United States Postal Service (USPS) Module

I applied for that number and I wrote it into the USPS module.

hanskleinert wrote:

I applied for that number and I wrote it into the USPS module.

The server-related authorization error is due to the fact that USPS has not permitted your user ID access to the production server:

Please follow the instructions below to resolve:

However, there's another step that must be completed before it will work. By default, webtools users are not given access to the production server (only the test environment). You must contact the USPS ICCC and tell them to allow your user ID access to the production server. They will want to know what software you're using. I recommend sending an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. that says "Hi, Please move user ID ________ to the production server. I will be using the Hikashop shopping cart."

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone: 1-800-344-7779

Thanks Jeff, i came to the same conclusion and did the process you suggested. Also I wrote the tech support for assistance. Thanks, Hans

I have a question regards configuring the USPS Plug in:
Our company is in Hawaii, our drop shipper in Oregon but we send into North America (US, CA, MEX),Europe and Australia.
How would you suggest I configure the zone in the USPS plug in? Presently I am using United States for the Zone marking.
Can I use more than one?

I would suggest just leaving the zone setting empty. That way the plugin will automatically calculate USPS Priority Mail International rates for any country that you have available for your customers to select on checkout.

As a side note, the next version of this plugin will include options for additional International services.

Perfect, Thanks a lot

Anyone got this up and running yet? Just looking to make sure it is working for someone besides me. Hopefully everyone isn't having to play e-mail games with USPS to convince them to move your webtools ID to production.

I got through, about 24 hours after I requested switching to the Production server. The plug in works extremely well and i am very happy about it. Finally having a complete shopping cart is very relaxing. Thanks to all. Hans
(next generation of USPS Plug in must be awesome )

hanskleinert, glad to hear it. Thanks!


All: I am working on a feature list for the next version of this plugin. I wanted to continue our conversation to see what is needed.

Here's my list so far:

• Calculate postage grouped into as few packages as possible or treat each cart item as a separate shipment.
• Multi-currency support (via HikaShop's native methods)
• Calculate postage grouped into as few packages as possible or treat each cart item as a separate shipment.
• Support all available USPS shipping methods (domestic and International).
• Support option to add additional services (insurance).
• Support multiple languages..
• Configurable maximum box dimensions/weight (within USPS guidelines).

I would also like to see some way for HikaShop to email the customer their tracking number (that would need to be copied/pasted into a field in HikaShop by the user) and automatically provide a "click here to track your shipment" link in an e-mail. However, I don't think there are any API calls to modify the admin interface to support that functionality. I suppose this could just be handled via the USPS web site when the label is purchased. I know can/does e-mail the customer for you.

There really aren't many more features I can think of for a simple rate calculator. However, I'm open to suggestions.

I noticed multiple requests on the various "freelance developer" sites for developing a USPS module for HikaShop. I guess I could have made a little lunch money off of this project. That could explain why I don't make any money as a developer. I am too much of a supporter of free and open source software.

Hi Jeff,in our Hika Store we have 2 groups of products, each of them send by a different drop shipper in 2 locations and 2 states (CA & OR). Does your module can address this problem?

hanskleinert wrote:

Hi Jeff,in our Hika Store we have 2 groups of products, each of them send by a different drop shipper in 2 locations and 2 states (CA & OR). Does your module can address this problem?

I see. This would present multiple possible "ship from" postal codes depending on which group the product was in. I'll put it on the list and see if I can figure out the best way to implement that. What method do you use to "group" your products? Is it a category, characteristic, or .. ?

If you have an immediate need for this functionality, I could probably make a custom version of the plugin to fit your specific store configuration.

Jeff, we have Categories in our Hika shop.

Hi Jeff, I saw on USPS web-tool page that they have an API which connects with Tracking.
www.usps.com/business/webtools.htm
1. Price Calculators APIs (this is what we have now, I guess)
2. Delivery Information APIs, is this what you were wondering to get?
also they have:
3. Address Information APIs
4. Shipping Labels APIs
5. Carrier Pickup™ APIs

well, this would get in being a Mercedes Benz (me being German)

hanskleinert wrote:

Hi Jeff, I saw on USPS web-tool page that they have an API which connects with Tracking.
www.usps.com/business/webtools.htm
1. Price Calculators APIs (this is what we have now, I guess)
2. Delivery Information APIs, is this what you were wondering to get?
also they have:
3. Address Information APIs
4. Shipping Labels APIs
5. Carrier Pickup™ APIs

well, this would get in being a Mercedes Benz (me being German)

Address validation/standardization (using the USPS Address Information API) is on my "to do" list. It will make sure the shipping address is formatted per USPS standards.

Tracking information embedded in the customers order display on the front-end would be nice. I'm trying to stick to things I can do without modifying any of the HikaShop core files. In order to do this we would need:

A place in the admin area (order page) to enter one or more tracking numbers.
It would also require a change in the view where the customer can view their previous orders to include the tracking info.
I'm not too familiar with the shipping label API. I'll have to look it over.

nicolas wrote:

There is no tracking number for now on the order page of the backend. However, it's possible to add it yourself in the business edition by creating a new custom field of the table "order" via the menu Display->Custom fields. For the display on the order page of the front end, you could edit the file show of the view order of the front end via the menu Display->Views and add a few lines of code.
These are not hacks so you will keep your modifications when you update.

The final solution would be to add the field and it's display directly in the core files and create a new event for shipping plugins in order to handle the display of the tracking number. We'll look at that in a future release of HikaShop.

Thanks for the info, nicolas. If an additional API function is added to support this, I suggest that it be capable of handling more than one tracking number since an order could be shipped under multiple tracking numbers.

I'm writing the necessary USPS API calls to retrieve tracking details so it will be available for future use.

I hope to have the next version of the USPS module with cleaned up code and some new features out soon. I may start a new thread to use as a "release" thread and keep this thread open for support issues.

I'm going to ask probably a stupid question here:

I received an email from USPS for my web tools application, it offers Username and Password. I take it for this module all I need is the username which would be the User ID?

correct, just the ID #
You also can go ahead and ask to be switched to the production server. Good luck.

LordSatori wrote:

I'm going to ask probably a stupid question here:

I received an email from USPS for my web tools application, it offers Username and Password. I take it for this module all I need is the username which would be the User ID?

Not a stupid question at all. The user ID is all that is required. The USPS API does not require nor validate the password.
Don't forget to go ahead and send them an e-mail requesting to be moved to the production server. Just tell them you're using HikaShop and they shouldn't hassle you about completing "testing" first.