US Shippers: How do you handle shipping charges

residential or commercial rate?

[wingslevel]

Our shipments are about 60% to residential addresses and 40% to commercial addresses. Our carrier, UPS, charges significantly higher rates to residential addresses.

My concern is how to apply shipping charges when a customer puts an item in the shopping cart, and when/if to give them the option to elect whether they are shipping to a res. or com. address.

I am a big believer in showing the shipping charges as soon as an item is added to the shopping cart - no login necessary. Problem is, if I charge them the commercial rate, and then later on the checkout page ask if the address is residential, then I have to increase the originally quoted rate - seems like a bait and switch...

The only other way I can think of to handle it is to charge the residential rate and then, if the elect a commercial address, reduce their shipping charge.

Any ideas?

[ecommerceprofit]

Charge the residential rate for both residential and commercial customers - don't worry about charging a lower rate for commerical - that's what I would do

[BroadLea]

We offer flat-rate shipping for a variety of reasons, so our circumstance is a bit easier than yours.

However, we don't specify in advance exactly what method will be used to ship the customer's product. We have a fairly objective matrix that factors in distance, value, weight, whether they are in a UPS "extra fee remote area", and whether it is residential or commercial. Based on those factors, we choose either UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail (which for us includes free Delivery Confirmation).

Priority Mail may not be an option for you, but we've had great success with it (especially now that USPS is offering free pickups). It's the same price for both residential and commercial and there are no "remote area" surcharges.

[HRoth]

Plus with USPS, the boxes are free for Priority Mail.

[BroadLea]

That's a very good point, HRoth. While we haven't started using the triangular "tubes" much yet (I don't quite have the knack of assembling them), they would indeed save us $1-$1.60 by using them.

I've stated in other threads regarding shipping, but I'll repeat it: our product is somewhat delicate. We've shipped many thousands of Priority Mail packages in fairly light-weight (read: cheap) packaging, and it is rare to have one arrive damaged (maybe 1 in 200). If we used the same packaging with UPS, about 1 in 10 would arrive damaged; we'd have to use more-expensive packaging to survive UPS' mechanization and loading. So, we save again with Priority Mail.

[HRoth]

The only problem I have had with the smaller Priority Mail boxes is that if they get very severely squashed, the sides can pop open. Someone who does ebay told me that if you put Priority Mail stickers on the two sides where it folds in, this will never happen. The stickers are also free and seem to be made in precisely the right size to do this. It also strengthens the box. I also put one on the tab that sticks, just to be on the safe side.

[luckychucky]

I dunno...We buy strong 4x4x6-inch corrugated cardboard cartons from Paper Mart at US$0.14 each. Cheap!

As suggested earlier in this thread, we just charge everyone the UPS residential rate. If the address turns out to be commercial after all, well then we've made an extra buck or so.