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How do USPS and UPS Shipping Plugins work?


nomem

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I use the All In One Shipping plugin.  In my store I sell alot of one of a kind items that are  different weights and sizes.  I only ship to the United States (but offer international on a order by order) basis because of different countries rules, size and weight restrictions. I was looking at the USPS Plugin and noticed there is a field for handling, size etc.  Do these filled in fields apply to each item in my store?  Or can I set them for each item?  I can't charge $2.00 handling for a small bottle of scented oil but I could for a vintage telephone. What If my package is over 12 x 12 x 12.  Will the plugin automatically charge for the larger size package?  And will it automatically apply dimensional weight?  I'm thinking I need to stick with the All In One Shipping but I'd like to now if anyone can help me with this.

Thanks in advance!

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Dimensional weight is not currently being used on the USPS plugin. And the LARGE choice does not work properly. There are several GitHub requests about needed improvements to the USPS plugin.

https://github.com/cubecart/v6/issues?utf8=✓&q=is%3Aissue is%3Aopen USPS

We use a handling charge on every package and adjust the item price accordingly.

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I did ALOT of work setting up my All in One Shipping zones and rates.  Maybe for now, until the USPS plugin is more adaptable, I'll stick with that. Plus some items have to ship UPS.  Just wanted to offer international shipping automatically.

Thanks Dirty Butter!

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For the UPS plugin, the handling charges you set in the plugin settings are added to whatever rate UPS returns via their API and the packaging weight is added to the item weight.

Dimensional weight is not supported via the standard plugin which is a real shame because shippers are switching almost exclusively to dimensional weight, but if your store supports product dimensions, you may be able to use the custom UPS plugin I developed for my own use.

Since the dimensional weight is greater than the actual weight for most items, not being able to send that information means the rates quoted and charged to your customers will usually be lower than what you actually have to pay - i.e., you either lose money or have to explain to your customer why you are charging them more for shipping, neither of which is fun.

The UPS API is smart enough to apply additional charges where applicable so long as it is supplied the information it needs - since CubeCart does not support product dimensions at this time, there is no way for the shipper to determine whether it is a 'large' package or not.

I would imagine the USPS plugin operates in a similar fashion, but I have no actual experience with it.

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