Is it possible to use Boxify and still take advantage of Shopify's reduced shipping rates?

[electricspeed]

We sell both small items and very large items (50"+ long) that require dimensional weight to accurately calculate shipping rates for our customers.  We have started to set up Boxify but know that our rates with the carriers are not as good as Shopify's.  Is there a way to use Boxify to calculate the shipping cost to charge our customers AND use Shopify to purchase and print our labels?  Would we need to set up all of our box sizes in Shopify under "Settings > Shipping > Packages > Saved Packages"?

It's a bit mind-blowing that Shopify doesn't support product dimensions and dimensional weight shipping rate caluclation out of the box.  Most ecommerce systems support this!  

[Ryder]

Hey there, @electricspeed!

Ryder here, from the Social Care Team at Shopify. Thanks for posting! To clarify, Shopify Shipping does support package dimensions and weight calculations when you purchase a shipping label; however, the calculation shown to customers at checkout is based on size and weight of the 'Default package' in your Settings > Shipping > Packages section:

Because you're using drastically different box sizes and weights, you can absolutely use the Boxify app to provide your customers with an accurate reflection of shipping rates whilst taking advantage of Shopify Shipping's label rates. You'll just need to go into your Orders and buy a shipping label. Here, you'll have the option to pick an existing Package size/weight (which you'd be able to create and save in the Packages section of your Shipping Settings) - or you can click Add package to create and use a new package for the order:

Based on the chosen package size and weight, Shopify Shipping will then calculate the appropriate cost for shipping label. Have you already added a Shipping Policy? You can add your store policies in Settings > Legal, but there isn't a template generator for the Shipping Policy field. You may be interested in referencing this Oberlo guide for a template and tips on what to include in this policy. 

I hope this helps! Please let me know if there's anything I can clarify.

Cheers.

[shelleyhoist]

Ryan, so are you saying that the shipping rates on the label that I buy WILL be calculated using the shopify discounted rates? 

[Ryder]

Sorry, @shelleyhoist, I didn't realize your question was directed towards me! That's correct, the rates on the shipping label that you purchase are calculated through Shopify Shipping's discounted rates. You can find some example rates in this guide. Hope that helps!

Cheers.

[John_Edwards]

But does the customer see the Shopify rates when they are making their purchase?

[Ryder]

Great question, @John_Edwards! The rates shown to customers at checkout will depend on which shipping rates you've set up in your Shipping Settings. Whether you've set up flat-based rates, Shopify Shipping rates, or third-party carrier-calculated rates, that's what your customer will see at checkout. 

Cheers.

[PabloGainza]

I already have a 3rd party calculated shipping provider here in the UK whose prices appear to customers at checkout.

Am I able to install Boxify to get around the 'only one default package' issue in Shopify, and somehow select in Shopify which 3rd party calulated rates to pull prices from?

In other words, I don't want to use Boxify's pricing for shipping, I just want to take advantage of the ability in Boxify to set a specific size, and have my thrid party courier company generate pricing based on these boxify sizes is that possible?

I'm not entirely sure how Boxify would assign dimensions for each of my products - once I create package sizes, is there somehow a 'package dimension dropdown' that appears in each product options which I can select from?

[SharonReeds]

Hey @PabloGainza,

You would have to use Boxify for the calculation at checkout and they aren't integrated with any UK carriers. You assign them within the app and then Boxify does the live rate calculation at checkout (we offer similar apps to them which is how I know).

Who is the third-party carrier you are using? 

Warm regards,
Sharon 

[mdtwee]

I also have this question.

I want to use Smart Boxing to calculate rates for our different package sizes, but I want to take advantage of Shopify's discounted rates (I'm in the US).

Is this possible? It seems strange that I need a 3rd party app to calculate rates, but they don't offer the same discounts? Please advise - thank you!

[Chadwick97]

You can add a handling fee and then your customers would see the live rates (Shopify discounted) plus the handling fee as one line in the checkout. 

[Strawberrytreef]

Then, as boxify builds different combinations of products within boxes, can they be saved? Also, does the shipping charge still reflect the default or will it reflect the boxify built? And, the boxify built will take advantage of Shopify lower rates?

thank you

[typesandsymbols]

@Ryder this is helpful, but not really answering the question. I’m looking to accomplish two things: 

1) I need to setup unique box sizes for each product (a third party app like Boxify handles this well). 

2) I need to calculate shipping rates at checkout using Shopify’s discounted rates instead of the rates I’m able to get using our company credentials. We need this, because the rates are SIGNIFICANTLY different. For example, we have a product that costs $148 to ship via UPS to Australia from the USA using Shopify rates, but the cost to ship that some product using the rates we get using our credentials is $464!!

The fact that we’re not able to simply specify box dimensions per product within Shopify to get an accurate calculation on checkout seems bananas. How is this not just built in? 

Regardless, can you please respond to help me understand how to do this? 

[LeonAndrew]

Any clarity added to this? It's very frustrating how different the prices can be. They're similar enough on the lower/smaller end, but as the packages get larger the difference is astounding between the prices I'm able to get from carriers (shown in boxify/checkout to the customer) and what I actually pay with Shopify or Shippo. 

As it is now without Boxify feel like people are seeing higher prices and not purchasing for smaller items and then aren't paying enough for larger items. 

[IPP_Canada]

As I understand the problem, its that the actual dimension & weight based shipping rate is not calculated accurately until you buy the label. So the rate the customer sees at checkout and agrees to pay on their order, is not correct.