USPS Module User Guide

This is the User Guide for the USPS Shipping Module for Prestashop.  This module provides real time shipping quotes from USPS for your Prestashop store.  You can download the module here.  This module is compatible with the UPS Shipping Module.  You can find installation instructions for the USPS Module here.

To use this Module you will need to acquire a user id from USPS.  Once done they will start you off in Test Mode.  On the configure page for the USPS Module, in the settings section, you can select from both Test and Live modes.  Please note, the module will not work in test mode and will return an error.  This is expected, as the USPS test server does not actually return shipping prices.  They just want to know that you can send them data in the form they expect it.  After running several sample transactions you can e-mail or call USPS and tell them you are ready to go to the Live server, then switch the USPS Module into live mode.

The USPS Module for Prestashop lets you select Priority, Express, Parcel Post or a combination of all three shipping modes.  Express is guaranteed overnight shipping, Priority is an average of 2-3 days and Parcel Post is your typical snail mail.  You can add these by using the Add Method section of the USPS configure page.  Simply select the method you would like to add, specify the name you would like to show on the shipping page and click the submit button.  Note that the module currently only works for shipping inside the United States.  I plan to add support for the Intl. API in the future.

The Configure Shipping Methods section of the USPS configure page is where you actually activate your shipping options.  Each shipping option you install will show up in this section.  Simply turn it on or off with the select box next to the shipping method’s name.  You can also activate the free shipping option here.  If you turn on free shipping, the module will use the settings you input in your back office, under the shipping tab.  Finally, you can delete a shipping method by clicking the red X to the left of that shipping method.

You can adjust the amount of work you want to do, as well as accuracy of quotes, by installing the optional portions of the USPS Shipping Module.  The first one is the Box Size Measurement.  This setting measures the packages to be sent to the customer and selects the correct box size for USPS shipments.  It also disallows attempts to ship products that are too large.  Note that activating Box Size measurement creates more work for the shop owner.  The shop owner must input length, height and width, in inches, for all of the items in their Prestashop store.  This is done under the features section.

There are two steps to activating Box Size measurements.  First you must click the ‘Install Box Size‘ button in the Account Settings section.  This installs the correct settings to your database so you can input the box size measurements in the Features section for your products.  Secondly, you must turn on box measuring by turning on the select box for it in the setting section and clicking the ‘Update Settings‘ button.

The next optional portion of the module is the Machinable setting.  This setting is only applicable to packages sent via Parcel Post.  Machinable basically means if a package can be postmarked by being run through the USPS machine, or whether a human has to hand scan it.  Machinable packages cost less to ship and could provide greater value to your customers.  The USPS API defaults to non-machinable and all of your packages will register that way if you do not use this portion of the module.  You can find out more about whether a package is machinable here.

Again, the Machinable setting requires more work for the shop owner, as you must specify whether each of the products in your store is machinable.  This is done in the features section for the products in your store catalog.  Machinable can be installed by clicking on the ‘Install Machinable‘ button in the USPS Account Settings section of the configure page.  Machinable is then turned on by turning on the select box for it in the setting section and clicking the ‘Update Settings‘ button.

The USPS Shipping Module should now be ready to use.  If you would like to make USPS you default shipping option, you may do so in your back office in the shipping tab. Under Carriers, there is a section called Carrier options, where you can select your default shipping methods.  Don’t forget, if you would like to set limits for free shipping options, you would also do that in the Shipping tab.

If you would like to edit additional settings for the USPS Shipping options you can do so in the Shipping tab, Carriers section.  This will list all of your shipping options and you can click the little pencil and pad to edit settings.  Most people will want to do this to add a delay time for the customer (amount of time the shipping will take) or to add the USPS logo.  You can also add tax or handling charges here, as well as add a tracking url when that becomes available in a future version of the USPS Module.

The USPS shipping options should now show up at checkout in your store.  Customers currently cannot get a quick quote, though that will be available on the product page in the future.

The USPS module uses a shipping selection method to only display the proper shipping methods for a given package.  Those methods will automatically be removed from the checkout page.  For example, USPS does not ship oversize packages for both Priority Mail and Express.  If an oversize package is selected, those methods will not display at checkout.  If for some reason an incorrect method does show at checkout (displays -1.00 shipping charge), you need to make sure that you installed the new order-carrier.tpl to your theme, as well as the smarty plugin that is delivered in the zip file for the USPS Module.

If, for some reason, a USPS shipping option shows up as free, and does not qualify for free shipping settings that you have made, then this is an error, either in how you setup the plugin or in the actual code itself.  Please, first check the installation instructions to make sure you have set everything up correctly.  If you have, then report the problem either in the comments on this site or on the official thread on the Prestashop Forums in the Modules section.