We are continuing to enhance the features of the “Products” area of ShipStation and this week we released a feature that can be extremely handy in the process of automating your shipping selections. We now allow products to automatically “Tag” orders that contain them. This can have several advantages from simply informational to surprisingly functional. Here’s a quick example of how you can use product tags to save money using cubic rates.
Cubic pricing can provide some fantastic cost savings on certain packages, but not all. In this example, we’ll tag some specific products that we know fit the cubic pricing “sweet spot”. We’ll then create a filter and automation rule that will automatically assign a cubic package and service for the orders.
Step 1) In the products area, we can open a product to modify the settings. We’d typically use a Regional Rate box to ship this product, which is a decent rate, but if it’s shipping to Zone 5 or higher, we can do even better with cubic rates! We start by creating a new order tag called “Cubic Option” and apply the tag to this product.
Since product tags are automatically assigned to orders that contain them, any new order that is imported will also have the “Cubic Option” tag assigned to it.
Step 2) In settings, we create a new filter that will isolate orders that contain the “Cubic Option” tag. We also want to make sure it’s a domestic shipment. Finally, we want only orders that are going to Zone 5 or higher.
Now we can isolate any order that is appropriate for cubic rates.
Step 3) Lastly, let’s create an automation rule that will setup cubic shipping settings for any order that matches the filter we created in step 2.
After we save the rule, we should start seeing orders for this product automatically configured to ship with cubic rates!
We are excited to offer USPS Priority Mail Cubic Pricing to our customers! USPS Cubic service is a good substitute for UPS and FedEx ground services. We are now able to offer this service to our users through our relationship with Express 1. Please contact Express 1 at (800) 399-3971 to learn more about this service and to see if you qualify.
Cubic rates are ideal for small, heavy packages
Cubic rates are ideal for small, heavy packages since the pricing is based on the volume of the package instead of the weight. Any package that measures 0.50 cubic feet or less and is 20 pounds or less is eligible.
Here is how the cubic measurement is calculated:
Cubic Feet = Length X Width X Height / 1728
Also note that the length, width, and height measurements should be rounded down to the nearest 0.25 inch. Here’s an example for a package that measures 6-1/8″ x 5-7/8″ x 6-3/8″:
6 x 5.75 x 6.25 / 1728 = .125 cubic feet
There are 5 tiers for cubic pricing:
Tier 1 – mailpieces measuring up to .10 cubic foot
Tier 2 – mailpieces measuring more than .10 up to .20 cubic foot
Tier 3 – mailpieces measuring more than .20 up to .30 cubic foot
Tier 4 – mailpieces measuring more than .30 up to .40 cubic foot
Tier 5 – mailpieces measuring more than .40 up to .50 cubic foot
So our example above would fall into Tier 2. Let’s say this package weighs 4 pounds and is a zone 7 shipment. This would typically cost $13.12 via Priority Mail. However, the cubic price for this package is only $6.46. That’s more than a 50% savings!
ShipStation’s Rate Calculator makes it easy to determine the cubic rate. Simply choose the “Cubic” package type, enter the package dimensions, and ShipStation will display the rate.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this new service.
