How do you determine shipping cost?

Ever wonder how your shipping costs are determined? There are several factors that contribute to the cost. They are:

1) the size of the package - each package is measured to the quarter of an inch (length, width, and height)

2) the weight of the package - each package is weighed to the hundredth of a pound and rounded up to the next pound (e.g., 4.01 pounds is rounded to 5 pounds)

3) the destination zip code - the distance from the shipping zip code to the destination zip code factors into the cost

4) commercial or residential - it is easier to locate businesses, and therefore less expensive to ship to a business than a residence

5) the value of the contents - insurance costs add to the shipping cost

6) any other added services - e.g., COD, signature required

You can see that in shipping, size does matter! Inches and pounds are the primary factors affecting shipping cost.

With UPS, there are maximums:

• The maximum weight is 150 pounds for any given package.
• The maximum length plus girth is 165". To calculate girth, start with the longest side. This is considered the length. Add to that length the sum of (2 times the width + 2 times the height). For example, the length plus girth of a 24"x20"x18" box is 24 + (20x2) + (18x2) = 24 + 40 + 36 = 100. Since the total is less than 165" you MAY ship the package in the UPS system.
• The maximum length (longest side) is 108".

Do you have make all of these calculations yourself? Of course not! Your local The UPS Store can do it for you. You can get an estimate before you even head to the local The UPS Store by visiting http://www.ups.com and clicking on the Calculate Time and Cost link.