V8 and shipping

[nanouchman]

First of all, I have to say that I'm really impressed by the new BETA. Really good work and some features like the marketing one seem really interesting.

Is the final version going to include other features?
I'm asking that because I was waiting for v8 to handle the volumetric shipping problem but as far as I can see, for now, there's nothing new there ... :(

Anyway, I go back to my new best friend v8 beta :)

[kelsallp]

Not had time to download the beta yet. Does anyone know if they have added the ability to have free shipping in the UK whilst charging by weight to destinations abroad (for the same item)?

[cbarling]

We are planning to add some additional shipping features to a maintenance release of v8, which will obviously be a free upgrade from earlier releases of v8. This should come out later this year, but we don't have a precise date yet.

There were a lot of requests on the community, but unfortunately we weren't able to include it in the main development.

Chris

[kelsallp]

We are planning to add some additional shipping features to a maintenance release of v8, which will obviously be a free upgrade from earlier releases of v8. This should come out later this year, but we don't have a precise date yet.

There were a lot of requests on the community, but unfortunately we weren't able to include it in the main development.

Chris

Shame - It would have been nice to know that the time sat here waiting was going to be a waste of time; I could have filled it looking elsewhere.

[Darren B]

I have requested that the shipping by size of item be added in V5 and am still waiting so do not get your hopes up.

All i wanted is a delivery option to take the longest item in the shopping basket and not the sum like the weight calculation does.

Cheers
Darren

[wesleythorne]

hi, as royal mail are changing all there prices to size and weight actinic most add this feature to v8.
From August there will be very few if any couriers including r/mail who will ship by weight alone.


Regards
Wesley

[Darren B]

I have to agree, the shipping has wanted a much needed overhaul for a long time now.

I am not sure as to why it keeps getting missed?

Being able to select certain products from certain types of shipping would be a great plus. Some of my kites can not be sent via next royal mail special delivery, i put text on the products and people still select the option.

Short of creating fictional weights for each product and reconfiguring the shipping tables so that some items only fall in to the standard delivey service i can not see how this can be done.

So that make 3 people who need the shipping looked at, how many more before it gets on to the actinic todo list. Comments from actinic representatives much appreciated.

Cheers
Darren

[cdicken]

Hi there

Did you see Chris Barling's comments higher up in the threadWe are planning to add some additional shipping features to a maintenance release of v8, which will obviously be a free upgrade from earlier releases of v8. This should come out later this year, but we don't have a precise date yet.

There were a lot of requests on the community, but unfortunately we weren't able to include it in the main development.

[steveaich]

What additional shipping features? A straight question which I know won't get a straight answer. We also need much better shipping in actinic. So that's 4.

[cdicken]

SteveA straight question which I know won't get a straight answer.Sorry - but that's the way it goes with software development. A new feature can be abandoned days before release because we discover that it doesn't work on Safari, or there is a problem with a perl function on Microsoft servers, or it is incompatible with Windows 2000 etc. etc.

We never want to promise anything and then have to go back on the promise, so I'm afraid we cannot give you any details.

[Darren B]

Hi Chris

So back to my earlier comments, some changes had been requested back a V5 however we are now promised an update after V8 is released, yet this is still 3 years down the road.

I know it seems like i am moaning (well i am a bit) but, dont get me wrong some great changes have been made in this version and i love the upsell and people "also brought" bits and pieces, but surely some of the grass root requests should have been a priority. Just because only a couple of people asked does not mean this is not important. These are extra sales tools for actinic.

PAF file intergration would be good to, also a great selling tools aswell for actinic and if you licensed the paf file there is a spin off for extra revenue with updates and all sorts.

Cheers
Darren

[cdicken]

Thanks for the feedback Darren.

FYI v8.0.0 (the inital release) will include pricing for the most commonly used 'pricing in proportion' postage rates with Royal Mail - then more features for the software will come later.

[Mike Hughes]

Hi Chris,

Pricing in Proportion has three sizes for first class postage rates. Letter, Large Letter and Packet. Are you saying V8 will allow some form of size to be allocated to a product so the correct postage rate will be alloctaed?

Mike

[cdicken]

No - we have simply provided the rates for 'First Class Packet' and 'Second Class Packet' in the default database - which should be useful for a lot of our customers.

[Darren B]

Thanks for the reply

I think Mike ment the parcel size thing in the later versions

Cheers
Darren

[Chuckie]

Hiya, how are actinic handling the way the post office will charge for post office from 21st of august.

i look forward to seeing the update on how actinic will handle the postage for
if parcel x weighs 1kg it can be sent by first class post because the value is under 28 quid

if parcel y weighs 1kg it will be sent by special delivery because the value is over 28 pound

if parcel z weights 4 kg but can be either under or over 28 pound in value it will get sent by carrier.

at present this can not be acheived in actinic and look forward to seeing it soon

[bentleybloke]

I don't think the August GPO changes will have much consequence for Actinic users other than editing the shipping tables from 1st class to the new packet prices. Realistically you can't fit all that much of saleable value into an A4 envelope (max 25mm) to use the large letter rate. Also, there is a silver lining; the new 2nd class packet rate has a higher top weight limit of 1kg. At present the limit of 750g is 2.12, from August, 750g-1000g is going to be 2.12.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content2?catId=400105&mediaId=21100324&campaignid=piptopleftpromo

I agree that it would be very useful to be able to limit the shipping method by value.

Another important addition would be to limit shipping method by product too. For example (not a lot of people know this) the international GPO small parcel weight limit is 2kg, except for printed papers (i.e. books) which has a limit of 5kg. So if you're selling books you should be able to offer GPO small parcel for books weighing more than 2kg. The new product classification feature in V8 (see ISBN variable example in startup guide) seems like a logical method of determining such things!

Limiting shipping by product would also be very useful if you're selling solvents, chemicals or aerosols which some couriers wouldn't accept and certainly can't be exported.

However, volumetric shipping cost calculation should be right at the top of the list along with A LARGER WINDOW FOR ENTERING/EDITING SHIPPING VALUES!

[jen@absolute]

Hello from the US.....I see all kinds of questions and requests for shipping changes for the UK, but I am in the US. We ship a little differently here. Our shipping is based on total order amount. I have never made a purchase from a US store that the shipping is based on weight alone. Shipping structure here is based on total order amount and if an item is unusually heavy or large you get a surcharge in addition.

I have made the request, and have seen that others have also, to make it possible to have certain products with FREE shipping and to have free shipping on total orders.

FREE SHIPPING ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS: Examples are memberships to a club or similar and magazine subscriptions. There is no shipping charged on these types of items, yet they can be purchased. Currently, we have no choice but to adjust the order after it has been placed, which causes total confusion for our customers when they see shipping charged and they thought it would be free.

FREE SHIPPING ON TOTAL ORDERS: This is used as a promotional tool, like a sale. Example: "Free Shipping for the Month of December".

I see this has not been addressed in V8 and from the looks of it, this specifically may not be getting addressed in the maintenance release.
I am thinking that having the ability when entering a new product into the catalog to check the type of shipping like "Standard" or "Free" would keep this from getting too complicated.

It seems that the US is an untapped market for Actinic. MANY potential customers, this should be a priority on their list of things to do.

SO I am putting my official request again here:
Make it possible to assign free shipping to individual products and total orders.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Jennifer

[Bruce]

Thanks for this Jen, I will pass this on to the development team.

Kind regards,

[jen@absolute]

Thank you Bruce.

Jen

[KevWal]

I agree that it would be very useful to be able to limit the shipping method by value.

Just another vote to add "limit the shipping method by value" to allow for the insurance options the carriers give us please :)

Thanks
Kev

[Darren B]

Kev i want stuff added but i have a fear the revisit might not be soon, unfortunately shipping was a big update last time, a bit like discounts the time before.

I hope improvements will be made but i think something else will get revamped. fingers crossed

D