Wacko Rates returned by USPS Shipping Method

[cekman]

I'm testing my automatic shipping methods with the USPS rates.

I created the following International method from the list provided in the Shipping Method setup.

USPS - Global Priority Mail - Flat Rate Envelope Large
Active box is checked
Customer Group - ALL
Markup - 0
Min Weight - 0
Max Weight 4 lbs

Then I created a test order for a customer from Great Britain. The order had one item in it with a total weight of .031 (about 1/2 ounce)

The rate returned for this option is $88!! It should be $12.00

Tech support says the rates come directly from USPS - which I figured. But obviously something is wacko.

Does anyone else use this? What do you get for rates?

Do you see anything I might have set up incorrectly? As far as I know - Flat Rate Envelope is FLAT RATE - and should never be anything but $12.00.

Thank you for any help

[cekman]

I submitted a ticket but Tech support says this is my problem to resolve. This seems to be the answer I get to most of my problems lately. I think I'm on a list

I'm not sure what I can do when the rate returned to me is the wrong rate - so if anyone has any ideas - Please let me know.

If anyone is willing - could you test the exact setup I have outlined above and see if you get the same results on your shopping cart as well?

This would be USPS international - Global Priority Flat Rate Envelope (large)

My understanding from USPS is that a Global Priority Large Envelope is a flat rate of $12 and can hold up to 4 pounds.

I would like to verify that the wrong rate comes up for other shopping carts other than mine. So if you could test it for me I would really appreciate it.

I feel the wrong information is being sent to USPS from 3DCart or that I have something set up wrong in my Shipping Method.

I tested the shipping method on a test order to Great Britain - weighing about 1 -2 ounces. My method is set up with a max weight of 4 pounds - so the weight can't be the problem.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

[Mark]

Did you register with USPS?
Did they activate your account?
Do you have the source address setup for the shipping method?
Does the shipping weight fields support fractional pounds? (I'm not sure on this, you proabably can't use ounces)
Go to www.USPS.com and check postage costs for a shipment.......you can create an account there as well, as I have, print labels and ship from home!

[cekman]

Mark
Thank you for your reply

1.) Yes I registered with USPS
2.) Yes they activated my account
3.) This one I'm not sure of!! Where do I set the source address up? Maybe this is the problem???
4.) Yes it supports fractional pounds
5.) I did go to USPS.com and checked the rates. I also check it on Stamps.com. I uses Stamps.com for all of my shipping. I got the same rates for stamps.com as I did at USPS.com.

Can you give me more info on the source address?

Thank you again - I appreciate the time.

[cekman]

I did check on my shipping methods page. At the very top of the page it has my country, city, state and zip code. I think that might be what you're referring to as source address?? If so - then yes it is correct.

Thanks!

[Mark]

Sorry, international shippers would be your best bet on help for this......
Perhaps some international shippers could chime in....

We dont ship international anymore because of the too-many-ripoffs. One apple spoils the whole bunch on that one! And, it was APOs and FPOs too!

[cekman]

Update on this issue..

I was very persistent with 3Dcart support and they stuck with the issue. Here is the response from support this morning:

We now see that the link on the USPS site is for calculating a rate for:

Priority Mail® International Flat-Rate Envelope

The Shipping method you are using, is Global Priority Mail - Flat-Rate Envelope (Large), which is different than what they offer on the site.

It appears that very recently, the USPS has changed and updated their postage for international orders. We were able to get the updated listings from them and put them on your server. I setup the one you were seeing on the USPS site and was offered this as shipping:

Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope $11.95

I had sent them a link showing what the rate should have been. Now it should be fixed. I'm going to test it later this morning.

This may help others if you're using - or wanted to use this feature.