Migrate USPS module to RateV4

Perhaps this is a case for moving the USPS module out of core and into contrib instead for Ubercart 3.x? As it appears to be quite a complex API, perhaps doing this would also help fix the following, presuming there are enough users to contribute patches and run tests?

#548712: USPS shipping quote doesn't work if cart contains multiple kinds of products
#564622: USPS Shipping Rate incorrect - it does not take into consideration dimension of package
#628404: USPS Mail Options Not Filtering
#924716: USPS Shipping Rates Quoted at Offline Prices, even though Online Pricing is Selected
#710412: apostrophes in product titles cause incorrect USPS shipping quotes
#982064: Probable Bug with USPS quotes

Got that email today too. Seems like we have a deadline of May, at the very least, to make sure the API in Ubercart works with the new USPS API RateV4.

So where is this mythical RateV4 API? The documentation on the USPS web site is still all about RateV3. Sounds to me like V4 doesn't exist yet. (Actually, I just called USPS and found out that RateV4 is *not* released yet, and won't be available until January 2nd ! I did manage to get them to send me a pre-release copy of the documentation though ... contact me directly if you want it.) Upgrading the USPS module to the new API shouldn't be a big deal, but it can't be done yet because there is no API available yet.

RateV3 has been the "current" version for more than three years, and has been the only version used by Ubercart so far - I'm surprised that V2 is still accepted and hasn't been phased out, and I'm curious to know why V3 is going to be turned off in May when users haven't even seen RateV4 yet - January to May gives users only 4 months of overlap to port, test and migrate to the new API. Users of the old RateV2 are going to be in even worse shape.

USPS has badly mismanaged their APIs in the past. Specifically, they have over the years made major changes in the XML request and response for RateV3 *without* changing the version - so what used to be a valid V3 request isn't any more, and the elements present in the response have changed so code that used to properly parse the response doesn't work correctly any more. That should never happen - it defeats the whole purpose of versioning the APIs. Another example is the grid presented by Mixologic in the original post - that is a change from what RateV3 used to return. Another example is the online pricing, where the XML response format was changed over the summer sometime, without notice. See #924716: USPS Shipping Rates Quoted at Offline Prices, even though Online Pricing is Selected

As for moving USPS out of core, I think in general it's a good idea to move these carrier-specific modules like USPS and UPS out of core. Anyone willing to adopt the USPS module? A separate thread should probably be opened for a discussion of what should be in core in Ubercart 3.x and what should be spun off.

And today is January 2nd. I wonder if this change is part of the V4 rollout as TR mentioned in #4, or perhaps it's an unintended consequence and something they need to fix. ..

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I'm sort of confused. Hoping someone can clarify.

RateV4 is now in effect no? Current Ubercart shopping carts are all showing incorrect USPS shipping rates? Or is there a fix to continue use the RateV3 API until it's completely dropped by USPS?

@swortis: The USPS web server currently accepts RateV2, RateV3, and RateV4 requests. In May, everything but RateV4 will be turned off.

The returned Rates are correct no matter what version you use. There are some new features that may be used in RateV4 that aren't available in previous versions.

Odd.. Perhaps I'm just baffled by the rates themselves then.. (Seeing $7 for a 3 oz package standard mail)

Are you sure it's not priority? Where is it shipping to? You can check the rate accuracy by going to http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm

The USPS module simply returns the request from the website, so if you're having issues with the price, it's probably a configuration problem.

Well, for a 4 oz item (a CD) we're getting the following prices:

USPS Logo Priority Mail: $14.20
USPS Logo First-Class Mail Large Envelope: $14.92
USPS Logo Express Mail®: $30.50

Seems a little nuts

Does #631120: Weight conversion in uc_google_checkout.module silently fails affect USPS too?

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Re: #14

No, that particular problem isn't present in USPS. I verified by printing out the $product object, and it correctly contains a weight_units property. Google checkout is a payment module while USPS is a shipping module, which is why there doesn't seem to be any common code and/or shared errors between the two.

I won't swear there are no problems with the weight conversion in USPS; I know I spent a long time getting that right and testing in my uc_fedex module to make sure orders that contain products with a mixture of weight units were all being properly converted to one standard unit before the web service was called, but I haven't done similar testing for USPS.

I agree with torgosPizza that the rate anomaly seen by @swortis is almost certainly a configuration problem. My bet is on a wrong value for package quantity. This can be quickly determined by turning on and looking at the XML debug output. Regardless, my USPS quotes are showing up with the correct rates so I don't think there's something fundamentally wrong.

#13: Are you getting these prices in Ubercart? What are the prices you're getting from the USPS site? Are they the same, or not? If they're not, are you running any multipliers? Debug info might be helpful to diagnose it but if there is an actual bug, it doesn't belong in this thread. You'll have to start a new Issue.

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Getting those prices in Ubercart, yes. No multipliers. Actually, going back and looking now I see that there are no options except USPS Express Mail, despite allowing USPS First Class and UPS..

(Have attached some screen shots

What do you mean "no options except USPS Express Mail?" In your "What the customer sees" screengrab, I see Express, along with First Class and two (2) Priority Mail options. Not sure I follow, everything looks right to me.

Not having UPS might be another issue altogether. Do you have your product's dimensions setup? Perhaps UPS isn't receiving them correctly, but since that's a separate module I'd recommend opening a new issue for that.

@swortis: As torgosPizza said in #17, please open a separate support issue if you want to pursue this. This current thread is supposed to be about switching the USPS API from RateV3 to RateV4.

Ok - will pursue elsewhere. Thanks, all

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My issue is that customers are being quoted/offered USPS shipping via cheaper flat rate boxes when the dimensions of my items will not allow it to fit into a flat rate box. There seems to be a disconnect between item dimensions and its effect on the shipping options. My international customers can choose a flat rate USPS shipping amount that is less than half of my actual cost to ship via USPS in the correct container/method.

Anyone have a solution/workaround for this yet?

@hondaman900 : That's not the topic of this issue. Please pursue your problem in that other thread where you posted the same information.

I've implemented RateV4 in Ubercart 7.x-3.x. Now need to backport to 6.x-2.x.

Here's the patch for Ubercart 6.x-2.x-dev. These are the minimal changes needed to make the uc_usps module work with the RateV4 API. None of the new API features have been implemented.

Please test.

Umm, forgot the patch...

Has anyone patched for IntlRateV2? I'm not able to get international rates to Canada. However, domestic rates are working fine.

thanks!

Yes, if you look at the patch you will see it uses IntlRateV2. Since this issue is about the D6 version of Ubercart, I assume you're using Ubercart 2.x. In which case there are no known issues getting international quotes with IntlRate or with IntlRateV2. I suggest you turn on the shipping quote debug and look at the output. Also, check your conditional actions - if you have modified them you might have broken the conditions.

Thanks for the patch TR. I applied it but I'm still receiving errors international shipping. I'll keep searching.

OK, no objections, so I'm going to go ahead and commit this for Ubercart 6.x-2.x.