Customizing ProductCart - Restrict Shipping by Item or Category

Restrict Shipping by Item or Category

Printed From: ProductCart E-Commerce Solutions
Category: ProductCart
Forum Name: Customizing ProductCart
Forum Description: Exchange messages with other users that are customizing ProductCart.
URL: https://forum.productcart.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4856
Printed Date: 07-July-2025 at 12:52am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Restrict Shipping by Item or Category

Posted By: rotokirby
Subject: Restrict Shipping by Item or Category
Date Posted: 15-November-2011 at 12:36am

We have a $5 Flat Rate shipping option on our store.

It's a "Custom Shipping Option" that we set up that allows customers choose to pay only $5 for domestic shipping. We've found it to be quite popular with our customers, and generally works as well as offering a Free Shipping over X Amount type of offer since many orders are small, and we don't lose much on the shipping....and if it's a larger order, it acts as an incentive (since customers pay only $5 no matter how large their order).

BUT....we have a handful of items that are oversized, particularly heavy or require additional packaging that we'd like to exclude from the offer.

I've looked but it doesn't appear that there is any method in the default install (we're on 4.1SP2) that allows items to be excluded from a particular shipping method, aside from choosing Domestic vs International, and a few options relating to shipping to AK and HI.

To sum up.... I'd like to be able to exclude specified items or categories from shipping via a Custom Shipping Option. Anyone done this before? Any thoughts on how to accomplish this? We already ask customers to not choose the custom option on some items, but most either don't read, or figure that since the option is available they should be able to choose it, even if we asked them not to.

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Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery
Chicago > IL > US
http://rotofugi.com - http://rotofugi.com

Replies:

Posted By: macleather
Date Posted: 29-December-2011 at 1:15pm

Hi rotokirby,

Did you ever figure out how to exclude specific items from your Flat Rate shipping option?

Thanks

Alan

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Alan
http://www.mcpcustomleather.com - MacPherson Custom Leather

Posted By: cpgmar
Date Posted: 05-January-2012 at 9:57am

We have the same situation with our live plants requiring special shipping conditions such as forcing 3 day select or not allowing rates to be returned at all for certain states. We added customizations which put a field for each category that was checked off in the admin. Then wrote code that said if that box was checked, don't return rates for that order.

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Cindy

The Tasteful Garden

www.tastefulgarden.com

Posted By: whizzinpc
Date Posted: 12-January-2012 at 5:57pm

You can add a surcharge or X dollars to the more expensive items... then just put a message in the description or something saying this item does not qualify.

Posted By: RedLeafDev
Date Posted: 19-January-2012 at 3:59pm

Hi Rotokirby,

If you are skilled at coding you would create a limitation (similiar to the AK and HI and other limitations) that you would call product limitations. Then you would need to create a table to add the product IDs that you want to limit (and probably a way to add and remove these in the admin). Then, add logic to the storefront to check if any of these IDs are in the cart and if they are then don't show the custom option.

That is how I would go about it. Let me know if you want to chat about it.

I also found and replied to this thread about the same topic: http://www.earlyimpact.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4887&title=free-shipping-question" rel="nofollow - http://www.earlyimpact.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4887&title=free-shipping-question

Amy

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http://www.redleafdevelopment.com" rel="nofollow - Red Leaf Development

Certified ProductCart Developers

www.redleafdevelopment.com

Posted By: rotokirby
Date Posted: 19-January-2012 at 4:35pm

Thanks Amy...and Cindy for the encouragement!

I'll have a look at the AK/HI limitations and see if we can't use that as a springboard to do our own custom coding....though I 'm not much of a coder, I might be able to pull it off. We're not quite ready to pay for any custom code right now.

Just glad to know someone thinks it's possible. I think its the type of thing that a lot of stores would find useful. ;)

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Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery
Chicago > IL > US
http://rotofugi.com - http://rotofugi.com