We currently use zone and class shipping on our site (v9.0.5 - soon to be v10.0.1 when released), and this fulfills our requirements very well. However, we ship a lot of items overseas, and I was wondering whether it was possible to add the typical delivery times together with the amount in the shipping and handling section?
Here's a typical situation:
A customer living in Australia orders some items, and on checkout they select the postage they want. They see five different amounts: surface post, airmail, economy, standard, and priority. They select the cheapest option (usually economy); we parcel it up and ship it. A month later, they send an email complaining that the item hasn't arrived yet - and this is the problem: economy takes up to three months to the other side of the world.
[As an aside, I realise that 5 options are overkill, but we have two different methods of sending items, and each has different classes. The first is regular franked mail (surface post and airmail), and these are suitable for small items. The second is a contract mail-bag service, and it's far cheaper to send heavier items this way. However, there is no clearly-defined cutoff point between the two services - sometimes one will be cheaper than the other, depending on the weight - and we don't want to limit the customer's choice. But as a general rule, the regular franked mail is suitable up to 2 kg, and the mail bag over 2 kg.]
With the mail bag service, the post office have clear delivery times to various countries. For example, the economy service takes 8 to 12 weeks to Australia / New Zealand. The standard service takes 14-21 days to the same area. But here's the problem. I can add the delivery times to the name of the service; but then it is applied to all the zones - even though it takes less time to North America, for example.
This isn't a major problem; after all, it's been like this for the last few years. However, if I could somehow give the relevant information to the customer at the point of purchase, then at least they would not be expecting an item to appear after a week when they paid for the service that takes three months. Or, if they want it sooner, they can select the correct shipping service.
The only other way I can see of doing this is to briefly explain the different shipping classes in the description that goes with the 'shipping and handling' section -it's just that it's not very elegant or relevant to people ordering from the UK, for example.
Can anyone see a way of accomplishing this? All thoughts gratefully received.
Here's a typical situation:
A customer living in Australia orders some items, and on checkout they select the postage they want. They see five different amounts: surface post, airmail, economy, standard, and priority. They select the cheapest option (usually economy); we parcel it up and ship it. A month later, they send an email complaining that the item hasn't arrived yet - and this is the problem: economy takes up to three months to the other side of the world.
[As an aside, I realise that 5 options are overkill, but we have two different methods of sending items, and each has different classes. The first is regular franked mail (surface post and airmail), and these are suitable for small items. The second is a contract mail-bag service, and it's far cheaper to send heavier items this way. However, there is no clearly-defined cutoff point between the two services - sometimes one will be cheaper than the other, depending on the weight - and we don't want to limit the customer's choice. But as a general rule, the regular franked mail is suitable up to 2 kg, and the mail bag over 2 kg.]
With the mail bag service, the post office have clear delivery times to various countries. For example, the economy service takes 8 to 12 weeks to Australia / New Zealand. The standard service takes 14-21 days to the same area. But here's the problem. I can add the delivery times to the name of the service; but then it is applied to all the zones - even though it takes less time to North America, for example.
This isn't a major problem; after all, it's been like this for the last few years. However, if I could somehow give the relevant information to the customer at the point of purchase, then at least they would not be expecting an item to appear after a week when they paid for the service that takes three months. Or, if they want it sooner, they can select the correct shipping service.
The only other way I can see of doing this is to briefly explain the different shipping classes in the description that goes with the 'shipping and handling' section -it's just that it's not very elegant or relevant to people ordering from the UK, for example.
Can anyone see a way of accomplishing this? All thoughts gratefully received.
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