shipping options

[Ken Lanxner]

I am trying to understand shipping options (ShopSite Pro v. 7). Our
store uses our own currency-based shipping for U.S. ground orders but
also includes UPS for rush shipping and for international orders.

But international UPS options will not display unless the customer first
selects their country and then clicks Recalculate. This doesn't seem
very intuitive to me. Is it the experience of others that shoppers
figure this out without confusion?

And to make it even more confusing, when the international UPS options
are displayed, our local ground shipping continues to be shown. Thus,
someone in Australia would naturally choose our standard $7.95 shipping
over the UPS $42.95 option. And we would need to contact them and let
them know that our cart is the problem and they are being charged an
additional $35. That doesn't seem like a good business practice.

One other thing is that what UPS calls "Standard to Canada" is shown to
the shopper as "Standard" with no mention of Canada.

How do others handle these situations?

Thanks for any advice.

Ken

[Rob]

But international UPS options will not display unless the customer first
selects their country and then clicks Recalculate. This doesn't seem
very intuitive to me. Is it the experience of others that shoppers
figure this out without confusion?

You could add text to the cart that tells the customer to enter their postal
code and country and press recalculate to see specific shipping charges.
Most customers seem to figure this out. With ShopSite 7, the customer will
have to press recalculate after selecting a new country or entering a new
postal code. If you use radio buttons instead of a dropdown for shipping
options, they will then see the other international options on the screen
right away.

And to make it even more confusing, when the international UPS options
are displayed, our local ground shipping continues to be shown. Thus,
someone in Australia would naturally choose our standard $7.95 shipping
over the UPS $42.95 option. And we would need to contact them and let
them know that our cart is the problem and they are being charged an
additional $35. That doesn't seem like a good business practice.

You could create or have created a custom shipping API script for a Pro
store that would only return the ground rate for US based customers.
ShopSite's built-in shipping options are shown at all times.

Rob

[Ken Lanxner]

In article <c6s1ab$mdt$1@support.shopsite.com>,
"Rob" <rob@mangiafico.net> wrote:

But international UPS options will not display unless the customer first
selects their country and then clicks Recalculate. This doesn't seem
very intuitive to me. Is it the experience of others that shoppers
figure this out without confusion?

You could add text to the cart that tells the customer to enter their postal
code and country and press recalculate to see specific shipping charges.
Most customers seem to figure this out. With ShopSite 7, the customer will
have to press recalculate after selecting a new country or entering a new
postal code. If you use radio buttons instead of a dropdown for shipping
options, they will then see the other international options on the screen
right away.

Most customers will figure out what is happening, especially with some
good instructions. The challenge is to reach that small but persistent
group of shoppers who don't pay attention to what is on the page. These
are the same people who try to push open a door despite a giant sign
that says "Pull." But I like the idea of the radio buttons.

And to make it even more confusing, when the international UPS options
are displayed, our local ground shipping continues to be shown. Thus,
someone in Australia would naturally choose our standard $7.95 shipping
over the UPS $42.95 option. And we would need to contact them and let
them know that our cart is the problem and they are being charged an
additional $35. That doesn't seem like a good business practice.

You could create or have created a custom shipping API script for a Pro
store that would only return the ground rate for US based customers.
ShopSite's built-in shipping options are shown at all times.

Yes, I can see that a custom API will be the way to go -- for my next
store. Thanks again.

Ken