USPS changes for 1/17/16

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USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by jmestep » Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:47 am

Here we go again. Will Able be effected by this? If so will there be a patch? Both Gold and AC7?
In conjunction with the January 17, 2016 USPS Price Change, USPS will implement changes and additional features to the suite of Web Tools APIs. Preliminary release notes are available now at usps.com/webtools. Impacted APIs will include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Domestic Price and Label APIs
• International Price and Label/Customs Forms APIs
The Web Tools external testing environment will be available with these changes December 14, 2015 and updated release notes with XML request samples and customs forms/label images will be available concurrently at usps.com/webtools.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by mazhar » Mon Dec 07, 2015 6:12 am

Thanks for the alert. We will investigate it. They have posted the details here
https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools ... -notes.rtf

We are using Domestic, international and address verification APIs in our integration. A quick review suggests the following

2.1 Domestic Rate API Updates (RateV4)
2.1.1 January Price Change
1. Price updates
o Price to price updates only; no request or response schema updates
o Reference http://pe.usps.gov/ for updated prices

2.3 International Rate API Updates
2.3.1 IntlRateV2 January Price Change Updates
1. Price and mailing restrictions updates
o Price to price updates only; no request or response schema updates
o Reference http://pe.usps.gov/ for updated prices
As the bold part suggests there are no request/response schema changes so hopefully we are good. I am going to report it for detailed review.

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by rmaweb » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:00 am

They will be getting rid of some of the flat rate boxes and expanding first class package from 13oz to 15.99oz. If that impacts anyone.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Tue Dec 08, 2015 9:44 am

When I read the change guide, it looked like there are a few things to watch for.

RateV4 and IntlRateV2 both have -

"Elimination of Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Box"

But this is not even listed in our most current set of services (via the CSV file). So, maybe we are OK.

RateV4 -

"Rebranding of Standard Post as Retail Ground"

We do list "USPS Standard Post"

The document states "When <Service>=”STANDARD POST”, Web Tools will return new <MailService>=”Retail Ground” value for CLASS ID=”4” (Standard Post)

So, maybe we don't have to worry about that either.

We'll have to do some testing and confirm that the January change won't have any impact. At this point, it looks like we might be in the clear.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by jmestep » Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:37 am

Katie, do you have the final word on if the sites need to be patched for these changes?
Thanks
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:13 am

The dev team has already reviewed the document and they don't think that anything will impact us.

But going back to my previous comment...

1) Elimination of Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Box

Which size? We list Small, Medium, and Large. Worst case, the merchant can uncheck the service from the configuration page.

2) "Rebranding of Standard Post as Retail Ground"

It doesn't say that it won't be available, just that it will give the rate of Retail Ground.

It looks like they changed their testing environment on Dec. 12th, so I will schedule some time next week to test and see if I can figure out if any changes will need to be made for AbleCommerce merchants.

Thanks,
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:32 am

I've completed testing using domestic, international, and military addresses. The only change necessary is the rebranding of Standard Post to Retail Ground.

To fix the issue, you will need to modify the ~\app_data\uspsmethods.csv file and change the following:

CHANGE FROM -

Code: Select all

Standard Post<sup>&reg;</sup>| USPS Standard Post
CHANGE TO -

Code: Select all

Retail Ground<sup>&reg;</sup>| USPS Retail Ground
NOTE: This change should NOT be made until after USPS has implemented their updates on Jan. 17th. We will announce a patch sometime next week.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by rmaweb » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:11 am

Katie wrote: 1) Elimination of Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Box

Which size? We list Small, Medium, and Large. Worst case, the merchant can uncheck the service from the configuration page.

Thanks,
Katie
Hello Katie,

The Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Box was only the one size. The regular Priority Mail service has the different sizes and the Regional Rate boxes.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Brewhaus » Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:57 pm

Hi Katie. I tried making the change that you listed above with no luck. I am running R8. Below is ou ~\app_data\uspsmethods.csv file. The structure seems to be a little bit different, so I tried a direct paste of the code above as well as changing 'Standard Post' to 'Retail Ground'. Neither worked. In fact, when I removed and tried to re-add the method, it still shows up as Standard Post.

Code: Select all

// US DOMESTIC SERVICES, '{0}' IN THE NAMES DENOTES A VARIABLE DEPENDING ON THE SCHEDULED DELIVERY DATE CALCULATION BETWEEN THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION ZIP CODES. POSSIBLE VALUES: “1-DAY”, “2-DAY”, “3-DAY”, “MILITARY”, “DPO”, “ “
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup>|USPS Priority Mail Express{0}
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Sunday/Holiday Delivery|USPS Priority Mail Express{0} Sunday/Holiday Delivery
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail Express{0} Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Sunday/Holiday Delivery Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail Express{0} Sunday/Holiday Delivery Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Legal Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail Express{0} Legal Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail Express{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Sunday/Holiday Delivery Legal Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail Express{0} Sunday/Holiday Delivery Legal Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail{0}<sup>&trade;</sup>|USPS Priority Mail{0}
Priority Mail{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Large Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail{0} Large Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Medium Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail{0} Medium Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Small Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail{0} Small Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail{0}<sup>&trade;</sup> Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail{0} Flat Rate Envelope
First-Class Mail<sup>&reg;</sup> Parcel|USPS First-Class Mail Parcel
First-Class Mail<sup>&reg;</sup> Large Envelope|USPS First-Class Mail Large Envelope
First-Class Mail<sup>&reg;</sup> Letter|USPS First-Class Mail Letter
First-Class Mail<sup>&reg;</sup> Postcards|USPS First-Class Mail Postcards
First-Class Mail<sup>&#174;</sup> Stamped Letter|USPS First-Class Mail Stamped Letter
First-Class Mail<sup>&#174;</sup> Metered Letter|USPS First-Class Mail Metered Letter
Standard Post<sup>&reg;</sup>| USPS Standard Post
Media Mail Parcel|USPS Media Mail
Library Mail Parcel|USPS Library Mail

//INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
Global Express Guaranteed<sup>&reg;</sup> \(GXG\)|USPS Global Express Guaranteed (GXG)
Global Express Guaranteed<sup>&reg;</sup> Non-Document Rectangular|USPS Global Express Guaranteed Non-Document Rectangular
Global Express Guaranteed<sup>&reg;</sup> Non-Document Non-Rectangular|USPS Global Express Guaranteed Non-Document Non-Rectangular
USPS GXG<sup>&trade;</sup> Envelopes|USPS GXG Envelopes
Priority Mail Express International<sup>&trade;</sup>|USPS Priority Mail Express International
Priority Mail Express International<sup>&trade;</sup> Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail Express International Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail International<sup>&reg;</sup>|USPS Priority Mail International
Priority Mail International<sup>&reg;</sup> Large Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail International<sup>&reg;</sup> Medium Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail International Medium Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail International<sup>&reg;</sup> Small Flat Rate Box|USPS Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box
Priority Mail International<sup>&reg;</sup> Flat Rate Envelope|USPS Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope
First-Class Package International Service<sup>&trade;</sup>|USPS First-Class Package International Service
First-Class Mail<sup>&reg;</sup> International Large Envelope|USPS First-Class Mail International Large Envelope
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:05 pm

Try restarting the application pool. It might be cached by the web server.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Brewhaus » Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:43 pm

Thank you, Katie. I still had to mess with the code to match the existing format, but it did the trick. :-)
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by bigtires001 » Sat Mar 05, 2016 2:40 am

Hello,

I just realized many of my 7.0+ versions of ablecommerce is having an issue with USPS shipping methods to load.

The usernames are correct and so are the links on the admin page, the packages are proply sized and ready, and addresses are 100%

3 stores same problem codeing was not touched. I feel its possible the name labeling could be the reason I am not getting a response from USPS

AbleCommerce for ASP.NET
VERSION: 7.0.90.8302
Release Label: GoldR10

Is there somewhere I could get that new uspsmethods.csv or is there any guidance in finding out if this is my problem?

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Sat Mar 05, 2016 6:39 am

Can you check the error log? If there is a problem with the rating service, it should show up there.

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by bigtires001 » Sat Mar 05, 2016 10:35 am

Unfortunately there are no errors forming for this, however I am not sure how to trigger an error message from this.


Aside from having the shipping methods programmed in than trying to checkout, the USPS services simply are not showing. I completed the test order but no errors showed

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Sat Mar 05, 2016 2:44 pm

From the USPS configuration page, enable the debug option. You can use the shipping estimate form with a shippable item in the basket. Then find the log file in the \app_data\logs\ folder. It will be named as the US postal service.log Open the file and find the last few entries. You should see the info being SENT to the gateway, and then the information RECEIVED. If there is an error, it should be in the receive part. Feel free to post it here and I'll take a look.

Thanks
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by bigtires001 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:12 am

Thank you for the instructions!

The error message is below, I am using 2 types of USPS

1. USPS Priority Mail
2. USPS First-Class Mail Parcel

Send: API=RateV4&XML=<?xml version="1.0"?><RateV4Request USERID="318RADIU6375"><Package ID="0"><Service>ALL</Service><ZipOrigination>63382</ZipOrigination><ZipDestination>15239</ZipDestination><Pounds>1</Pounds><Ounces>7.2</Ounces><Container></Container><Size>REGULAR</Size><Machinable>true</Machinable></Package></RateV4Request>

Receive: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<RateV4Response><Package ID="0"><ZipOrigination>63382</ZipOrigination><ZipDestination>15239</ZipDestination><Pounds>1</Pounds><Ounces>7.2</Ounces><Size>REGULAR</Size><Machinable>TRUE</Machinable><Zone>4</Zone><Postage CLASSID="3"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt;</MailService><Rate>31.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="2"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Hold For Pickup</MailService><Rate>31.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="13"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="27"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Flat Rate Envelope Hold For Pickup</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="30"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Legal Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="31"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Legal Flat Rate Envelope Hold For Pickup</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="62"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Padded Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="63"><MailService>Priority Mail Express 1-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Padded Flat Rate Envelope Hold For Pickup</MailService><Rate>22.95</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="1"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt;</MailService><Rate>7.75</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="22"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Large Flat Rate Box</MailService><Rate>18.75</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="17"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Medium Flat Rate Box</MailService><Rate>13.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="28"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Small Flat Rate Box</MailService><Rate>6.80</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="16"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="44"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Legal Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="29"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Padded Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.80</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="38"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Gift Card Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="42"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Small Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="40"><MailService>Priority Mail 2-Day&lt;sup&gt;&#8482;&lt;/sup&gt; Window Flat Rate Envelope</MailService><Rate>6.45</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="6"><MailService>Media Mail Parcel</MailService><Rate>3.22</Rate></Postage><Postage CLASSID="7"><MailService>Library Mail Parcel</MailService><Rate>3.07</Rate></Postage></Package></RateV4Response>

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:21 am

In the response above, you can see all the USPS options available for this shipment. I believe you will be needing "Priority Mail 2-Day" so you must have this service selected in AbleCommerce.

Basically, for each type of service the USPS offers, you will want to select all 6 iterations.

When the rates are calculated and shown to the customer, only the applicable rate/service is shown. But in AbleCommerce, you have to make sure that all of them are available. Sometime ago, the USPS changed their integration, so this is how you have to configure the services now.
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by bigtires001 » Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:03 am

Awesome, great I am understanding this better.

ok I added "Priority Mail 2-Day" and now I can see that particular shipping method but not the two I am trying to use for this particular store.

I assume after I select all 6 types the the 2 services I want will begin to show. I am trying to use:

1. USPS First-Class Mail Parcel

2. USPS Priority Mail

So now I guess I need to better understand what exactly are the 6 base iterations that I would need to select to get all options to show? especially the 2 I need.

Also if I include all 6 options in the estimate, how will I prevent my customers from selecting the methods other than the two I have truly chosen to offer?

1. USPS First-Class Mail Parcel

2. USPS Priority Mail



The other stores use more USPS shipping services so I assume I will not have to hide any options from the customer for those ones.


Thanks again you have been a real help.

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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by Katie » Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:54 am

Also if I include all 6 options in the estimate, how will I prevent my customers from selecting the methods other than the two I have truly chosen to offer?
The customer will only see the options that are actually available to them. You just have to make sure they are all selected and then the USPS will return ONLY those shipping methods that are applicable to the origin and destination zip codes.

Regarding "USPS First-Class Mail Parcel"? This may not be a valid shipping method. I'm not really sure though. You can go to the USPS website and read more here - https://www.usps.com/ship/first-class-mail.htm

Whenever you are unsure about the shipping methods or rates returned through AbleCommerce, you can use the USPS shipping estimate form here - https://postcalc.usps.com/

Just enter the FROM and TO zip codes, a package weight, and then USPS will show you all the possible shipping methods available. When I tried, the First-Class Mail Parcel was not an option. I think this might be for envelopes only now.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help!

Katie
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Re: USPS changes for 1/17/16

Post by bigtires001 » Tue Mar 08, 2016 3:05 am

OK, I did apply all the shipping methods, then removed a few that were showing I knew I was not going to use like library mail and mdeia mail, all seems well now. Makes it a bit tougher to organize the shipping methods, but I got it to work.

I just created a group called no-USPS and made all the methods that loaded in the estimater that I was not using and assigned them to that group alone.

Thanks again!

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