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SHIPPING MATRIX - By Ounces Pounds Whatever you need
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing (MANIACLY)

I'm asking because I "thought" that I had reached my lightbulb moment, and that it was now going to be smooth sailing, but I do have concerns for being fair, when an item is a piece of jewelry, or a vintage pamphlet, and other, slap it in a bubble mailer, type of light weight item.

I had even edited my payment types and everything 'cause, ... I thought that I was FINALLY good to go. HA!

I DO have concerns that working with "faux" weights could wind up biting me in the "you know where", if I wind up going past the 4 pound first class mark and need to split up an international order into multiple boxes. Weighty breakables make it hard, sometimes to KNOW in advance, exactly how a finished box is going to pan out, if you get a multiple item order. There are "different degrees of breakable" that need to be factored in.

I use flat rates for other sites, and do an occasional refund when needed.

Thanks for your advice! I'll ponder it a bit more, then experiment a bit to see it all in action.
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Embarassed And I really and truly thought that I had it, ... Rolling Eyes ARGH!

Last question, for real.

Okay, the matrix is set up with predetermined "weights". Can the Matrix do math when it's dealing with the fractional weights, like 1 1/2, 2 3/4, 1 1/4, etc.?

EX: If I had 2 items that each weighed 1 1/2 pounds and these were bought together, does the matrix have the capabilities to add 1 1/2 + 1 1/2 = 3?

OR do my "sample weights" need to align with the breakdown number choices showing, with me either assigning them a 1 lb or 2 lb weight?
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Can the Matrix do math when it's dealing with the fractional weights, like 1 1/2, 2 3/4, 1 1/4, etc.?

Yes the matrix does add fractional weights, but only when the weights are entered as decimals. Here is a chart copied from page one of the FAQ dealing with the shipping matrix.
Converting ounces to pounds as decimals

1 divided 16 = 0.0625
that means 1 ounce is equal to 0.0625
Here's a chart

1 oz = 0.0625
2 oz = 0.125
3 oz = 0.1875
4 oz = 0.25 ---- that's 1/4 of a pound
5 oz = 0.3125
6 oz = 0.375
7 oz = 0.4375
8 oz = 0.50 ---- that's is half a pound
9 oz = 0.5625
10 oz = 0.625
11 oz = 0.6875
12 oz = 0.75 ---- that's 3/4 of a pound
13 oz = 0.8125
14 oz = 0.875
15 oz = 0.9375
16 oz = 1 ---- that's 1 pound

If your item weights 2 3/4 pounds, you would enter the weight as 2.75
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks!

Question Last question, part B:

IF the total weight winds up a fraction, does the Matrix round up, or round down to, say, whichever "weight column designation" is closest?

Would an error of some sort wind up happening?

Thank yous! to everyone who has taken the time to help me! I also apologise if I've become a PIA.

I am tentatively planning on halving the standard breakdown that we are given with column #1 being for items that are < 1 pound and the rest of them winding up being for 1 pound increments as opposed to the 2 pounds that are given, and utilising "faux weights", and potentially "faux decimal values". I have MASSIVE variances within what I will be selling, and "THIS" plan seems to get the majority of my bases covered.

EX:

Weighht 1 = < 1 pound
Weight 2 = 1 pound*
Weight 4 = 2 pounds

*Weight 16+ would be factored to increase by 1 pound postage/packaging costs

Will the use of "faux weights" be ecrater legal?
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

UknowUneedAnother wrote:
IF the total weight winds up a fraction, does the Matrix round up, or round down to, say, whichever "weight column designation" is closest?

Round up. This is the same behavior that UPS, USPS, et al, uses.

A 1.01 pound package goes for the 2-pound rate.

A 2.01 pound package goes for the 4-pound rate (because the shipping matrix has no column for 3 pounds).

A 1 oz, 2 oz, ... , 13-oz, 14-oz, 15-oz package goes for the 1-pound rate (because that is the smallest value the shipping matrix recognizes).
Quote:
Will the use of "faux weights" be ecrater legal?

Only if you do not turn on USPS calculated shipping. The values sent to USPS are expected to be valid real pound weights.
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="cosmicray"]
UknowUneedAnother wrote:
IF the total weight winds up a fraction, does the Matrix round up, or round down to, say, whichever "weight column designation" is closest?

Round up. This is the same behavior that UPS, USPS, et al, uses.

A 1.01 pound package goes for the 2-pound rate.

A 2.01 pound package goes for the 4-pound rate (because the shipping matrix has no column for 3 pounds).

A 1 oz, 2 oz, ... , 13-oz, 14-oz, 15-oz package goes for the 1-pound rate (because that is the smallest value the shipping matrix recognizes).

THANKS!!!! Very Happy I FINALLY "GET IT"!

The above is one of the reasons why I want to halve the weight column values. A potential 2 pound jump in a grouped order, can wind up creating too much of a "sticker shock" in shipping quotes, especially for international orders.

I also can't know what finished parcel is going to weigh, sometimes because if it's a multiple item order of breakables, I just don't know what the protection needs of each item may wind up being. There have been times when I wound up having to box up componant items separately and taping them securely within the main box. This is also why I am not comfortable with the calculated shipping, either. Evil or Very Mad AND, the occasional "these boxes aren't working!" -- find a better box and repack it.
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rolling Eyes I think that I've discovered another question.

I have adjusted my "weights". I have re researched shipping prices and also looked into priority priced, express, flat rate priority, etc.

I have even run an audit for past international sales from a fixed rate venue and compared my "guestimates" against Paypal refunding, so feel almost comfortable to start plugging in numbers.

Rolling Eyes My question:

I have seen mentions of having items either being flat rate OR matrix within a given shop.

Does this mean that as a seller, I can choose either a flat rate price OR matrix pricing per individual listing? And then the given item winds up being either or?

OR does EVERYTHING either have to be matrix OR flat rate? This is being asked with the end goal of doing the UK and AU shops.

If yes, would there be problems if a flat rate item was purchased in conjunction with a matrix priced item? I also remember seeing questions that got brought up in the UK and AU eCrater threads whr sellers were reporting that shipping prices wre turning up ZEROS, for items destined as an international sale.
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wandering in to nudge up a bit, in the hopes of more input.
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

UknowUneedAnother wrote:
I have seen mentions of having items either being flat rate OR matrix within a given shop.

Does this mean that as a seller, I can choose either a flat rate price OR matrix pricing per individual listing? And then the given item winds up being either or?


You can mark individual items as 'fixed price shipping'. The matrix should only be consulted when someone purchases an item marked as 'weight based'. It's not clear what happens when someone places an order with a mixture of weight based and fixed shipping. I *think* it adds the weights of the weight based item(s), looks that up in the shipping matrix, then adds the costs associated with the fixed price shipping item(s). But don't hold me to that explanation.
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wtcollectibles



Posts: 2728

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems to me that you can mix fixed-price and weight-based for the US and Canada, but if you ever decided to open up to other countries, I'm not sure what would happen. As far as I know, fixed-price translates into $0.00 shipping for international. Now, if you marked an item "fixed-price" and put your fixed price, and then went ahead and put in the proper weight, the matrix might pick it up for an international sale. Or, if you decided to go with the USPS calculator when you opened up to other countries, the weight would be there and you'd be good to go.

I may be misreading the question and answering the wrong thing, and if so, just ignore it! Embarassed
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very Happy Thanks for your help!

Is there anyway to get "an official, yeah, you can quote it" answer?
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wtcollectibles



Posts: 2728

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

UknowUneedAnother wrote:
Very Happy Thanks for your help!

Is there anyway to get "an official, yeah, you can quote it" answer?

Not from me because I'm matrix all the way, US and abroad. Maybe somebody else who mixes them up that way will come along. Smile
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wtcollectibles wrote:
It seems to me that you can mix fixed-price and weight-based for the US and Canada, but if you ever decided to open up to other countries, I'm not sure what would happen. As far as I know, fixed-price translates into $0.00 shipping for international. Now, if you marked an item "fixed-price" and put your fixed price, and then went ahead and put in the proper weight, the matrix might pick it up for an international sale. Or, if you decided to go with the USPS calculator when you opened up to other countries, the weight would be there and you'd be good to go.

I may be misreading the question and answering the wrong thing, and if so, just ignore it! Embarassed


No, I do believe that THIS is the answer I was looking for. YAY Exclamation
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a rather complicated way that I use my matrix. I do not go by actual pounds or ounces when thinking about the numbers in the matrix columns. I do use actual weights to determine the shipping price the post office will charge me for small envelopes but anything under the 4, 6, 8, 10, and so on... columns are prices for flat rate priority boxes & envelopes. I assign each one of the pound numbers in the matrix to a specific box/envelope size, and plan out which items can fit into which package sizes, and how many different items can I fit all together in that same envelope/box if a customer orders more than one item.

It sounds weird & complicated but, it works for me. I'm not good at explaining things like this without being able to physically show someone how to do it, and i've never taken a loss on shipping. I always end up making an extra $1 to $3 more than what I originally intended to make by setting it up this way so yeah, there are several ways to use the matrix. You don't have to use real or fake weight brackets, you can use the number columns by box size, set the price of each box/envelope under the number columns in the matrix and just increase the price under each weight bracket depending on the cost of the next largest size of box/envelope, and use ounce weights in the shipping details area within your listings to determine how many and what items can all be shipped together in each specific box for the price that's listed under a certain number column.
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UknowUneedAnother



Posts: 157

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I "get" the gist of what you are saying. I think that I'm up to exploring this as an option.

I figure that "WE" still need to try to be as competitive as big retailers, and the shipping costs to ship internationally, and to do so safely is insane.

I'm still trying to get to a point where my shipping practices ALIGN within the carrier's policies, payment processor's policies, insurance time frames, and keeping ME safe from any sort of Paypal claims.

Sellers here have recommended Endicia for insurance purposes, but time wise a customer has to wait 45 days to put in a claim <---- This leaves ME open for a Paypal ding. IF I was a customer, I would NOT be willing to wait 45 days and risk losing my Paypal protections. I can't ask this from anyone else.

Until I get all MY ducks lined up, I'll stay in my holding pattern. I'm also on Etsy and can set up each listing with a unique shipping profile. I am giving very serious thought to keeping small, unbreakables here, and Smile doing the "How much can I cram into a flat rate box", ... safely.

Just gotta ask a few more Q's at my post office and Paypal.

Shocked AND THEN!!!!! Finally pop numbers into the matrix.

I'll tell ya', being a mogal wannabe is TUF!

It sure would be nice if all the various support companies, that ALL make THEIR money from us, could get on the same GD page!!!
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