[ic] add fixed weight onto shipping weight total

Jim Balcom interchange-users@icdevgroup.org
Fri Oct 18 19:40:01 2002


On Tue, 15 Oct 2002, Jeff Dafoe wrote:

JD>>> I don't think that you can be 'ultra-accurate' on shipping costs. Or, need
JD>>> to be.
JD>>
JD>>    I don't see any reason that it wouldn't be possible to charge at the
JD>>actual rate.  The only deviances I am having between IC-calculated cost and
JD>>actual cost are due to packaging weight.
JD>>    As for the need, that's a business decision.  The software operates
JD>>around the business requirements, not vice-versa.

I have no intention of getting into an argument over this, and how you
choose to run your business is your decision.

However, I am finding that my cost for boxes from Uline is averaging about
$1.00 each. Some are as much as $1.75 each. There is also the matter of
buying tape to tape those boxes up with. That's an additional cost. In many
cases we are having to buy labels to put on the outside of the boxes for the
addresses, postage, etc. We get some free, just as we get some boxes from
the Post Office for free, along with their tape.

In my mind, this is something that the customer should be the one to pay for
- or else I raise prices on the merchandise to cover it.

In the 16 months that I have been using IC, I find that adding $2.00 onto
the shipping rate covers this quite nicely on an overall average.

Customers will comparison shop of the actual merchandise, but I've never
gotten any complaints about the shipping costs.

I'm only relating my experiences. What you do is entirely up to you, and
your business.


-= Jim =-

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