Permitted Shipping Methods

[delcorsets]

It was my understanding that in order for a Permitted Shipping Method to be displayed as an option to shopper all products in the cart must be eligible for that shipping method. I'm looking at an order where a customer purchased a pair of socks (eligible for a small flat rate shipping method via Permitted Shipping Methods,) and a pair of pants (not eligible for that shipping method) but the customer was still able to select the small flat rate option. "Limit Shipping Methods" is not checked on either product.

Am I wrong in how I'm understanding the use of Permitted Shipping Methods or did I set it up incorrectly?

[ids]

Do you get the expected shipping options when the item is the only one in the basket? IOW, that pair of pants in the basket doesn't get the flat rate option?

My other question, how are you limiting shipping options if not using the "limited shipping options?"

Scott

[delcorsets]

Hey Scott, happy new year,

This response got delayed a bit, but I'm not limiting to products to "just" the special shipping method, I'm only assigning products which should be eligible for that special shipping method.

It was my understanding that if two products are in the cart, but only one of them is eligible for a particular shipping method, then that shipping method would not be displayed. I thought that all products in the cart must be eligible for a shipping method in order for it to be displayed during checkout?

[Kent Multer]

I'm pretty sure you need to check the "Limit Shipping Methods" box in order for the "Permitted Shipping Methods" checkboxes to have any effect.

[delcorsets]

Thanks Kent. I looked at the video here: https://docs.miva.com/videos/shippin...ed-on-products which states that "Limit Shipping Methods" should be checked only if you want the selected shipping method(s) to be the only available shipping method for a product. I can't seem to find any other documentation on Limit Shipping Methods and Permitted Shipping Methods except for this video.

- Under Shipping Method Rules I have the shipping method checked to "Exclude This Method Unless Permitted by Products"
- Then on product level under Shipping Rules I've selected the Special Flat Rate shipping as a Permitted method.. this should allow the shipping method to be displayed if a shopper has that product in their cart.
-- If a shopper has another product in their cart which does NOT have Special Flat Rate selected as a permitted shipping method then Miva is supposed to suppress that shipping method since it is not eligible for all products in the cart.

I've tested by adding the small product (eligible for flat rate,) and the shipping method is displayed. I then added the second product (not eligible for flat rate,) and the shipping method is no longer shown. I used the same two products that our customer purchased, but I'm unable to recreate a scenario where I'm able to select the flat rate method if all products are not eligible.

So, at least in "normal" situations I don't see the shipping method for ineligible baskets, but I'm still not sure what scenario might have allowed this to mistakenly "slip through" in the actual transaction.

[alphabet]

Could the customer have used a third party check out like PayPal before the shipping rules were applied?

And I think Kent is right that if the 'Limit Shipping Methods' is not selected then all of the shipping methods are available even if they are not selected at the product level .

[delcorsets]

alphabet Thanks for that suggestion.. I took a look at the order in question and the customer checked out with Visa so apparently that's not the culprit.

Regarding "Limit Shipping Methods" what I've discovered through testing is as follows:
- On the product level (Product > Shipping Rules), if that checkbox is checked, then only the selected methods will be displayed when that product is in the cart.
- This has to be considered carefully during product/shipping setup as it could lead to a fallback shipping method if all the products in a cart do not share at least one permitted shipping method.
- If that checkbox is not checked, permitted shipping methods can still be selected to reveal them if they are being suppressed by exclusion settings in the Shipping Method Rules

In our shipping method setup (Shipping Settings > Shipping Method Rules), we have an exclusion in place for our flat rate method - the checkbox "Exclude This Method Unless Permitted by Products" prevents this method from displaying unless it is selected as a permitted method on the product level. "Limit Shipping Methods" does not need to be checked for this to work.

[alphabet]

I thought that all products in the cart must be eligible for a shipping method in order for it to be displayed during checkout?

I think your premise is incorrect. AFAIK, any 'Permitted Shipping Method' or non-excluded method will be available in the shippingmethods array.

Have you tried to select 'Limit Shipping Methods' for the pants then select its 'Permitted Shipping Methods'? If the socks and pants have different shipping methods then it should default to the fallback error.

[Kent Multer]

Regarding "Limit Shipping Methods" what I've discovered through testing is as follows:
- On the product level (Product > Shipping Rules), if that checkbox is checked, then only the selected methods will be displayed when that product is in the cart.
- This has to be considered carefully during product/shipping setup as it could lead to a fallback shipping method if all the products in a cart do not share at least one permitted shipping method.

Yes, Miva can only use one shipping method for each order. This does make the setup problematic sometimes.

I've written a few "Shipping Manager" modules to allow orders to use multiple shipping methods. I've also written modules that can add extra charges to the basket in specific cases, such as when a certain product is shipped to a certain location. If something like that would be helpful for your store, you can drop me a line to discuss it. But Miva's built-in features, such as shipping rules and handling fees, can sometimes be used to work out a solution without a third-party module.