Is there any third party app to properly factor items' physical volume into calculated rates?

[AustinTech]

The issue we are encountering is that calculated shipping rates are below actual costs when customers order multiple items since Shopify only uses the default package size and just factors in the additional weight.

This is a known issue with the platform, but none of the third party solutions recommended on here seem to achieve our goal which is just to use Shopify's multi-carrier fulfillment and calculated domestic and international shipping rates but factoring in volume.

Does anything achieve this?

I've spent the evening going through the options frequently suggested on this forum and they all fall a bit short. The closest so far seems to be Advanced Shipping Rules, which lets you set set rate tables that are applied based on weight, number of items, price, etc.. but these would supersede the calculated rates for carriers that factor in location and other variables.

[Elias]

Hey, @AustinTech.

This is Elias from Shopify Support. Thank you for posting this question!

I understand you're encountering an issue with the calculated shipping rates when customers order multiple items. While Advanced Shipping Rules is often recommended, they are great for setting unique rates for different products and managing shipping zones (eg. Zip code/Postal code). However, for dealing with multiple items or calculating dimensional packages, I'd recommend trying out Boxify.

Boxify can pull live rates from multiple carriers and calculate the shipping costs using the dimensions of packages that you've preset. You can also provide dimensions for each of your products and Boxify will be able to determine which package to use and calculate the shipping rates at checkout. If you need any help with setting up Boxify, you can always reach out to the developer through the contact information found in the Support section of their app's page. 

I hope this helps! Let me know if this is what you're looking for? 

[AustinTech]

Hi Elias,

Thanks for the suggestion. Boxify almost does what we need, but the problem with every single third party solution out there is that we have to use our own carrier accounts which means we lose the Shopify Advanced plan discounted rates.

We do a lot of international shipping, so I started spot checking UPS rates using their calculator for Worldwide Expedited (lower cost shipping options from UPS means they directly charges our customers large customs brokerage fees) and the cost using our own shipping account with Boxify looked to be 3-4x the amount we actually paid using Shopify shipping.

So, if we set up Boxify international customers will all just abandon their carts due to the high cost. If we don't set it up, we can't properly calculate package size for multi-item orders.

With all the forum discussion about this exact problem, is a fix on Shopify's roadmap? It seems like a simple change to make that would make this platform so much better for businesses - is the concern just cutting off revenue for third party developers?

I'm aware of the trick to do weight based tiers for flat rate, but we ship to so many locations that would be impossible to get right as well.

I'm hoping I'm missing something and there's a way to do calculated rates properly without a third party tool. Looking forward to hearing back - thanks for your help!

[Elias]

Hi again, @AustinTech.

Thanks for the follow-up!

I understand using a third-party solution and not having access to our discounted rates is not an ideal solution for you. I don't think the concern has to do with cutting off revenue for third-party developers, more simply if a third-party app does the task well then we'd encourage using the app.

That being said, while I can't say for sure if calculated shipping rates with dimensional packages is on our roadmap - I'd be happy to share your feedback with our developers as a feature request. If Shopify moves forward with any updates or changes to the calculated rates, you can find it on our changelog or announcements page.  

Though the shipping calculators on the carrier's websites might be displaying their standard rates. However, there are some options for getting discounts from the carriers. For example, UPS offers discount shipping rates & exclusive deals for small businesses, FedEx has an Advantage Program , USPS provides volume discounts, and Canada Post offers shipping discounts as well.

Perhaps one or more of these discount programs can serve as a solution for integrating with Boxify for the time being? 

[PluginHive]

Hi @AustinTech,

You can check out our Multi Carrier Shipping Label app that helps you handle this. The app helps you display live shipping rates from multiple carriers and calculate the shipping costs using both the weight & dimensions of the products.With the box packing method in the app, you can set up different packages for your products based on the weight & dimensions. So, whenever your customer places an order, the app will be able to determine which package to use and thereby calculate the shipping rates and display it at the checkout.