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How to Append Packing Weight onto Base Weight

Integrate packing material weight with base product weight for accurate shipping rate calculations


Overview

In ShipperHQ, you can include both a product’s base weight and the weight of its packaging materials when calculating total shipment weight. This ensures more accurate shipping rates at checkout – especially when using Custom Table Rates or live rate carriers.

When enabled, ShipperHQ automatically adds the box’s packing weight to the product’s base weight and uses the combined total to determine the correct rate.

Note: This feature must be enabled with Dimensional Shipping and does not work with Weight Filters.

Example Use Case

Imagine you're using Custom Table Rates with these rates:

  • Shipments of 0–0.5 lbs = $4.95
  • Shipments of 0.5–0.75 lbs = $5.95 

If a product weighs 0.4 lbs and its box adds 0.2 lbs in packing weight, ShipperHQ combines them for a total shipment weight of 0.6 lbs. This total weight triggers the 0.5–0.75 lb rate, resulting in a $5.95 charge.

The same logic applies to live rate carriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS—ShipperHQ sends the combined item and packing weight to the carrier to calculate the final rate.

Prerequisites

Before enabling this feature, ensure the following:

  • Dimensional Packing is enabled.
  • Box Packing Weights are entered under the Advanced tab for each box.

Setup

To enable the Append Packing Weight onto Base Weight feature:

  1. Go to ShipperHQ → Advanced Features → Dimensional Packing → Settings → Advanced.

  2. Locate Append Packing Weight onto Base Weight and switch it to Yes.

  3. Save your changes.

To add packing weights to your boxes:

  • Go to Boxes → [Select Box] → Advanced Settings.

  • Enter the packing weight under Packing Weight.

  • Save your updates.

Result

Once enabled, ShipperHQ includes box packing weight when evaluating shipment weight. The combined total (product weight + packing weight) will determine the rate shown to customers – ensuring more accurate pricing across both Custom Table Rates and live carrier rates.