Could anyone point me to the best way to calculate the most accurate shipping cost when having items in the same order that can fit in the same box but aren't the same product?
Currently, I am using the per item in a box and box dimensions for real-time shipping calculations. If it's multiple of the same item it works correctly, but if there are multiple different items that can go in a single box in the same order then shipping is too high. As an example:
Item A - 5 items can fit in a box of 5"x5"x5"
Item B - 3 items can fit in a box of 5"x5"x5"
I can put 1 of Item A and 1 of Item B in the same box when shipping the order, but CS Cart calculates it as they are going to be shipped in different boxes. Is there a way to group certain items together so CS Cart knows they can go in the same box and thus calculate a cheaper rate based on the two different items' weight?
Quite often you will be better off leaving your package dims (& maybe even your Items in a Box) blank to obtain more realistic shipping rates when combining items into a single carton…
The actual box dims aren’t really essential except for Air shipments of which your typical carton sizes would trigger dimensional weight calculations vs. actual weight being shipped.
So, my point is you are actually limiting the amount of flexibility you have by entering too many shipment related details (beyond the actual product weight) within the individual product level settings.
What I prefer to do is include an actual product weight including an additional percentage to cover packaging on the product details, then I set the final criteria within the actual shipment method settings such as “Max Box Weight”. This allows us the most flexibility & most accurate shipping rates on a daily basis.
This may or may not be the best option for your business and product offerings.
Could anyone point me to the best way to calculate the most accurate shipping cost when having items in the same order that can fit in the same box but aren't the same product?
Currently, I am using the per item in a box and box dimensions for real-time shipping calculations. If it's multiple of the same item it works correctly, but if there are multiple different items that can go in a single box in the same order then shipping is too high. As an example:
Item A - 5 items can fit in a box of 5"x5"x5"
Item B - 3 items can fit in a box of 5"x5"x5"
I can put 1 of Item A and 1 of Item B in the same box when shipping the order, but CS Cart calculates it as they are going to be shipped in different boxes. Is there a way to group certain items together so CS Cart knows they can go in the same box and thus calculate a cheaper rate based on the two different items' weight?
Thank you!
Donald
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That would be the logical way of doing it, but it is not and I thought when CS Cart implemented this was to be able to split shipments in multiple boxes so you can get more accurate shipping quotes. Your example is perfect to show that this does not work , if you can fit in the same size box 5 items of different products as you specified above , why is the shipping quote coming back for 2 boxes where only one is needed, this feature is simply useless, this makes a whole lot of difference when shipping internationally or express where dimensional weight is an issue. I left all these fields blank for all my products except those that need to be shipped solo in a separate box . I remember when this feature was discussed it sounded pretty good and was suppose to work this way. I found out about this from a customer who ordered 2 of each different items that can fit in one box but was quoted for 2 boxes then I immediately cleared all these fields.
Quite often you will be better off leaving your package dims (& maybe even your Items in a Box) blank to obtain more realistic shipping rates when combining items into a single carton…
The actual box dims aren’t really essential except for Air shipments of which your typical carton sizes would trigger dimensional weight calculations vs. actual weight being shipped.
So, my point is you are actually limiting the amount of flexibility you have by entering too many shipment related details (beyond the actual product weight) within the individual product level settings.
What I prefer to do is include an actual product weight including an additional percentage to cover packaging on the product details, then I set the final criteria within the actual shipment method settings such as “Max Box Weight”. This allows us the most flexibility & most accurate shipping rates on a daily basis.
This may or may not be the best option for your business and product offerings.
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Great! Since CS Cart doesn’t split up boxes based on the items in the cart (which I can see would get pretty complicated depending on the cart contents) this method will work best. I removed the box dimensions and made sure each product has a weight under the “Shipping Properties” for the cart. I noticed the shipping price only goes up by the weight of the product like it’s going to be shipped in one box. This is better than the multiple “box” prices and then the weight like it was calculating before.
It was setting the box weight limit that I had a question about. Do you just go under Shipping Methods–><Pick the shipping method (Ex: FedEx Ground) ->Shipping Methods, then Shipping Charges and change the Weight Dependencies to add a fixed dollar amount for more than X number of pounds. Example:
Cart Contents
Item A - 3 lbs
Item B - 3 lbs
Item C - 3 lbs
Item D - 2 lbs
Lets say the real-time calculation comes back at $15 for the 11 lbs for all of the items. The items will be shipped in 2 boxes. Since the total weight is > 10 lbs the extra 1 lb would endure a $3 extra charge (set in Shipping Charges based on the Weight Dependency) to the total shipping to cover that extra box.
Short answer is you can't. I argued this point when they were developing the new shipping method but obviously I was ignored.
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It seems like there would have to be a setting to allow a “Shipping Grouping” items together in the same box in the Product Catalog. There would then have to be a maximum setting to only allow X number of items in Group A, Y number of items in Group B, and Z number of items in Group C, and so on…
The mapping would be for a certain box size. Lets say for box type M (for massive):
Group A - Limit is 5 items from this group in box type M
Group B - Limit is 4 items from this group in box type M
Group C - Limit is 2 items from this group in box type M
Each group would have some equality to what it converts to in another Group (ie 4 Group B items ~= 2 Group C Items). You could have a box with:
1 - Group C
2 - Group B
2 - Group A (technically 2.5, but we can't half the item)
Of course, it wouldn't always map over correctly to real life, and this is only looking at the rough dimensions of the items, but it would be a simplistic implementation of getting a more realistic shipping cost. I haven't done much testing in the way of shipping calculations, so it may not even be worth the time to implement a more complex system since you may not get much closer to the actual value. I would be curious how much of a difference it makes. Have you done much in the way of shipping calculations using different methods?
Donald - did you end up with just doing Priority Mail weight based Real Time calculations? How is it working out for you?? I'm trying to figure out a way to keep shipping costs low but since dimensional weight is seemingly impossible, I'm going insane trying to think of ways to minimize shipping costs for varied items in a box(es).
