I have seen apps such as Boxify that offer real-time shipping rate calculations during checkout based on product-specific dimensions.
In my case, I am using another app which syncs my ebay inventory with my shopify inventory. This includes the feature where if a product is added to ebay, it will automatically get added and published to my shopify online store. The app also allows me to add metafields or any product information available via the shopify graphql api when the product is being imported from ebay to shopify.
I’m not sure where exactly apps like Boxify are storing the product dimensions. If they aren’t stored somewhere in the shopify product object (and so stored internally on the third party app server), then each time a new product is added to my online store from ebay I will have to manually add the dimensions myself. If they are stored somewhere in the product object, then I can have the syncing app add the dimensions to the appropriate fields of the product, and then an app like Boxify will grab that information and do the shipping calculation during checkout.
Are there any apps that would be compatible with this approach?
You can use our app JsRates to pull dimensions from product or variant metafields - and calculate shipping rates based on the dimension. If you are keen, install the app and reach out using “Contact support” in the app for a free setup service. The app has free demo plan; you will upgrade to paid plan after you are satisfied with the setup.
I only have the basic shopify plan but this app requires that my store have access to shopify’s third-party carrier-calculated shipping.
Edit: Looks like any app that does real-time shipping rate calculations during checkout requires carrier-calculated shipping (CCS). Apparently there are multiple ways to get CCS:
Switch to Shopify Annual Billing
When you bill annually through Shopify, CCS comes built-in. To change your billing cycle, please follow the Shopify documentation here
Switch to the Shopify Advanced or Plus plans
Just like annual billing, these plans include CCS at no additional cost. For more information on how to change your plan, please follow the Shopify documentation here
Pay monthly for CCS
If neither of the first two options make sense for your shop, you can simply ask Shopify to enable this feature for a monthly fee ($20 USD)
I found this app Shipping Rates - Shipeasy . I think this is what I am looking for. The highest tier is $24.99 per month (as of today) and explicitly mentions that it allows syncing product metafields for dimension
Edit: It appears Shipping Rates - Shipeasy also requires CCS (carrier-calculated shipping) for it to work
In that case, I don’t see why I should go with JsRates over Shipping Rates - Shipeasy when shipeasy uses metafields on the $25/month plan (JsRates is $35/month as of now). In my case, I just need the dimensions that the app uses to do shipping rate calculations at checkout to be stored in product metafields. I will try the shipeasy free trial and if that doesn’t work for my use case I will consider JsRates or other alternatives.
There’ve been a few suitable solutions offered. I’ll offer up Starshipit as an option too We handle this by letting you store product details directly within the Starshipit. You can either import them from your sales channel or just maintain a database in Starshipit directly.
Did you find it useful? I checked the documentation and Shipeasy does not look into existing metafields, but offers its own database for shipping dimensions. I can only edit these dimensions in the Shipeasy app and not in my product editor, as metafield. I need to calculate my shipping rates based on dimensions that i have already stored in my own metafields. I haven’t found one yet.
I haven’t tried shipeasy yet. Since I have third party carrier calculated shipping enabled in my store, I am planning to just create my own custom app to do calculated shipping. Activating third party carrier calculated shipping gives your store access to the following api: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-rest/2024-10/resources/carrierservice. Once an app is registered as a carrier service, shopfiy will request shipping information from it in real time during checkout. I have also already set up an account with USPS to access their api.
We handle this by letting you store product details directly within the Starshipit. You can either import them from your sales channel or just maintain a database in Starshipit directly.