I'm in the process of settings up a website (I'm using DJango) to begin selling some toys I build and need a way of calculating shipping costs for my customers.
Are there any (preferably free) shipping calculators which accept a customers address and return the cost for different delivery companies / delivery options?
It would be nice if the API could indicate cost vs delivery time.
We'll be shipping world-wide if that makes a difference?
Not only cannot I think of one for Django, I don't even know that such a beast exists. Period. Particularly when you throw in the oh-by-the-way of "We'll be shipping world-wide if that makes a difference?" Yes, it makes a difference.
Suggestion: take a look at a small group of carriers that have reasonable rates for the size and quantity of packages you will be shipping to various areas. For example, the USPS has some standard-sized boxes that are "anything you can fit in them will ship for one price." This could be a big win for certain products.
Here are some links to API documentation and the like. Most of these are fairly straightforward to interface with, but the number of options can be daunting.
<rant>
By the way, international shipping is a bitch of a problem, even for "simple products" like toys. There are customs regulations, health laws, duties, tariffs, etc., etc. If you get into anything more "complicated" it can drive you insane.
One site I did sells health supplements. Did you know that melatonin (a naturally occurring substance in your body) can be bought by the ton in the U.S., but you can't even get it with a prescription in the U.K.?
And if you are selling/shipping wine? Oh God! Don't get me started! Even within the U.S. you not only have to know what state you are shipping it to, but sometimes which county within the state. Sometimes you can't ship it at all, other times it has to be to a bonded delivery location, etc., etc. Overseas? Don't make me laugh.
I think creating a completely correct, international shipping application would probably require some horrible, twisted Artificial Intelligence mated with a ring-tailed lemur on LSD.
</rant>