How can I optimize shipping costs for multiple items on Shopify?

[lmartini]

I have a default package (smallest one) set up in shopify for one item. When a person orders more than one item and the order is too large for that box, the customer is charged for the USPS priority mail fee. My last order was   large and the customer paid $11.00 according to shopify charging for the small box - and I was charged the rest of the postage - $20.  I packaged the order in a USPS priority box 4 which would have cost me $17.05 but I had already printed the shipping label for $30. I should have asked the Post office clerk but felt they wouldn't know what i was talking about. 

Is there an app that might be better to use? And does it integrate with shopify shipping?

Is there a way around this or should I be doing something different in my shipping setup - shopify hasn't been helpful. Or I'll just keep taking less profit...

Shopify sent me an article on offering free shipping but I think my products are expensive enough and don't want them to be even more expensive - I am wary about that.

Thanx in advance for your help!

[JoesIdeas]

You can configure your shipping however you'd like. For example if you know that certain products will require additional charge on additional units, you can set your shipping cost by weight. If you want to charge by box just set the product weight to 1, then when they order 2 it would trigger a shipping price you have set up for weight > 1 or weight = 2.

If you're looking for shipping apps, here are 2 that I used when I used to run a store:

- https://apps.shopify.com/easyship

- https://apps.shopify.com/shippo

We used Shippo for domestic (US) orders and Easy Ship for international orders.

Another option you can use carrier calculated shipping: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shipping/setting-up-and-managing-your-shipping/enabling-shipping-...

[lmartini]

Thanx for replying. I'm not exactly following...Where do I go to set up by number of items rather than the box? Under each product and then if more than one is ordered the system calculates the number of items and assigns the postage?

[lmartini]

I already have USPS carrier calculated rates set up but not sure I have an account set up with USPS so I will do that now. 

[JoesIdeas]

You could set up by weight by changing your ship settings to weight, and then the weight of each product. That's just one way I've seen this done, if you want to control shipping costs more.

This might help with where to set up shipping settings / understanding more how they work: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shipping/setting-up-and-managing-your-shipping/setting-up-shippin...

[lmartini]

This is all above me. I watched the video and read the article but I'm still lost.

Where do you find shipping profile? General shipping rates or create a new profile?

[kolevich]

Hi @lmartini,
True, there is a serious single "default box" limitation for live rates in Shopify that causes shipping rates inaccuracy. However there are a few apps that solve it well. In Calcurates app we have a feature called "Smart Packaging". You list all your packages, set product dimensions with Shopify metafields and then our app virtually and automatically pre-packs the order into available packages considering products' dimensions and weight. And finally, we request carrier live rates for the order using applied packages. That results in high-accurate real-time rates based on dimensions. Happy to serve you with a free initial setup.