Weight adjustment for weight band shipping

EpkBrick

Is it possible to have an option in the Weight Band Shipping mode to add a percentage adjustment like BrickLink has...? I would say that 1 out of 3 orders, my weight is heavier than what is charged for by 0.2-0.4 ounces. I try to keep shipping down and instant checkout going, but this is silly not to have this feature available.

I don't really want to add a $1.00 shipping fee to cover missed calculations. It generally covers itself until I end up getting an order in zone 8 in the US.

leopard37

Build it into your settings, reduce your shipping limits by that amount.

Tyson.

EpkBrick

@leopard37 I have made the adjustments. However, I would like to see a simpler option for those that prefer instant checkouts as sellers put into play in the future.

Vosblokjes

Have you checked what makes 33% of your orders heavier? And how much are they off? 0.2 ounces (about 5 grams) is not much for a 40 ounce order (only 0.5%).
Maybe the weight some items is off and need adjusting.
I presume you account for the weight of the packaging material you use in your shipping options.

I build it into my shipping settings, the heavier it gets, the more margin I took, larger packaging tends to be heavier

And how would setting this hard margin on every shipping option be harder to do then have a percentage adjustment in every shipping option?
And checking the BL forum, that system is not at best as well.

Mrs Swoop

I agree with @leopard37 and @BasKrie, you have to enter the weight bands so just put in what you want, and my calculation for the weight bands isn't as simple as a straight percentage and varies even within a shipping method.

Also I don't understand why this would affect instant checkouts. Just having the shipping method enabled is what allows the instant checkout. Have I misunderstood something?

EpkBrick

@Mrs Swoop @BasKrie Its only a problem when an order falls just shy of the weighted tier cut-off. When its in the middle of a weight band, its never an issue. My suggestion isn't fool proof, but would eliminate I am guessing 80% of the time.

What I am asking would:

Provide one static field box under the weight band (i.e. Adjust order weight by: _______ %) you can either choose to use it or not... so if I have my breakdowns for weight set, I don't need to adjust all my individual shipping tiers/prices to reflect this. When an order is made, the total weight of the order would be increased by say 10% at checkout. This would account for packaging, and not leave you in a lower tier when the packaging actually puts the shipping price in one tier higher.

Again it doesn't happen every order, but you get an order lets say is 11.89oz at checkout (it is calculating actual weight total) You package it up in a small 4x4x6 box that weighs 1.4oz now you are stuck paying a higher tier shipping price than what was charged.

11.89 + 1.4 = 13.29oz / but your shipping charged for the 11.99 tier
11.89 * 0.10 = 13.079oz / your shipping would charge correctly at instant checkout in the 12oz tier pricing

I know these rates are not accurate with USPS tiers, but just providing an example.

I understand everyone saying move weight tiers back an ounce or so, but wouldn't it be easier to use exact tiers per your shipping method and let the checkout process account for any adjustments you choose to implement or not?

Vosblokjes

No, this isn't easier. You still would have to put in a % for every shipping option. And even then, a small box ways more than a bubble envelope, so a % doesn't fit the bill.
And from you example, if the items weigh 11.81 you would get 12.99 with 10%, but that would be 13.21 with the plus 1.4.
And it works the other way around as well, so for heavier orders you would charge more than needed.

I agree that adjusting the weight band isn't ideal, but the % isn't either, I see that on BL.
But it certainly is not possible to have just one percentage for all shipping options at once.

Calibrick

Since the system uses real part weights and does not account for packing, internal polybags, invoice, etc. (and as Baskrie noted, heavier items have heavier packaging), I actually accommodate all of that right into my weight bands. The padding starts at 1/2 ounce for lighter weights, increasing to 1 ounce padding for heavier orders to handle the add'l packing materials weights.

It's hard to explain, so below is an example using USPS First Class (items less than one pound) based on my three years of sales experience here (refined over time). At this point, it comes out exactly for almost every single order, which is really awesome. In rare cases (usually with giant orders or sets), it comes out one level too high, in which case I refund the customer the shipping overage. That happens maybe twice a year for me.

Starting at 1/2 ounce padding...
USPS Package Weight: Up to 1 ounce
Shipping Cost: USPS 1 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 0 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 0.5 ounces

Quickly start bumping up 1 ounce vs. 0.5 ounces...
USPS Package Weight: 1 - 2 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 2 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 0.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 1.5 ounces

USPS Package Weight: 2 - 3 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 3 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 1.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 2.5 ounces

USPS Package Weight: 3 - 4 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 4 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 2.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 3.5 ounces

At these weights you start to see a skew, so knocking it back down to 1/2 ounce padding...
USPS Package Weight: 4 - 5 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 5 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 3.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 4 ounces

And then return to one ounce padding, carrying this through to the end...
USPS Package Weight: 5 - 6 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 6 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 3.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 4 ounces

[[repeat for other increments]]

And ending at USPS max weight of 15.99 ounces for this method (customers who have an order that weighs 14.51 ounces on up are bumped by my setup to a diff shipping method):
USPS Package Weight: 15.99 ounces
Shipping Cost: USPS 15.99 ounce cost + $0.50 for materials, etc.
My BO Order From Weight: 13.51 ounces
My BO Order To Weight: 14.5 ounces

EpkBrick

@Calibrick I am guessing you use for each "USPS # ounce cost" you are defaulting to Zone 8 or 9? See I try to keep mine as close to possible, with an attempt at cheapest and smoothest shopping experience.

Or are you using the zone option as well, doing +$.50 for each tier and zone?

EpkBrick

@Calibrick disregard my previous post. I just reviewed your shipping terms. **Love the detail and table layout**

Looks like I need to rework weight bands and if you say $0.50 is a great break even point, Ill go that route. I am just trying to offer the best prices for the buyer + a quick/smooth transaction experience.

Thanks everyone for your input

Calibrick

@EpkBrick , yes as you saw, I use zone by band... I take the actual USPS cost as you see and just add $0.50. I've found as the weight increases of the parts, I have to move to larger mailers, typically... and at that one band seemed to get the most "iffy" so had the 1 ounce increase, but then dropping back 1/2 ounce.

For context, I had 1,455 orders in calendar year 2020. $0.50 seems to be my break-even point to cover packing materials, fees, etc... I do find I run $100-ish over by the end of the year (so it becomes taxable profit), but throughout the year, the overages also take care of the occasional reshipment costs, refunds in shipping (if I'm out of an item and had a stock error), etc. Your experience may be different, but you can certainly juggle throughout the year also as you get more data, as I did. :-) In 2019, I actually ran under - but that was before I did a full reinventory so was running into far more missing items than I would like due to data entry errors, parts just winnowing their way into another bin, etc.

The table layout is merely a paste from Excel where I calculated all of that... I find the native shipping tables really long to scroll through and hard to read. I basically create the data/formatted table in Excel (you could use Word, also), the paste it into Word, then save it as a HTML... then I use BO's source view in Pages to paste it in as source code. Voila, you have a pretty, formatted table. :-) Or you can build it by hand if you're an HTML coder.