1 Product with Multiple Boxes

-- HikaShop version -- : 2.5.0 business
-- Joomla version -- : 3.4.3

What would be the best way to handle a single product that ships in multiple boxes? If a customer orders this product, all three pieces are required. They are not separate products, but just components of the one product; however they are physically in separate boxes.

Example: Hunting Blind Stand
1 Bundle of pipe - 18”x12”x6”, 80#
1 Box of Hardware - 19"x13"x7", 15#
1 Wrap Around - 50”x26”x5”, 7#

Hello,
It will depends on the shipping method that you'll use, for example if you use the manual shipping method, you'll be able to use the "Use price per product" option and then set a shipping price per product, so you'll just have to specify through your product description that this product will be shipped through 3 packages.
If you're using a different shipping method, that will be harder because when your customer will purchase your product, we'll have to send these information to the shipping platform the retrieve the shipping rates :
- 1 Bundle of pipe - 18”x12”x6”, 80#
- 1 Box of Hardware - 19"x13"x7", 15#
- 1 Wrap Around - 50”x26”x5”, 7#

We are not using the manual shipping option. If we made each box a different "product" and made the 2nd and 3rd boxes required "options" on the main product, would the weight and dimensions of the options be added to the main product weight and dimensions for shipping purposes?

We have a number of products that we need to do this on as we sell 'packages'. Could you provide more details as to how to set this up?

If we made each box a different "product" and made the 2nd and 3rd boxes required "options" on the main product, would the weight and dimensions of the options be added to the main product weight and dimensions for shipping purposes?

The more details the better as we're fairly new to HikaShop.

For Example: We sell Golf Simulators and we sell them in packages. So a Pro X Plus contains a Sensor unit with Accessories (in a 12# box - always separate) & a Stance Mat (again an item in a separate box). So I need these both included in this package with their 2 boxes separate for shipping purposes. I need to account for the size & weight in my package so I get the appropriate shipping quote.

Also, is there a way to label an item as 'always ships separately' so other items create a separate box from that package?

I'll check out the options piece. Sounds pretty straightforward (other than editing to remove the 'no' option).

On the 'only shop individidually' issue: There is no option to create a new shipping method for this. When I click 'New' on shipping methods it only provides the ability to select a plugin.

Ok.. here is the problem with using options to 'build the package'. I created the necessary products without issue. I also removed the line

$this->values[] = JHTML::_('select.option', 0,JText::_('HIKASHOP_NO'));

by commenting it out. So now the option displays and there is not an option to change it.

However, it also now adds the cost of that product to the Package Price that already existed. The items in the package are also available for separate purchase. Please do not tell me that I need to create duplicates of each product (with $0.00 each) to create these packages.

Also, this will not work properly because if I comment out the 'No' option, I then cannot use options normally for other items that would have an actual option with them.

So this solution does not seem viable for having multiple boxes in a product (package).

Wouldn't this be easier if you just accounted for multiple boxes in a product? Adding the ability to add another box? You could also have a field to 'Ship separately' - which would tell the software to not add other items to this box, but instead create a 2nd box.

I have not used Hikashop enough to start developing plugins.

Our packages are discounted from the individual product prices and that is why the totals would not add up.

So it looks like, at this time, the only option would be to duplicate all the products in the packages and set their prices to $0.00. Then add them at options. Thus, eliminating the possibility of up-selling through options because the 'No' option would not be available.

I can't imagine we are the only customer that has packages, so hopefully the items above (multiple boxes and ship separately) are items you can plan to add in the near future.

Is there an easy way to duplicate products? That would at least allow me to create the new products at $0.00 (unpublished, of course) for use in our packages.

I've created the package at $1699.00. I've then created the options at $0.00. First, if I try to keep the $0.00 options as unpublished (so customers do not find them) they do not show up in the product. If they are published, won't users be able to search them and add the $0.00 item to a cart?

The shipping still does not appear to be the correct amounts when using options though. My Package contains 1 box at 48x24x8 at 29 pounds. It also has a box at 15x11x8 at 12#. I've setup an address to ship to. In UPS WorldShip, ground shipping for these 2 boxes would be $43.40 published rates (36.24 Negotiated). We want to use published rates and assume that is what HikaShop is setup at. When I put the package in as #41 at 48x24x8 it comes up with $41.56 (UPS WorldShip has $25.36). When I break it out (using options) to 2 packages, HikaShop has $108.20 (again, UPS was $43.40).

So something is wrong with the UPS Shipping calculations.

Hello,

I've created the package at $1699.00. I've then created the options at $0.00. First, if I try to keep the $0.00 options as unpublished (so customers do not find them) they do not show up in the product. If they are published, won't users be able to search them and add the $0.00 item to a cart?

What do you exactly mean by it ? Can you give me more information about it through some screenshots for example so that I can clearly understand what you have and what you exactly want to do ?

In UPS WorldShip, ground shipping for these 2 boxes would be $43.40 published rates (36.24 Negotiated). We want to use published rates and assume that is what HikaShop is setup at. When I put the package in as #41 at 48x24x8 it comes up with $41.56 (UPS WorldShip has $25.36). When I break it out (using options) to 2 packages, HikaShop has $108.20 (again, UPS was $43.40).

The shipping price will depend on :
- How you have configured your UPS shipping plugin (Negotiated rate/Group packages/Exclude dimensions)
- Which product you have on your cart

So you should probably use these 2 options to adapt your shipping price.

Unpublished Image:

Published Image:


Note how when it is not published that it does not show as an option. My comment regarding customers being able to add it at $0.00 was just a question.

As for the shipping, I have it set to:
Negotiated rate: No
Group packages: Yes
Exclude Dimensions: No

I've been testing and the issue may be in the way dimensions are being done. Because if I put in the dimensions of our mat so they are not oversized - the price is very close. But as soon as I put it in as 48x24x8, the price gets ridiculously different ( like double for a delivery 28 miles from our warehouse).

I've done more testing and found that if I input the dimensions of our mat (which is 48x24x8) into HikaShop as 48x8x24 that the shipping prices are more reasonable. Although they do not match UPS, they at least fall between the negotiated and published rates which will work for us.

Now I just need to be sure the consumers will not be able to purchase the items that I have to create at $0.00. There are no links on our site to them, but I just need to be sure they will not show in search engines or searches.

Hello,

1.
My bad I didn't understood the question, the solution will be to set the "Display 'add to cart' button for free products" option to NO and also to check that these free options aren't listed in your website.
2.

I've been testing and the issue may be in the way dimensions are being done. Because if I put in the dimensions of our mat so they are not oversized - the price is very close. But as soon as I put it in as 48x24x8, the price gets ridiculously different ( like double for a delivery 28 miles from our warehouse).

That's actually weird, then you should try to set the "Exclude Dimensions" option to YES. The UPS shipping plugin is only displaying what is returned from the UPS shipping platform.

Thanks for all your help. I've made that change and when I did a site search the free version of the Stance Mat is not showing up, so we might be all set there. Even if they did appear, the fact that an 'Add to Cart' button should not display should suffice.

I'm satisfied with the UPS pricing being provided as it falls between negotiated and published. I've tested it locally, cross country & international with great success.

It would be nice if you could add the 2 features mentioned though:

1. Multiple Packages per product - simply allowing to add more boxes (weight & dimensions) for a single product.
2. Must Ship separately option for product - This would force the box used for this item to not be available for other items to be placed in it. For example, when we sell a Stance Mat we do not put any other items in that box. So if we could mark the Stance Mat as 'must ship separately' and someone purchased a Stance Mat & package of tape the software would know that the tape (and any other items not labeled as 'Must Ship Separately') would be in a separate box.

Hello,

1. More details will probably needed about the way to handle it ==> by using a "number of package"/"Multiple packages" option through the product configuration page ?
2. You should actually be able to do it by disabling the "Group package" option of your shipping configuration page. That way every product will have its own package. But you are right there is no option to directly do it on the product configuration page.

For # 1:

Couldn't you add a button to 'Add another box' in the Restrictions and Dimensions section?

Then if a Product had multiple boxes in it, you would have them on the product page and calculate shipping from that. It would be MUCH easier than having hidden options without a 'No' selection. By having the hidden options, I now cannot use the options on other products because the 'No' has been removed in the code.

For example, we sell golf simulator packages. So using our ProX Plus as an example. This product comes with 2 boxes. 1 contains the golf simulator and accessories. The other box contains a Stance Mat. Rather than creating separate products with $0.00 and having to use the options method (without a 'No' option), I could simply put the dimensions in for each of these boxes.

For # 2:
Yes, I saw the option for 'Group Package' but this is a global setting and not an individual product. Thus, if I turn that off it will cause every item to ship separately correct? So, if someone order 3 bags of golf tees it will want to charge them for 3 boxes where these can easily fit in 1 box (along with many other accessories). This is why I believe that having an option to 'Ship product separately' would be better. Then, if you have a sealed item that nothing else can go in the box - it doesn't allow other items in. Meanwhile, you can still have a box for small items that do not have to ship separately.

For example, we sell golf simulator systems. Items such as Stance Mats, our projector pack, computers, etc. all ship with nothing else in those boxes. Meanwhile, things like golf tees, club tape, foam golf balls, etc. can all be combined into any size box needed. So if someone purchases a computer, club tape and foam balls - we would ship this in 2 boxes. The computer (which would be labeled as 'ships separately' and a second box with all the accessory (tape and foam balls).

Hopefully these examples clarify and you can understand the importance of these features so they can be added in the near future. I'm sure we are not the only customer that ships in this manner.

Hello,

1. You can use "Product" custom fields to add a fixed number of box restrictions and then customize your shipping method plugin, but if you want a dynamic number of packages you'll have to create a custom plugin like the "HikaShop Shipping manual - Prices per product plugin" which can add a "Shipping prices" block on your product page, but development skills will be required.

2.

Yes, I saw the option for 'Group Package' but this is a global setting and not an individual product. Thus, if I turn that off it will cause every item to ship separately correct?

Yes

For example, we sell golf simulator systems. Items such as Stance Mats, our projector pack, computers, etc. all ship with nothing else in those boxes. Meanwhile, things like golf tees, club tape, foam golf balls, etc. can all be combined into any size box needed. So if someone purchases a computer, club tape and foam balls - we would ship this in 2 boxes. The computer (which would be labeled as 'ships separately' and a second box with all the accessory (tape and foam balls)

We'll probably add on our TODO list an advance group package option but a lot of customization will be required to do that.