Are UPS Shipping Rates in Cart Correct?

[dreamer07]

I have an item that is 12x12x12 and weighs 40 lbs. I checked on the UPS site for cost estimates, and they're different than what the cart is estimating. The cart is estimating much lower prices. Are they correct and I've entered something wrong? Or is this a known problem and I shouldn't use UPS Shipping rules?

[E-junkie_Monster]

Unfortunately the best we can manage with UPS is a very general ground quote based on zip codes and weight, our cart is unable to account for things that UPS asks for like package dimensions or the buyer's specific address (which we will not know until the order is complete). Depending on your circumstances it may be better to declare your costs by other means if you will be shipping with UPS.



You may be able to continue using packaging costs for this particular item, for example if you assign it to a Large Box and set the cost of that package to match your average shipping cost with UPS you will able to easily cover your costs for this particular item without changing any of your other settings.



If you ever need to add another additional charge for international shipping or shipping to more expensive locations outside the continental US then you can also augment your packaging costs by adding a few shipping rules. For example you can create a rule for a flat rate of $0 for domestic orders which adds nothing on top of your package costs, and a rule for other countries that is based on weight or just a higher flat amount to account for extra costs shipping long distances.

[dreamer07]

Thank you!

[dreamer07]

I did get this to work, but I messed up another item in the process. From my first issue in my post just before this one (Adjusting Shipping for Additional Containers if Needed) you helped me and it was working fine.



I have 2 items. One is shipped via usps in a flat rate box. I'm not using any shipping rules on that one, but have entered the flat rate cost in the Define Packaging list. For my other item (this post), it is shipped UPS since it is so heavy. I adjusted the average difference in cost between UPS and E-Junkie's estimate in the Define Packaging for large box, and created a shipping rule with to still use EJ's estimate for UPS Ground. It was working great, but now my first item shows an error code.



I assume the problem is because I have two different shipping methods, UPS and USPS. Is there a way around this?

[E-junkie_Guru]

In the product settings for the item that ships in a USPS flat-rate box, specify a shipping weight of 0.00 and select a Package Type that you will only use for that product, with a Capacity indicating how many units of that product can be shipped within that flat rate. Then in your Cart Shipping Settings, set that flat rate as the Cost of the Package Type you use for that product, but leave the package Weight at 0.00. Leaving the product and package weight sttings at 0.00 will exclude this item from any UPS/USPS rate lookups.



For the other item that ships by UPS, you could just use the same method as above to define a different nationwide flat rate, which you'd simply assign as the Cost for a different Package Type you only use for this product. However, if you prefer to have us perform a UPS Ground rate lookup for this item, be sure you specify an accurate per-unit Weight in the product's settings, select a different Package Type than your other product, and leave the empty Weight of that Package Type at 0.00 (or enter the empty weight of the container itself) in your Cart Shipping Settings. If the standard UPS Ground rate we obtain from UPS for this item is insufficient (e.g., because the item is oversize/overweight for basic UPS Ground service), you may wish to also specify a Cost for this item's Package Type that would be added as a flat surcharge on top of the base UPS Ground rate we obtain.



It appears you've deleted any shipping rules you may have previously set up, so I can't tell the reason for the shipping -error- you mentioned anymore, but that -error- would indicate the buyer's cart order does not qualify for any shipping rules you have set up.

[dreamer07]

Okay, so I did create a new shipping rule for the UPS, and did add extra $ to the Cart Shipping Settings for the large box (UPS), and I'm not getting an error code on either item now. It's unlikely that someone would buy the USPS shipped item and the UPS shipped item at the same time, but if they did, it seems the shipping amounts don't add up like they should.



I am satisfied with how the shipping is now figuring either item when added to the cart individually, it's when one is added, then the other that it doesn't add shipping amount correctly.

[E-junkie_Chef]

Unfortunately, due to the unusual way you have this set up, ordering both items would indeed mess up the UPS rate lookup, as that would be obtaining a rate for the total order weight distributed across 2 (or more) separate parcels, rather than only counting the 40-lb. item(s) as UPS-shippable parcels and disregarding the other product entirely.

[E-junkie_Guru]

Unfortunately, due to the unusual way you have this set up, it's true that ordering both items would indeed mess up the UPS rate lookup, as that would be obtaining a rate for the total order weight distributed across 2 (or more) separate parcels, rather than only counting the 40-lb. item(s) as UPS-shippable parcels and disregarding the other product entirely.