weigh very little but they’re big and delicate, so we bump up the weight to ensure an appropriate shipping fee for the large box.
Can CS-Cart do something like that? If so I’ll be happy!
Currently, we have a couple items that have to ship oversize, and we just made them weigh some figure that is off our current scale. This stops the checkout process and forces the customer to call/email for a custom shipping rate. The good side it that we can make sure they are not getting charged more than necessary, plus we can sell them on the high cost (it’s insured, double-boxed, etc.) We also can see that we don’t undersell ourselves! On the downside, people get a red error message at checkout and often just leave. No sale.
If the cart can offer a better solution than that for oversize titems, I’ll be more than happy, I’ll be thrilled![/QUOTE]
Just a quick look, however, I don’t see any “deal breakers” in your requirements! You are actually quite fortunate that you manually configure your rates as that is far more flexible vs. using realtime shipping!
You truly need to install the demo version and start adding some simulated products and see how the shipping options fit your business!
[quote name=‘Struck’]Just a quick look, however, I don’t see any “deal breakers” in your requirements! You are actually quite fortunate that you manually configure your rates as that is far more flexible vs. using realtime shipping!
You truly need to install the demo version and start adding some simulated products and see how the shipping options fit your business![/QUOTE]
Ah, good news! I’m setting up a demo cart as we speak, hoping to hear some input on a maddening problem (separate post) and perusing the boards to learn more in the meantime.
My partner handles the shipping tables, so I haven’t looked that over thoroughly. I was expecting good things based on a quick overview of the shipping features; sounds like we won’t be disappointed.
We’re coming from another cart that’s been good, but we’ve outgrown it. This is easily the best cart we’ve reviewed so far.
[QUOTE]This is easily the best cart we’ve reviewed so far.[/QUOTE]
I think you will find that in the end, it is very hard to beat!
There are a few “Quirks” as there are with any cart, however, it is getting better every month if not week…
Their 60 Day Demo is also very generous & beneficial in making the right choice.
But yeah, you gotta install the demo & jump in head 1st to really know if it is the right fit for your business!