Google Checkout and Shipping Rates
Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:25 am
Here's a symptom.
We had a order from Finland that ordered an item and went to Google Checkout.
When they got to Google Checkout, there were no shipping options and/or rates.
We have one shipping option "Customer pays..." where a customer can select that method and add their own UPS, FedEx, etc. account information for shipping. That appeared, but no FedEx rates.
So, the customer selected that "Customer pays..." option and no other instructions (that's understandable) as it was the only option present to them.
So, investigating this I found:
1. AC had in fact sent the XML to FedEx and FedEx did in fact reply with rates.
2. All the logs (error log, debug, page views, etc.) do not show anything unusual.
3. I tried to recreate the problem
a. Added item to cart
b. Went to Google Checkout and logged in as me
c. When I first got the google checkout screen all the rates were shown (because I am a super user, all the rates, including UPS, USPS and FedEx were shown) but they were all $0.00. If I were not a super user, I bet the only rate that would have been shown was the "customer pay..." one.
d. For some reason I went off that page and came back (that sequence might be a red herring) and when I looked again there were rates on the google checkout screen. Ex: Shipping and Handling -- FedEx Ground $11.90 and others.
So, what I think is happening (but can't confirm yet) is that there is a delay. My sense is that AC passes the order (items, etc.) to Google and, once the FedEx XML sequence/exchange is complete, then sends the shipping options and rates to Google Check out.
Perhaps being more remote, our customer in Finland might have encountered a longer delay than even I did in getting those rates updated/displayed on his Google Checkout page.
Has anyone experienced the same thing? Is there a way to prevent this from reoccurring?
We had a order from Finland that ordered an item and went to Google Checkout.
When they got to Google Checkout, there were no shipping options and/or rates.
We have one shipping option "Customer pays..." where a customer can select that method and add their own UPS, FedEx, etc. account information for shipping. That appeared, but no FedEx rates.
So, the customer selected that "Customer pays..." option and no other instructions (that's understandable) as it was the only option present to them.
So, investigating this I found:
1. AC had in fact sent the XML to FedEx and FedEx did in fact reply with rates.
2. All the logs (error log, debug, page views, etc.) do not show anything unusual.
3. I tried to recreate the problem
a. Added item to cart
b. Went to Google Checkout and logged in as me
c. When I first got the google checkout screen all the rates were shown (because I am a super user, all the rates, including UPS, USPS and FedEx were shown) but they were all $0.00. If I were not a super user, I bet the only rate that would have been shown was the "customer pay..." one.
d. For some reason I went off that page and came back (that sequence might be a red herring) and when I looked again there were rates on the google checkout screen. Ex: Shipping and Handling -- FedEx Ground $11.90 and others.
So, what I think is happening (but can't confirm yet) is that there is a delay. My sense is that AC passes the order (items, etc.) to Google and, once the FedEx XML sequence/exchange is complete, then sends the shipping options and rates to Google Check out.
Perhaps being more remote, our customer in Finland might have encountered a longer delay than even I did in getting those rates updated/displayed on his Google Checkout page.
Has anyone experienced the same thing? Is there a way to prevent this from reoccurring?