manual shipping length problem

ok ,

so I have setup my goods with weights and also my goods with volume.

the weight based goods seem to be working ok for now.

however the volume based goods do not work so well. here is the problem.

I have 2 meter long goods which are charged at rate 1
I have 3 meter long goods which are charged at rate 2

Rate 1 = $20.00 , FOR A QTY OF 20 AND(LENGTH=2000MM, HEIGHT=1, WIDTH=1) VOLUME 2000
Rate 2 = $40.00 , FOR A QTY OF 20 AND(LENGTH=3000MM, HEIGHT=1, WIDTH=1) VOLUME 3000

I have 2 Shipping Methods below;
RULE 1) 2 METER PRODUCTS = MIN-VOLUME:1999 , MAX-VOLUME:2200 , $20.00
RULE 2) 3 METER PRODUCTS = MIN-VOLUME:2500 , MAX-VOLUME:[BLANK], $40.00

Scenario , Now If I order 1 x 2-Meter Rail the shipping is correct because the Volume is between 1999-2200
however if I order 2 x 2 Meter Rails then the volume becomes 2 x 2000 (4000) which exceeds RULE 1's limit of 2200 and Automatically assigns RULE 2. Or the 3 Meter products RULE.

if at all possible I think an easy fix to this problem is an option somewhere that disables the products ability to append (ADD) volume to it if checked. Therefore if I select the product it will give a volume of 2000mm and if I increase the qty of the product it will fall within the RULES set above.

the tricky part maybe in regards to the QTY exceeding 20.. this is where some magic would be needed. This could perhaps be another field to set this Shipping Methods constraints.

an alternative to the above solution could be to utilize the 'Length' & 'Weight' Variables.. I guess.
then we could limit shipping Methods based on length and weight I suppose.

Sorry for being a pain.. everything was going so well until I found out that there were different fee's based on length..

this is mainly due to courier vans not being able to carry loads longer then 2 Metres.. therefore they ship by truck. Which in effect costs more. :\

poor customers.

OK.. so after careful thought I have found a 'Mickey-Mouse' / 'McGuyver' Solution to this rather tricky situation.

if you have [2] or more 'length based shipping methods' that you would like to incorporate.. follow these steps below;

lets say that you have 3 Rates for three different length Materials and a QTY of 10 per Order (just to address that issue as well)

• RATE [1]=$10 , Product_Desc: 1Meter_Rail , Shippping_method: 1Meter_Shipping , QTY: 10
• RATE [2]=$20 , Product_Desc: 2Meter_Rail , Shippping_method: 2Meter_Shipping , QTY: 10
• RATE [3]=$30 , Product_Desc: 3Meter_Rail , Shippping_method: 3Meter_Shipping , QTY: 10

ok... this is how we go about setting this up...

in the Volume section of the Product_Desc for 1Metre_Rail enter;

• Length: 1
• Height: 1 , Type: M (For Meters)
• Width: 1

Set Maximum_QTY to 10

Calculate QTY (10)x(1 the Total Volume for the Product)=10
^This is the Max_Volume_Amount in the Shipping_Desc: 1Metre_Shipping, Type: M (For Meters)
*Min_Volume_Amount Needs to be Set to 1!

In The 1Meter_Shipping Method set the Price to $10.00

For Rate [2] do the following;

• Length: 20
• Height: 1 , Type: M (For Meters)
• Width: 1

Set Maximum_QTY to 10

Calculate QTY (10)x(20 the Total Volume for the Product)=200
^This is the Max_Volume_Amount in the Shipping_Desc: 2Metre_Shipping, Type: M (For Meters)
*Min_Volume_Amount Needs to be Set to 20!

In The 2Meter_Shipping Method set the Price to $20.00

Finally For Rate [3] do the following;

• Length: 300
• Height: 1 , Type: M (For Meters)
• Width: 1

Set Maximum_QTY to 10

Calculate QTY (10)x(300 the Total Volume for the Product)=3000
^This is the Max_Volume_Amount in the Shipping_Desc: 2Metre_Shipping, Type: M (For Meters)
*Min_Volume_Amount Needs to be Set to 300!

In The 2Meter_Shipping Method set the Price to $30.00

So now When you Enter any Products of varying lengths into your cart just remember which Volume based Variables to set in regards
to the Product ie;

• <= 1Metre , Product_Desc > QTY > 10, Volume 10,1,1 [m] > SAVE.
• <= 2Metre , Product_Desc > QTY > 10, Volume 20,1,1 [m] > SAVE.
• <= 3Metre , Product_Desc > QTY > 10, Volume 300,1,1 [m] > SAVE.

Note: *If you want to increase the QTY Later Allow for a Greater Distance (thresh-hold) between volumes to account for this.

Whew , I think that about covers it

Cheers.

ps:having said and done all this , there is still a small problem.. that is to say that if you have multiple_variations of each product.. so something will need to be adjusted in terms of spacing them apart enough to cater for example;

20 x 2Meter_white_Rails + 20 x 2Meter_Black_rails = a combined Total_Volume of > the volume of 3_Meter_rails. therefore more Adjustments may be needed if bulk lots are ordered of multiple_length_based_products.