Shipping methods define the conditions of order delivery and depend on the properties of the product to be shipped as well as the delivery service itself.
By default each shipping methods has several shipping methods. When a customer proceeds to checkout, the system looks through all shipping methods of all active shipping modules and displays a list of all the options possible. After that the customer is prompted to choose the one that gives the best fit.
In order to look through the shipping method module please go to Administration > Products > Shipping Methods and click the corresponding 'Edit Shipping Module' link. (We are still examining UPSP).
You can see the full list of shipping methods provided by that specific delivery service. If you want you can sort them by their ID, name or status. Note that the former can be changed by clicking the corresponding link in the 'Active' column. There is an ability to add some new shipping methods as well.
Let's take a closer look at one of them. (Let it be USPS Express Mail to PO Addressee.)
- Is Active enables/disables the method.
- Shipping Order defines the sequence of shipping methods.
- Shipping Code contains the code used internally for comparison of the methods to be applied. The field is not obligatory in case you are setting up custom delivery.
- Shipping Description presents a short description of the method and is used as its name.
- Total Goods Cost specifies the minimum and maximum price a product shipped can have. Note that you have to enter only digits separated with dots; the default currency is set up in the 'Static tables' section see section 12.3).
- Total Products Weight specifies the minimum and maximum weight a product shipped can have.
Note: In case there are deliverable goods as well as downloadable ones in your online store, it is a good idea to set a minimum weight different from zero. Why? As you know downloadable goods don't have any weight (in other words it is zero), so when a customer places an order for such a one, the system won't prompt to choose a shipping method.
- Tare Weight indicates the tare weight if any.
- Shipping Cost can be specified per order, per each product and per weight. However, keep in mind that the prices are set by the delivery service itself and the values you enter in the fields will be just added to those ones.
- Is Shipping Taxable allows exempting an order from taxes.
The last section specifies the countries the method will be applied to. In order to move a country between the lists, select its name and click the corresponding button.
In order to save the changes you made click the 'Update' button.
In order to delete the shipping method, click the 'Delete' button.
If you want to leave without saving click 'Cancel'.
P.S There may sometimes occur some problems with the shipping calculation due to the weight settings.
For example: USPS is a US service, that is why it measures weight in pounds. In this case you should recalculate the weight for your products in pounds, only in this case shipping methods will work correctly.
Please, also note that 'Weight Measure' setting in Admin > System > Global Settings is just for presentation purposes and should not used for any shipping calculations.
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