Is there a way to assign boxes to products on Shopify for accurate shipping?

Geoffrey_Ferdon
Tourist
11 0 12

Does anyone out there know if there is there a way to assign boxes to products, such that shipping can be calculated correctly at checkout?

My box sizes vary greatly, so the shipping calculations can  be very inaccurate.

Thank you for your help.

-Geoff
XGuitars.com

Replies 79 (79)
drock111
Shopify Partner
11 0 14

You can create shipping profiles, with different sets of products in each profile, and set a custom shipping settings for those profiles but why can't you set a default box size for those profiles, it seems like such a simple thing?

ron66
Visitor
1 0 1

Been struggling with this issue, same ol response from shopify. Time to leave for another platform that works 

Sal_Collaziano
Excursionist
16 0 9

Just noting, again, that the Bespoke Shipping app does fix this issue. It's strange that Shopify would not have this feature included standard - but Bespoke Shipping is THE solution - and their support is pretty phenomenal...

CarlyA_art
Visitor
2 0 6

Bespoke Shipping sounds like a great app, but it costs $15 per month.  This issue with shopify is making me consider using a different website company.  I have lost money in shipping with several orders already.  So frustrating this hasn't be resolved.

michdj
Tourist
5 0 12

Shopify does the least amount of work possible and lets the app developers run with development.  They're really just a platform for app devs.  Asking them to add a feature is a complete waste of time, because that's just not how they're structured.  Adding a feature would cost them dev money that they'd never recoup from subscriptions.  If you see that the base Shopify program doesn't do something, just start looking for an app, because you'll never, EVER get Shopify to upgrade ANYTHING.  When is the last added-value you saw from Shopify?  I've had my shop for YEARS and they've never added anything.

It's ridiculous that I can't just tell the program that these two freaking products can use flat rate padded envelopes and save my customers money, but it's all about the almighty dollar for Shopify.

Zenmaster
Tourist
4 0 6

This is incredibly frustrating and the silence from Shopify is deafening.  

I have a cool product that I am about to launch but I feel stuck because:

  • *99% of my products are small and light, so I have an 8x12" puff pack assigned as the default and
  • this product is sizeable and heavy, so I need a box that will only be used for this one product and I can't seem to find a way to have one product always have a specific box/package to it.  And that would drive the shipping costs.

It's almost as if Shopify thinks that we are only going to sell items that fit into one type of package...EVER.

Shopify, this seems basic. Why haven't you fixed it?

Jacki

louis1lal
Visitor
2 0 4

Yeah what's the point of being able to create many box sizes if there is only one used? It is simple, just add a field in the product's page to select the package for this product. So everyone is happy and we can still use carriers automatic calculations.

 

Thanks to add this very soon.

revelrea
Visitor
2 0 5

Hello! 

Kelsey of Revelrea here.  I want to "ditto" the other merchants' request to be able to assign box types to different products.  Shipping can vary widely and it forces us to take a shipping loss on larger products, or risk a lost sale from high shipping on smaller products.  Thanks Shopify!

Kelsey 

hannahblings
Visitor
1 0 2

Hi Emma, 

Has this been resolved? It's been over a year. 

RykerCeramics
Visitor
1 0 1

I am helping the family set up a store website outside of Etsy. They arrived at trying Shopify. Etsy has the feature to calculate shipping based on size and weight. Sometimes the pricing may be off a bit, but the family ships ceramic items that range from a few ounces to 7 pounds. Shipping an 18" ceramic Christmas tree and having to eat a 20+ dollar shipping fee plus website transaction fees make it hard to justify in their eyes and they are starting to think of sticking with Etsy for this reason, especially when Shopify's official position is "Pay a 3rd party app another $20 or more based on how many items you sell."  Will it ever be possible to assign boxes to products? Seemings that this problem and want from customers has been "on their radar" for 3 years I was wondering how far into development this may be.

TelescopesCan
Shopify Partner
41 1 47
It looks like Shopify doesn't want to add this to the system for unknown reasons.
We were forced to go with the Boxify app as a solution in order to stop the losses from shipping cost mis-matches.
Abracax
Excursionist
25 0 36

The deal breaker for the 3rd party apps I tried years ago was the fact that I had to negotiate my own shipping rates with the shippers to use them.

 

I don't ship enough from Shopify to get good negotiated rates.

 

So I don't try to increase my Shopify sales significantly because I have to eat big $$$ in shipping mismatch costs.

 

So I don't ship enough from Shopify to get good negotiated rates.

 

And so on...

 

Shopify is an ouriboros snake eating its own tail for me.

Abracax
Excursionist
25 0 36

It has been nearly 3 years, Emma From Shopify.

 

What is the status of this feature that Shopify has had "on the radar" for almost 36 months now?

 

Still "on the radar"? Can we expect a 21st century release or will this be introduced when our grandchildren's grandchildren are setting up shops?

Abracax
Excursionist
25 0 36

Exact same question. I have many products that are one size, but a couple that are significantly larger.

PluginHive
Shopify Partner
797 31 100

There has been a lot of queries regarding the dimension based packaging and calculation of rates. I know you guys are looking for a solution from the side of Shopify. But, as there hasn't been a solution, I would suggest you try the apps mentioned here and also look into the Multi Carrier Shipping Label app, that would help you automate the packaging process based on the product weight & dimensions. You can add custom boxes based on the product and the app automatically chooses the right box based on the customer input. Also, the app helps you handle the shipping process as well.

Customer Success @ PluginHive
Shipping Automation | FedEx shipping | Multi-carrier shipping | Shipment Tracking | Australia Post shipping
FiberCore
Tourist
3 0 0

One thing you can do is just give the box a weight which corresponds to the dimensional weight.  That might work.

videguy
Visitor
2 0 0

I'm glad I'm not the only person with this issue.  Seems Shopify would rather soak their customers for more money per month than offer a solution.  I am trying the adjusting the weight of the item so it matches what the dimensional weight would be.  We'll see how it goes.

 

Sal_Collaziano
Excursionist
16 0 9

Can't believe I left WooCommerce for this. All the time it took setting this up only to find I can't get accurate shipping rates. Truly unbelievable. I guess I'll be looking for another solution...

Sal_Collaziano
Excursionist
16 0 9

Just noting that I've moved my plan to "Annual" as I needed to for certain functionality to work with my choice of apps to fix this problem - Bespoke Shipping. It seems like a fairy inexpensive option to get everything working as I need. I'll be testing this over the next few days to see how it goes. My intention is to post an update soon...

Sal_Collaziano
Excursionist
16 0 9

Bespoke Shipping is working excellent - and their support is excellent as well. I haven’t redirected my current store’s traffic to my new Shopify store yet - and I haven’t had an order since this morning before I added the app - so I will update again after a few orders come through. But this is looking very good - and it was pretty easy to setup. 

TelescopesCan
Shopify Partner
41 1 47
Does Bespoke use Shopify shipping rates or are they rates for your own shipping accounts?

Sal_Collaziano
Excursionist
16 0 9

It does not use the Shopify rates. It's using the rates from my USPS account...

flagsaflying
Tourist
3 0 3

I'm not sure why this hasn't been done as of yet. It seems simple enough. Why isn't there an ability to select a box size for each product. It would solve SO many shipping issues for users. Is there any update on this. Please tell me it's being rolled out next week....

TelescopesCan
Shopify Partner
41 1 47
I suspect there is such a large cottage industry built around this now that Shopify doesn't want to rock the boat. That being said, we're spending about the same on a shipping app now as our entire Shopify platform cost.

MashleyCO
Visitor
2 0 7

Shopify, this needs to happen, asap.

Cachai
Visitor
1 0 2

I have been setting up then finally went online and realized there was an issue with some products getting put into inappropriate shipping boxes.
Tried to assign a different box and discovered I couldn't

 

How the ef is this not already taken care off? Blows my mind

TelescopesCan
Shopify Partner
41 1 47

Well here's my latest shipping transaction, Merci to Shopify:

FedEx charged to customer: $46.54

The REAL cost to me: $115.73

Loss: $69.19

Thanks Shopify!!!  Awesome that you support your customers so well.

 

George_C
Trailblazer
155 1 145

Another vote for this feature. Cannot believe it's not included by default, just silly.

Actually, not all that surprised considering other obvious features that are still not implemented years later after pages of requests like this one. 

Monster, creature & cryptozoology patches, buttons & stickers.
Abracax
Excursionist
25 0 36

I got killed and took a $40+ loss on shipping. On that transaction they charged the customer $0.00 shipping. No idea how they managed to do that, but changes were made to product prices to account for these discrepancies.

 

That probably hurts sales, but hey...

Abracax
Excursionist
25 0 36

I've contacted customer support at Shopify and gotten non-answers to this question. Does anyone know how we can escalate this issue higher up on the Shopify side?

 

It seems obvious they don't pay attention to these threads, so not sure how to get their attention, other than searching for a new platform.