ShipStation, in partnership with BigCommerce, has recently enhanced our Checkout Rates feature to include the dimensional options Volume and Cartonization for calculating Live Checkout Rates. This update leverages our sophisticated dimensional analyzing algorithm to send both the weight and dimensions of shipments to carriers. Previously, our Checkout Rates feature relied solely on shipment weight to determine live rates. By taking into account both package size and weight, we can significantly increase the accuracy of the rate quotes we receive from carriers.
If you would like the opportunity to try ShipStation's Dimensional Live Checkout Rates, you can join our beta testing phase by filling out our form. You must have a BigCommerce store connected to join.
Once you have joined the beta program, follow these steps to configure your Live Checkout Rates in ShipStation.
When you choose the Live Rates pricing method, ShipStation will query the carrier APIs for the services you selected. Then, ShipStation will choose the cheapest rate to display on the checkout page.
If you opt to include a rate adjustment, ShipStation will adjust the rate we receive from the carrier API and display the adjusted rate on the checkout page.
To configure the Live Rate Pricing Method:
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Open your store settings and go to the Checkout Rates tab.
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Click the Add Checkout Rate button.
This will open the Create Checkout Rate page.
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Choose Live Rate from the Rate Type menu.
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Enter a Checkout Rate Name and Description.
Your customer will see both the name and description you enter here on their checkout screen. For example, name the option Standard Shipping with the description, "Usually arrives in 3-5 days."
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Select at least one service from the Service drop-down.
If you select multiple services, ShipStation will query the rates for each service from the carrier APIs, compare them, and then return only the cheapest option to display to your customer in the store checkout.
For example, your Standard Shipping options include UPS Ground, FedEx Ground (for US merchants) and your national carrier's ground service as possible services. If ShipStation sees UPS Ground offers the cheapest rate for the shipment, your customer will see the UPS Ground rate for the Standard Shipping option at checkout.
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Select your Set Rate Calculation Method.
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Simple (By Volume): The dimensions sent to the carriers will be based on the total volume of all items in the cart.
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Cartonization: The dimensions sent to the carriers will be based on the best fit of the cart items in your available custom packages.
Go to the About Calculation Methods section for more details on each option.
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Set your Backup Item Dimensions.
These are the dimensions ShipStation will send to the carriers if you have not added package dimensions to your product records. Go to the Using Product Dimensions & Backup Dimensions section if you would like more details about this setting.
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Choose your Rate Adjustment options.
You can choose to add or deduct either a percentage or a flat amount to the rate returned by the carrier API. Or, to not adjust the rate at all.
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Choose an option If Rates are Unavailable:
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Do not display this rate: ShipStation will not display this rate option on the checkout screen.
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Charge a flat rate: ShipStation will show the amount you enter as the rate for this shipping option during checkout.
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Charge a % of Cart: ShipStation will multiply the pre-tax cart total by the percentage entered and display that number as the rate for this shipping option during checkout.
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Check the box to make the option Active and Visible In Your Marketplace and save your changes when done.
The following details explain how live rates are applied to multi-box shipments and how to calculate the size of your shipment: By Volume or Cartonization.
This is the default option. When you select By Volume as a Checkout Rates calculation method, ShipStation will calculate the total volume of all items in the cart based on the item dimensions you have added to the product records (either the Package Dimensions for the product or the preset group, if the item is part of a preset group). If no item dimensions are present for the product, ShipStation will use the Backup Dimensions.
This volume calculation - along with the weight and ship to and ship from postal codes - is what ShipStation sends to the carriers to get rate estimates for the shipment.
If you have custom packages configured in your ShipStation account, you can instead choose the Cartonization option. In this case, ShipStation will calculate the volume of the items in the cart - again based on Package Dimension set for your product or the Backup Dimensions set in Checkout Rates - and attempt to find the best fit within your custom packages for all the items. ShipStation will then send the volume of the "best fit" custom package to the carriers to get a rate estimate for the shipment.
ShipStation will try to "fit" as many items as possible from the cart into the custom package dimensions. If there are items in the cart that won't fit into the largest available custom package, ShipStation will take the volume of the "best fit" custom package and add the volume of the remaining items. This combined total volume will then be what ShipStation sends to the carriers to get a rate estimate for the shipment.
Here is an example of how this would work. If the cart includes 7 items, but only 5 fit in the largest available custom package, ShipStation will try to fit the remaining 2 items into another custom package.
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If they fit, ShipStation will make two rate calls to the carrier (one for each package).
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If they do not fit, ShipStation will calculate the volume of the remaining 2 items and make two rate calls to the carrier (one with the custom package dimensions and the other with the volume of the remaining items).
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For both scenarios, the rates for the 2 rate calls will then be added together for the total rate.
Keep in mind that the custom package details do not import into ShipStation with the order. Checkout Rates only uses this to get a rate estimate for your customer during checkout. You must still select your preferred package when configuring shipments in ShipStation.
If you apply a live rate adjustment to an order that is a multi-box shipment, that adjustment will apply to the shipment as a whole, not to each individual box.
For example, say you configure a checkout-rate adjustment to charge $2 less on qualifying shipments. A customer's cart includes a multi-package shipment, with an initial shipping rate of $17: $7 for one package plus $10 for the other. With your applied live rate adjustment, your customer will see $15 (7+10-2) as their shipping rate.
Say you configure Backup Item Dimensions that apply a rate of $20. If you have a multi-package shipment but no rates are returned, then ShipStation will apply the Backup Item Dimension rate only once. The customer will be charged $20.
For the Live Rates option to return the most accurate rate estimates from the carriers, we need to let the carrier know the dimensions of the package to be shipped. Currently, Checkout Rates will look to see if the order items include Package Dimensions in their Product Details.
If you have entered dimensions here, ShipStation will use these dimensions for your Checkout Rates calculation method (by volume or cartonization). If no dimensions have been entered here, ShipStation will instead send the Backup Dimensions you entered in the Checkout Rate's settings as the dimensions for the shipment.
For the most accurate rates, we recommend adding package dimensions to all of your product records.
To add dimensions to a product record:
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Click an item name to open the Product Details screen.
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Go to the Shipping tab.
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Add the length, width, and height of the item into the Package dimensions fields.
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Check the option to Apply changes to open orders (this will update any order currently in Awaiting Shipment that contains this product) and click Save.
The Free and Flat Rate options will show your customers the rate you enter in ShipStation. It will not pull rates from any carriers.
Use the Free option if you do not wish to charge a shipping fee for orders placed in this store. When using the Free option, there are no additional configuration steps. Select Free and click Save.
Flat Rates are a good option if you want to charge the same shipping fee for all orders from this store.
To set a Flat Rate:
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Open your store settings and go to the Checkout Rates tab.
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Click the Add Checkout Rate button.
This will open the Define New Checkout Rate page.
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Select Flat Rate from the Rate Type menu.
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Enter a Checkout Rate Name and Description.
Your customer will see both the name and description you enter here on their checkout screen. For example, name the option Standard Shipping with the description, "Usually arrives in 3-5 days."
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Enter an amount for your Flat Rate.
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Check the box to make the option Active and Visible In Your Marketplace and save your changes.
Once you have configured the options you'd like your customers to see at checkout, click the Preview button to see what rates and details ShipStation will send for an example shipment.
To preview your Checkout Rates options:
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Click the Preview button in the Checkout Rates tab of your store setup.
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Select a Country, then enter a Zip Code and a package Weight.
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Click the Preview Rates button.
For this example, the preview shows the customer will see three shipping options in the Shopify checkout screen: Standard Delivery, Expedited, and Fastest. Options that do not apply or do not give a lower rate will be greyed out.
Hiding Rate Options
You can hover over the greyed-out option to see a tooltip for why the option may not be visible on the checkout screen.
ShipStation sends the name and description you configured in ShipStation, and the transit time and rate received from the carrier API.
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Check the Show Advanced Preview box, then click Preview Rates for a more accurate preview. This level of detail requires residential or commercial addresses and street addresses.
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You can configure Checkout Rates for both domestic and international services.
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Checkout Rates does not automatically apply your customer's service selection to the shipment in ShipStation. However, if you would like to always ship your orders with the same service your customer selected at checkout, you can set ShipStation to do so.
Go to
Store Setup > Checkout Ratesand check the box for On order import, automatically set the Shipping Service selected by the customer at checkout and save your changes.This setting will override any other service mappings that could apply to the order. You can always change the service for the shipment if you decide to use a different service for any reason.
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UPS rates: If you have both your own UPS account as well as UPS from ShipStation set up in ShipStation, the rates for each account will likely be different. Be sure to select the UPS from ShipStation services in the Checkout Rates live rate setup if you wish to offer the lowest available UPS rate to your customers.
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Troubleshooting tips: If a rate is not appearing as an option in checkout:
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It was not the least expensive rate.
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The active checkbox for the rate may be unchecked. This box must be checked for ShipStation to send the option to your store checkout.
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You may not have completed the required store setup. If you are unsure if you have set your store settings correctly, click the link for your store to review the necessary steps:
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