UPS has a few tough competitors in the United States: FedEx and USPS ( United States Postal Service ), but the company has left behind both of them in terms of revenue in 2020. Apart from these, UPS has also left behind many international shipping companies. Yes, UPS charged by both weight and size of the item for shipment like any other shipping company to give a high edge competition.
How to calculate the shipping price for UPS?
The shipping price is calculated by measuring the weight and dimensions of the box. To know how to calculate the shipping price, you must first know what the dimensional weight is.
Dimensional weight-
Dimensional weight also called volumetric weight is one of the steps to finding the price of the products of shipment. It is the area that a box occupies concerning its real weight. It shows the density of the package.
To calculate the shipping price-
Following are the steps to find the shipping price of the package for UPS-
Find actual weight-
It is so easy to find the actual weight of the box. You can do it by taking a standard scale and measuring the weight. Try to make the required weight in the integral form if it comes in fractional form by increasing it to the next half kilogram.
2. Find dimensional weight-
You can find the dimensional weight by multiplying the length, width, and height of the package after converting each dimension to the nearest whole number, then divide the resulting number by 5000 and convert the final result ( if fraction ) to the next half kilogram.
3. Find billable weight-
It is the final step to finding the cost of shipping the box. In this step, you have to check whether the actual weight or the dimensional weight is greater. The greater between the two will be considered the billable weight and is used to calculate the rate. In many places, it is generally written that shipment cost is calculated by the dimensional weight, it is when the dimensional weight comes out to be greater than the actual weight.
Does UPS charge for extra weight or size?
Yes, UPS does charge for extra weight or size. If certain rules for shipment are not followed, then some extra charges are applied which are called shipping charge corrections. There is no limit to the total number of packages or total weight of the shipment, all the limits are only applied to the individual package.
Following are some of the reasons which can cause extra charges-
If you enter or calculate the incorrect dimensional or actual weight while shipping, it will lead to extra charges.
If the package’s largest side comes out to be greater than 48 inches and the second-largest side is greater than 30 inches, then an extra charge will also be applied.
If the weight of the individual package is more than 150 pounds, extra charges will get applied.
Extra charges will also be applied when the sum of length ( longest side ) and the girth ( 2 x width +2 x height ) comes out to be greater than 165 inches.
If the package is not completely enclosed in a shipping container, then also extra charges will apply. For example, any cylindrically-shaped product like a drum or tire.
Steps to avoid extra charges or shipping charge corrections-
Extra charges due to weight or size can be avoided by taking care of the following steps-
The easiest way to not pay extra charges is by carefully making all the calculations of dimensional weight and actual weight. To get accurate results, you can also go to the nearby UPS store to measure the boxes. They have some types of equipment which can quickly measure the dimension of the box with accuracy.
You can also opt for small shipping boxes. Since there is no charge for the total number of boxes or packages, you can select different small dimensional boxes for the shipment. It will reduce the chance of mistakenly exceeding the maximum length of the box.
The cushions placed inside the box to reduce the chance of damage to items can increase the weight of the package. It is better to use lightweight cushions or fewer cushions to avoid weight increase. But as the protection of the items is also necessary, it is advisable to use air pillows that provide extra safety to products and are lighter or in other words weightless.
Why does UPS use the dimensional weight to charge shipment?
In the older times, shipping companies like UPS and many others used the only weight of the package to cost the shipment. In only a few types of packaging, they use a dimensional weight system. But later, the company found out that for the shipment of larger and lightweight packages, the total profit is going down. So to avoid that, UPS has started using a dimensional weight system for the shipment price.
Starting prices of UPS according to the size of the box-
Following are the price of five different sized boxes in UPS-
Extra-small-
The extra small box’s price, whose dimensions lie between 1-100 cubic inches, starts from $9.45.
2. Small-
The package with a small size whose dimensions lie between 101-250 cubic inches has a starting price of $12.40.
3. Medium-
The package with a medium-sized has dimensions between 251-650 cubic inches and the starting price is $14.95.
4. Large-
The large-sized package has a starting price of $19.60 and dimensions between 650-1050 cubic inches.
5. Extra-large-
The extra-large package has dimensions of 1051-1728 cubic inches and starting price is $24.30.
UPS does follow the policy of shipment charging according to weight or size. It uses a dimensional weight system to calculate the required weight of the package. Some conditions are there which have to be followed to avoid extra charges for the shipment.
