Hello,
I am working on improving the shipping aspect of my store and I am wondering about calculated rates. We never use Shopify shipping labels to ship our products, we use UPS computer software and a USPS mailing station in our office. We already receive discounted rates from these shipping methods.
I’ve set up shipping for smaller products and our flat rates work perfectly, but we also ship some larger items. I am curious about how I can set up the shipping rates for these items. All products have weights inputted, and some larger items are under two pounds but have box sizes that can measure up to 60 inches in length. This makes the shipping rates higher than a small two pound item. I have multiple packages set up in the admin, but it seems to be only using one package for the calculated shipping. How can I ensure I have accurate rates for these large package items?
What I am also wondering is if I set up calculated rates to get the pricing correct for the shipping, will I be forced to use Shopify labels or be charged for these labels? I basically just want my pricing to be correct so I can use the same shipping methods we currently use.
This is a long winded question, so I appreciate any help. Thanks!
Hi @classictrimpart ,
Thank you for getting in touch and for detailing your situation. Finding the optimal shipping solution for your store can be a tricky task, and I’d be happy to offer some advice and answer your questions below.
Firstly, if you decide to offer carrier-calculated shipping rates at checkout you will not then be required to buy shipping labels through Shopify Shipping. Offering shipping rates to your customers and buying shipping labels are two separate processes and how you decide to handle each one is up to you. You can even decide to change how you approach shipping on an order-by-order basis, if you wanted (e.g. buying labels through Shopify for some orders and from a third-party for others).
I would encourage you to work out the costs of buying labels through Shopify vs. buying them from your current sources, and factor that into your decision. Many merchants use Shopify Shipping as it allows them to buy labels directly from the admin, but it’s still straightforward to buy labels from elsewhere and add tracking information to orders when you fulfil them.
It’s generally advisable to buy a shipping label for the same service you are offering to your customers at checkout—for example, if a customer pays for a shipping rate titled “UPS Ground (1-3 business days)”, then selecting UPS Ground as your choice of label is good practise so that the customer is getting what they’re paying for in terms of shipping.
In terms of setting up your shipping rates for larger items, you may wish to consider the use of a dedicated shipping app. You are able to set a default package size within your shipping settings and this will be used when calculating dimensional weight for most carriers at checkout, but if you have multiple package sizes for your products then apps such as Boxify and Advanced Shipping Rates are worth considering. These apps allow you to better manage which boxes are being used to ship which products, which in turn allows you to charge your customers more accurate shipping rates in comparison to what you’ll be paying when you ship them yourself.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if you’ve any other questions!
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This was extremely helpful, thank you!
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Hi @classictrimpart ,
You’re very welcome! I’m glad that I was able to help. Please feel free to reach out again if you have further questions.