PrestaShop and Canada Post setup and configuration

[mikeguy82]

A quick summary:

 

I am fairly new to PrestaShop, and I live in Canada, hence I have added the Canada Post Rate Calculator ver 1.1 module to my PrestaShop in order to offer "affordable" shipping to Canadians... aboot time ey?

 

Anyhow I am encountering some difficulties in getting this done.

This is what I have done so far:

• Talked with my host to unblock sellonline.canadapost.ca:30000 (TCP Port 30000).
• Got Canada post to make me an account on the sellonline server CPC_XXX_XXXX
• logged in and setup my profile on their server http://sellonline.canadapost.ca/servlet/LogonServlet?Language=0
• In the module, I configured so there is a packaging weigh and a handling fee (0.1lbs/0.2$) (supposedly as other people suggested in the limited help provided for this issue that they should not be blank)
• All my address info is correct and I selected the correct services.

These are my outstanding issues:

1. When I hit the "Save Configuration" button I get an error: "Prestashop could not connect to Canada Post webservices : Canada Post Webservice seems to be down, please wait a few minutes and try again."

Can anyone please provide me with clear and concise setp by step instructions in how to set this up properly?

 

I cannot find any complete/reliable documentation in the forum and or online in regards with specific scenarios with shipping configurations for prestashop.

 

For example: I would need to provide free shipping locally done by myself, and provide paid shipping for the rest of the country. I have tried to read posts in regards with this as-well and i have gotten no-where because there are many posts that are using the old prestashop versions, or the posts do not match my criteria etc etc...

 

It seems there are many "loopholes/back ways" into doing stuff to cheat the system, which only tells me that prestashop team has not optimized this process well. Woocommerce I had some experience with, and their shipping configuration is pretty well done (from what my limited experience can tell me when comparing the two)

 

Anyhow I am hoping some super user can give me some advice, or actually any Canuck that has this working. (I don't want to pay for a module, many of you will be like "just buy this!",NO, not because I am cheap, but because this one should already work?)

 

Thanks.

 

Mike, in a canoe.