For clients using OSCOMMERCE with USPS Shipping Module turned on, this important notice effects you regarding:
1. Changes made by USPS on January 2nd, 2011 which is creating issues with USPS Shipping Module.
2. Upcoming required changes USPS will be making May 2011.

CURRENT ISSUES:
As of January 3rd we were notified by several clients who reported a variety of issues with their USPS Shipping Module. These issues include:

1. USPS Domestic (within USA):
a. Saving the shipping method names strangely when viewed in admin. In example it is saving names like this now:
United States Postal Service (1 x 0.1lbs) (0lbs, 1.6oz) (Priority Mail^®)

Versus what it should be saving as:
United States Postal Service (1 x 0.1lbs) (0lbs, 1.6oz) (Priority Mail)

b. Issues viewing / printing orders / invoice / packing slip in admin due to the above.
c. Customers complaining that they selected one method / price, but would be saved & charged as a different method / price (i.e. shows PRIORITY $5, but saves / charges as EXPRESS $10).

2. USPS International (outside USA):
a. Not showing any international method rates any longer.

We have been able to determine that this issue was caused by a change made by USPS on January 2nd, 2011 to how their method names are passed back to your website for real time quotes. These differences in names include minor changes to method names and includes various HTML code that should NOT be passed back to your websites.

Fortunately our team has been working around the clock and we do have a solution and are doing rush repair jobs for clients.

For any clients who have a non-custom version of USPS installed, cost to implement a patch we created to fix all of these issues above is $160, with an average of 6 hour turn around time right now during normal business hours. If you are offering USPS Shipping on your website and want this emergency fix, please contact us ASAP via our contact us form, or if you received this by email reply back to us with your domain name and we will process your order as quickly as possible.

Alternatively there will be a full upgrade required for your USPS Shipping Module prior to May 2011 which would also include this fix. Read more on this below.

USPS RETIRING CURRENT API RATE SYSTEM:
In an email received from USPS on December 12, 2010, USPS notified us of upcoming changes to their current USPS Shipping API (quote system). Of the various changes they will be making to their systems, the one item which does effect everyone who is offering USPS Shipping quotes on their site is:

Rate, RateV2, RateV3 and IntlRate will be retired in May 2011, requiring all integrators to migrate to the latest versions (for full copy of this notice from them, contact us).

All oscommerce clients currently have RateV3 installed into your oscommerce store, thus prior to May 2011 will require an upgrade from your current USPS Shipping Module, to the new replacement one using RateV4 BEFORE May 2011 to ensure your customers will continue to receive real time shipping rates.

This new version will address a number of updates including:
- Upgrade to DOMESTIC RateV4.
- Upgrade to INTERNATIONAL RateV2.
- Address all Method Name changes seen above.
- Patch USPS Insurance portion of module to ensure if insurance is turned off, that customers will still see various methods USPS does NOT offer insurance on.

We are working towards this new module at this time and will have a final price set for this shortly, once we receive some answers from USPS on various things. Unfortunately at this moment, while USPS clearly states they are discontinuing support for RateV3 system and indicate you must upgrade to RateV4, USPS has YET to release any reference documentation for RateV4 so that development teams can jump on this immediately.

This recent change on January 2nd without prior notification, in addition with the notification of end of life for RateV3 without the supporting RateV4 API documentation being available, has been creating some havoc for all website owners who offer USPS and various large firms who offer third party services (i.e. Infopia.com). As such we wanted to ensure our clients are completely educated on what has occurred, what will occur and why.

Please contact us if you have additional questions.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS:
Below is a list of frequent questions and answers we have received so far regarding these issues.

Q: If I do this initial patch now, will I still need to do the upgrade later?
A: Unfortunately yes, the upgrade will still need to be done prior to May 2011.

Q: Can you do both the patch and the upgrade at one time to save some money, since you indicated the patch is part of the upgrade package?
A: Yes you can do both at the same time. Unfortunately at the time of this newsletter, we do not have the complete upgrade package ready yet, due to USPS not providing the documentation developers need to do the upgrade. We have sent them several emails and as soon as they provide that information back to us, we will be notifying everyone immediately with price for the full upgrade.

Q: What happens if I just wait until the full upgrade is available? How would this effect my oscommerce store?
A: You are welcome to wait of course, however please be aware that if your site does actively use USPS and cannot temporarily use an alternative shipping carrier module, that you WILL experience all of the issues mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter.

Q: Why can't the full upgrade with this patch be done now vs. later?
A: We take the same stance as our clients on this, and would absolutely prefer to do everything at once now to save time, money, and possible issues your customers may experience on your site. While USPS has made it clear they will be retiring RateV3 by May 2011 and say you MUST upgrade to RateV4 before then, USPS at this time has provided absolutley NO documentation for RateV4 API. Those documents are like a blueprint to tell programmers what, when, where and how they must now have your stores connect to USPS. We have submitted several emails to icustomercare@usps.com on behalf of our clients letting them know of all the trouble this this recent January 2nd, 2010 update has caused, and requesting immediate response from them with a link / attachment of the RateV4 API documentation so we can provide as quick a solution as possible for all oscommerce usps customers.

Q: Do you know what the price will be for the upgrade, once USPS gets you back the documentation needed?
A: Until we are able to fully examine that document for RateV4, it would be impossible for us to tell exactly what the cost would end up being. Thus we are choosing to not give a quote until that time to ensure there are no surprises. The update may only consist of changing up few dozen lines of code, or may require we redo majority of the entire module. What we are offering to customers though is any client who purchases the patch in advance, we will credit you back a 20% discount off the full upgrade package for when it becomes available.

UPDATED INFORMATION:
Below we are noting all updates to the situation.

1/5/11: Called USPS and got direct phone number for USPS Internet Customer Care center to report this issue, since no responses back yet to emails sent over past few days. Number to call if you wish to register a complaint and / or get a status update on when RateV4 documentation will be available is 1-800-344-7779 select option 3. Waited on phone for over 30 minutes on hold "due to unusually high call volumes". Will try again later.

UPDATE: Finally got a rep on the phone. Had a great discussion about these issues, which he says that while they have been receiving many emails about issues, none were as specific as the information I provided and he believes they now have enough information to look further into this issue, and to get us over the new API documentation.

1/17/11: Received the updated API documentation from USPS roughly on 1/12/11. Completed our research and shall be announcing a package deal within day or so. USPS apparently did not complete said documentation until 12/10/10 and has not yet posted it to their website, but have been sending out copies to anyone who needs it.