USPS Parcel Post no longer working

[Sjo_Time]

Sometime over the past couple of days we lost the "Parcel Post" option for shipping via USPS. This was the only USPS option we offered to our customers. In an effort to fix this, I re-saved our options, but this didn't do any good. I then changed the setting to allow First Class and Priority Mail, and these options did work. The issue seems to only be with Parcel Post. We are running 11sp2.r4.0 via Bluehost. Any help would be appreciated.

[Jim]

USPS no longer has a package type "Parcel Post"
See http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/classes/packageServices.htm

Standard Post
Standard Post (formerly Parcel Post) is primarily intended for single-piece mailings which consist of any mailable matter that is not required to be mailed as First-Class Mail and includes USPS Tracking at no additional charge. It is commonly used for gifts and merchandise. There are no bulk prices for Standard Post.

Standard Post is generally presented at a USPS retail service counter where USPS Tracking service can be initiated.

Standard Post prices are based on the zone (distance) to which the parcel is addressed and the weight of the parcel. While any mailable matter not required to be mailed as First-Class Mail is permitted to Zones 5-8, Zones 1-4 items are limited to mailable hazardous materials, live animals, and other “surface-only” items.

Do you have a config option for Standard Post on the Commerce Setup > Shipping > USPS configuration screen? If so you can check that box to get those rates.

{edit} You will probably need to upgrade your ShopSite to version 11sp2r5 or version 12 to get the Standard Post option. I don't know of a work-around for 11sp2r4. Check with ShopSite about getting your store upgraded. I don't think that the Bluehost install script (Mojo formerly SimpleScripts) is setup to install either of those versions yet.

[Sjo_Time]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, our issue hasn't been resolved. We've spent some time with both Shopsite support and USPS support and we are at a bit of a loss. Perhaps someone else is also experiencing our issue.

We were able to update our store to v12. This did give us the option of selecting "Standard Post" since "Parcel Post" has be done away with. However Standard is still not presented as an option in most cases regardless of weight. After doing some testing, it appears that for most west coast states (we are on the west coast) Standard shipping doesn't show up. We have come to learn that recently USPS made Standard Post not available for some "Zones", however, we are testing Zones that are in the USPS service area.

After the upgrade, we let Shopsite support know we were still having issues. They directed us to USPS. USPS support told us that all they could do was confirm that we had all permissions available to us and rates included. Apparently we are fine there. The only thing that USPS did mention (and, to be clear, they didn't think this was the cause of the problem) was that while Shopsite offers the API in versions V3 and V4, there is also something like a V4c.

We have now set our shipping to allow for "First Class Mail" and this might satisfy some of our problems. However, for the area codes for which we can see a Standard and First Class, Standard is more expensive. That's odd, right?

So, we are at a bit of a loss. We tried multiple configurations of both the main shipping area in the commerce section of Shopsite as well as the shipping area of individual products.

Again, we would be grateful for any insight and it would be interested to know if anyone else is experiencing the same problem.

[Sjo_Time]

Hi Jim (and anyone else),

I just wanted to follow up and let you know this issue was "resolved". That is to say, after doing a bit more in depth reading it became clear how Standard Post works. We were not able to ship to nearby states because they were in a zone closer to us and therefore USPS would ship Standard to them. Also of great importance is that Standard Post is only available if one brings packages to a USPS location. In any case, we have now changed out USPS shipping modes. Thanks.