My store platform calculates shipping from the product weight I enter: should I enter the actual or the volumetric weight?
It depends on how your store and its shipping integration use that field, so check their current settings first. The rule of thumb: if the field drives the shipping price the customer sees, and your carrier bills bulky parcels by volumetric weight, entering only the actual weight will show the customer a lower shipping price than you will pay.
Where the problem shows up
With light, bulky products: pillows, toys, baskets, boxed lamps, shoes in roomy cartons. They weigh little on the scale, but once packed, the carton is billed on its size. Small dense products are usually fine, because their actual weight is already the larger figure.
Example: a pillow in a carton
A pillow ships in a 50 × 40 × 20 cm carton and weighs 1.5 kg packed. Results with two divisors, as examples:
- With 5000: volumetric weight 8 kg, which is the chargeable weight.
- With 6000: volumetric weight 6.67 kg.
- Either way the chargeable weight is more than four times the actual 1.5 kg.
Enter 1.5 in the product weight field, let the store quote shipping from it, and the customer pays for a small bag while you pay the carrier for a parcel of 8 kg or close to it, depending on its divisor.
Deciding product by product
- Pack the product as you really ship it, then measure and weigh the carton.
- Enter the figures in the Volumetric shipping-weight calculator with the divisor the carrier connected to your store gives you.
- If Weight that applies shows Actual weight, enter the actual weight in the store and move on.
- If volumetric applies, decide: enter the chargeable weight in the field, or cover the gap another way, such as a higher price or a fixed shipping fee for that product?
Before you change weights in your store
Check two things in your store and shipping settings: does this field really drive the customer's shipping price, and are dimensions sent to the carrier separately? Some integrations take the dimensions and work out volumetric weight themselves, in which case the fix may be entering dimensions rather than changing the weight. The tool does not connect to your store or know its settings; it gives you the number so you can decide.
If you choose to absorb the shipping gap yourself, add it to the product's cost and price it with the Selling-price calculator, so the profit on bulky products does not quietly disappear.
Common questions
Should I enter chargeable weight for all my products?
Not for products where the actual weight applies. Only the light, bulky ones need checking.
What if a customer orders several products together?
A shared carton has its own dimensions, so the total can differ from adding up product weights. Run frequent large orders as they are really packed.
Does this apply to Shopify, Zid and others too?
The idea applies to any store that quotes shipping from weight, but check your own platform's settings.