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USPS now offers a seamless API for calculating shipping rates for different USPS services.
All you need to do is sign-up for an API key, find a developer, and decide what shipping options you would like to offer customers on your store. That part is actually pretty simple.
What is not so simple is integrating the API to determine precise box sizes when shipping via Priority Mail. There are also a couple of
tidbits on information that USPS has left out of the
Rate Calulator API Documentation that could bite you
in the behind at the Post Office window. And that is only if you go to the Post Office. If you print shipping labels from your office and foul up shipping charges
on Priority Mail then you customers may be asked to pay the balance when the order arrives. Ouch!
USPS Box Sizes
USPS has three standard box sizes that your package will fall under:
- REGULAR - boxes that measure 84" or less (length + distance around widest part)
- LARGE - boxes larger than 84" but less than 108" (length + distance around widest part)
- OVERSIZE - boxes larger than 108" but less than 130" (length + distance around widest part)
These box sizes apply to all of their shipping services. The box size is not required when shipping REGULAR or OVERSIZE boxes. You only need the weight.
However, when using Priority Mail, USPS requires a box size for LARGE packages. I strongly recommend that store owners always set their package size to LARGE and
provide a box size for Priority Mail no matter what.
84" vs. One Cubic Foot (1,728")
One Cubic Foot = 12 x 12 x 12 = 1,728"
As stated, a box qualifies for a REGULAR box size if it's length plus it's girth equate to 84" or less. So, if we have a box that is
30" X 5" x 5" then we have a total of 50" of box space - 30" long, 5" high (x2), and 5" wide(x2). We are under 84" and we can ship Priority Mail
using the designated REGULAR box size.
Now lets look at a box that is 30" X 10" X 10". Our total box size is 70". Great! We can use the REGULAR box size again, right?
WRONG! This is where you need to be careful. The USPS documentation, at this time, does not warn customers about boxes that are larger
than one cubic foot (1,728"). Despite the fact that our box size is under 84", if we multiply 30 x 10 x 10 we come out at a total box inch value
of 3,000". That is much larger than one cubic foot. We must now use the LARGE box size, which incurs additional fees, and requires the store
owner to provide the box dimensions (length, width, height) in order to calculate the shipping rate for Priority Mail.
How in the Heck Can I Determine What Box Size I Will Need?
A careful examination of your inventory will need to be done. One way or another you will need to account for the box dimensions when
shipping Priority Mail. Rates do vary based
on the box size within the 84" - 108" window. Trying to use one general box size may produce widely inaccurate shipping rates and cost you business.
You may find that you only have a couple of items that will require a large box size. You will need to examine the contents of the cart for such items
and set the rate calculator to LARGE with the appropriate box dimensions when offering Priority Mail shipping for those items. That is easy enough but
it may not be that simple. Most likely, you will need to expand the administrative console of your store (i.e. the private area where you add/edit/delete store items)
to accept length, width, and height for all your store items. What if the customer orders multiple items?
Multiple Item Orders
Where the process of calculating shipping rates for Priority Mail gets more complicated is multi-item orders. Those who want shipping
rates that are as close to accurate as possbile must analyze all the items that the user has put in the cart and make a determination, on the fly, as to what
the dimensions of the box will be. Then use that to determine what size box you have. There is some good news. If you set the box size to
always be LARGE and provide box dimensions every time then you will find that the LARGE option will calculate the proper rate even
if the box qualifies for the lesser REGULAR size box. Thus, if you set your Priority Mail option to always calculate rates
for a LARGE box and you submit a box that is 10" X 10" X 10", far below a LARGE box size, it will give you the rate of a REGULAR size box.
That being said, we must get back to where we started - determining the size of box required to ship the order so our Priority Mail
option comes out with an accurate price. You do not want to show up at the post office with a box determined to cost $8.00 to ship
Priority and find out it will actually cost $20.00 to ship Priority.
Getting the Box Size as Close to Accurate as Possible
To determine the size of box that we are going to need for our Priority Mail order we must analyze all items in the cart.
Lets take a look at a sample order:
- 2 Ice Fishing Rod 30" X 1" X 1"
- 2 Ice Fishing Reels 4" X 4" X 4"
- 2 Ice Fishing Tackle Boxes 6" X 2" X 2"
Find Length
The first thing we want to do is determine the length of our longest item. We analyze the cart and see that our longest item is the
Ice Fishing Rod at 30". We know we need a box that is 30" tall. We now want to take the quantity of Ice Fishing Rods and multiply
that by the width of one ice fishing rod. We now know the longest item will also require 2" of width in the box. We do the same
for the height. We multiply the height of one Ice Fishing Rod times the quantity and get a value of 2" high. So, as a benchmark,
we are starting with a box that must be 30" X 2" X 2".
Find Longest Width/Height
Now we need to see if we have other items in our order. We do. We now want to find the widest item of all remaining items in the order.
Width and height is up to the determination of the shipper. What constitutes width or height depends on how your boxes will
lay in the package. Thus, we must look at both the width and height here to get the largest value.
We see we have Ice Fishing Reels in our order that have the largest width/height of remaining items at 4". We now want to add that
4" to the already established width of the ice fishing rods (2"). We now know that our box must be 6" wide. It would be a good idea
to now also consider our box 6" high for the sake of simplicity. This also allows you a little extra leeway in the event we
have an item that fits sort of funny in the box and takes up more room than it's actual space because of awkward size or some
other factor. We are now looking at a box that we know must be 30" tall by 6" wide and 6" high. Will it need to be wider? Lets see.
Are We There Yet?
Since we know that sitting next to our 30" ice fishing rod is a space that is 6" wide, 6" high, and 30" tall we can analyze the rest of the items
to see if they will fit in this space. We already know that none of them are wider or higher than 4" but how tall will they be if stacked on
top of one another? We now add the height of all the remaining items. The two ice fishing reels will account for 8" of height while
the tackle boxes will account for 4" of height. That gives us a total of 12" of height for all remaining items. Now compare that
number with the height of the longest item - the 30" ice fishing rod. Since 12" is less than 30" we know that our box
will be 30" X 6" X 6".
Allow Room for Packaging Materials!
It would be a good idea at this time to expand our box 1" on each side to allow for a buffer area for packaging material.
Opinions may vary but for this example we will allow for 1" of shrink wrap, bubble foam, newspaper, etc... So lets
make our box 32" X 8" X 8" so we have adequate room to secure our items.
I GOT YA!
This is one area where people can lose profit on sales. Did you see what just happened? If we used a box size of 30" X 6" X 6"
then our box size would be under 84" and total box inches would be 1,080" which is also less than one cubic foot (1,728"). BUT when we added the
additional area for packing material we went to 32" X 8" X 8" for a grand total of 2,048" box inches which is over one cubic foot and will require
us to use a LARGE box size despite the fact that the length plus the girth of the box is under 84".
What If Additional Items Were Taller Than 30"?
Then you would need to account for a third row in the box. You would simply add 6" to another side making your box
30" X 12" X 6". Then add the packaging material to the box for a total box size of 32" X 14" X 6".
To what length you have to go to get accurate Priority Mail shipping costs on your Website will vary based on your inventory and how large
your orders usually are. Those who want to ensure that they always come out on top in the shipping department need to analyze items
in their order and make a determination of box size on the fly. Otherwise, Priority Mail may not be a shipping option you will
want to offer.
Do you have questions about calculating shipping costs on your Website? Are you looking to have your own shopping cart built that will
incorporate real-time USPS shipping charges and need a developer? Please contact us in one of the following ways:
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