Carrier calculated shipping

Calculate the shipping cost at checkout based on a product's size and weight, and the real time rates for USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Use carrier calculated shipping, also called “real-time rates,” to automatically calculate shipping fees based on FedEx, UPS, and USPS rates. It uses package weight, dimensions, and addresses to determine accurate shipping prices and group orders into the best-fitting packages.

Carrier calculated shipping is available on the Commerce Advanced, Premium, and certain legacy billing plans. It's available for domestic shipping within the United States. It's not available for shipping to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands.

Before you begin

• When you enable a carrier service through this integration, your customers’ shipping data will be shared with the carrier to enable the carrier to calculate the cost of shipping your products to your customers.
• We don’t currently support custom negotiated rates with carriers.
• When carrier calculated shipping is enabled, shopping carts have a 150-item limit to keep shipping estimates accurate. Without carrier calculated shipping, the limit is 500 items.
• You can also buy and print USPS shipping labels for directly from your site. To learn more, visit Buy and print shipping labels. To print labels for other carriers, connect a shipping extension.

Supported carrier services and containers

Here are the carrier services you can offer through this integration. You can also add custom containers if you ship orders in generic boxes or envelopes.

Step 1 - Add dimensions and weight to all products

Add dimensions and weights to all products based on how they're shipped. When all products have accurate dimensions, customers’ orders group into the best-fitting packages with the best rates.

To add dimensions and weight to a product:

1. Open the product.
2. Click Advanced shipping.
3. Add measurements to the Length, Width, Height, and Weight fields. Use measurements that cover how the products are boxed for shipping, including any wrapping and packing materials—not the item’s dimensions as-is.

Tip: For example, a poster is 24" x 36" laid flat. When shipped in a poster tube, its dimensions are 3" x 36". Use the tube dimensions, not the flat dimensions, since it ships in the tube.

4. Repeat these steps for all products already in your store. When you add new products in the future, complete these steps too.

Fit your products in fewer containers

For large orders, our system groups products into the fewest number of containers. If several products should fit in one container but get placed in two separate containers, decrease your product's length, width, and height by at least one inch. This way, you'll account for package padding and ship your products in fewer containers.

Find products with missing weights and dimensions

The best way to ensure all products have weights and dimensions is to review products in the Products panel. If a product has variants, click the arrow beside the product image to show all variants. After you add a carrier calculated shipping option, products with missing weights and dimensions will display Missing weight and Missing dimensions in red beside each variant missing these details. Double click the product or variant to edit it.

Add dimensions to product descriptions (optional)

Dimensions and weights added in the Advanced shipping section aren’t visible to customers. To display products’ dimensions as-is (for example, a poster’s flat dimensions), add them to products' descriptions instead.

Step 2 - Add shipping services and optional markup

Next, use the settings in the Formula tab to help calculate shipping costs.

To set up a carrier calculated shipping option:

1. Open the Shipping panel. You can also use the ? key while any panel is open and search shipping.
2. Click Add Shipping Option.
3. Choose a carrier, either UPS, FedEx, or USPS.
4. In the Formula tab, check the carrier’s services you use. For a list of supported services, see Supported carrier services and containers. You don't need to use every service the carrier offers.
5. Optional: Below the list of services, enter a percentage or flat amount Markup to charge more than the estimated cost. This is a useful way to cover the price of packaging, handling, time spent, potential margins of error, or other costs.
6. Enter the Ship From Zip Code based on where you ship orders from. Shipping rates will be calculated based on distance from this postal code.

Here’s an example of a Formula tab for USPS rates:

Step 3 - Add containers

Next, add containers, which are the boxes, envelopes, or packages you use to ship orders. We’ll estimate the best shipping rates for orders based on the fewest number of packages and smallest containers possible. You can choose from:

Standard carrier containers

Carrier services offer many standard containers for your shipping needs. For example, FedEx® Small Pak or UPS Small Express Box.

Custom containers

Add custom containers if you use generic boxes/envelopes. You'll need to use custom containers for certain carrier services, including:

• FedEx Ground Home Delivery
• UPS Ground and 3 Day Select
• USPS Priority Mail Express (containers need to meet the USPS minimum size requirements).

For a complete list of supported containers and custom container dimensions, go to Supported carrier services and containers.

Tip: If you're not sure what's best, choose slightly bigger containers than you think you'll need. If containers can only fit one product at a time, the integration will group large orders into multiple packages, which could significantly increase shipping costs.

Add the carrier's containers

To add a carrier's standard containers:

1. Click the FedEx Containers, UPS Containers, or Flat-Rate Boxes tab, depending on the carrier.
2. If carrier containers are available for any of the services you chose, check Use FedEx Containers, Use UPS Containers, or Use Flat-Rate Boxes.
3. Review the containers available for the service, and use the checkbox to confirm you'll use them. For a list of supported containers, visit Supported carrier services and containers.

Note: Some services don't use carrier containers. If you choose a service that doesn't have carrier containers, you'll be prompted to add custom containers in the next tab.

Add custom containers

If you use your own boxes or envelopes when shipping with this carrier, add shipping containers with custom dimensions:

1. In the Custom Containers tab, click Add a custom container.
2. Enter a Container name and its Dimensions.
3. Click the + icon to add more containers.
4. When you're done, click Save to save the shipping option.

An error message might appear if a custom container is larger than the package sizes offered by your carrier. For tips on shipping oversized items, visit Selling large or heavy products.

How rates appear at checkout

On the checkout page, shipping options appear after a customer enters their address. The prices are calculated based on how the items in their order will be packaged (based on weight and dimensions) and their shipping address. If there are multiple options, customers can compare and choose from them.

Run test orders to check rates and packaging

To test how rates for different product combinations are calculated and placed in containers, run test orders.

If rates are higher than expected

If calculated rates in a test or live order seem high, check them against the provider's rate calculator:

• UPS
• FedEx
• USPS

You can usually lower the price by adding custom containers or reducing products’ packing dimensions so they better fit your containers. If you have questions about how a shipping price was calculated in a test or live order, contact us. Include the order number(s) so we can help.

Shipping oversized items

To ship items that exceed your carrier's package sizes or weight limits, using a different shipping option like Depending on Weight or Flat Rate is usually the best solution. For more tips, visit Selling large or heavy products.