As your e-commerce software continually grows and incorporates new enhancements, it's worthwhile to pause now and again and ask: what ought be removed? In other words, as new features are added, does it make sense to remove some features that have lost or never gained substantive value over time? We say yes. A software product ought be pruned in some areas, even as it grows in others.
Here's a couple updates along those lines concerning shipping during the cart check-out. As you review them, know that they do not impact our present clientele, or the impact has been mitigated, or the client's needs will be managed differently and we've worked out those changes with you directly. If something's been overlooked, please contact us immediately:
- When shipping costs are equal to $0.00, because of a promotion or coupon code or just because that's the way you've set up your Shipping Services, then the line item on the order subtotal will display as £0.00 or $0.00 (the currency being configurable by you, the site owner). Before, it used to display as "Free". Now it's the actual amount, even if that's zero.
- A site-wide configuration to allow shoppers to specify during cart check-out a shipment arrival date and or the day of the week for shipment arrival has been removed.
- A product may no longer ordered as a "pre-order item," with implications for inventory management, shipping cost calculations, and multiple shipments.
- Related to the above pre-order items, there is also no longer a "ship-ahead" option for shoppers to choose, specifying that they want the in-stock items to be shipped ahead of those that are not yet in inventory because of a pre-order status.
- In the Admin Area of Total Blue System, there is a place to view order details. What's changed: the shipping calculations are no longer split out into costs for pre-order, back-order, and ship-ahead, as these features are no longer present to make the data meaningful.
- The "estimated" qualifier has been removed from the cart check-out process when it appeared next to the shipping amount. This qualifier related to the fact that there may have been back-order items that, when shipped, would be charged a different shipping amount than the shipping total specified at the time of check-out. The removal of this language doesn't prevent you from charging more or nothing for additional shipments of back-ordered items, but it does eliminate the ambiguity that caused concern among shoppers. You can communicate your own policies in "Teasers" on the Cart check-out pages where you think appropriate, to communicate what you wish.
- If you create a Shipping Service in the Admin Area of Total Blue System, and you define a maximum shipping weight, this weight total now applies to all items in the order, even those specified as on back-order status.
- Promotions involving the cost of shipping now apply to orders that include items that have a back-ordered inventory status.
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