Practical shipping guides for Australian eCommerce retailers. Learn how carrier pricing, surcharges, cubic weight, delivery zones and fulfilment decisions impact your true cost to ship.
Practical guides to help you understand the real cost of shipping and make smarter fulfilment decisions.
Fuel, redelivery, residential, remote area, manual handling and oversized parcel charges can all change the final cost of a shipment beyond the base rate.
Read guideA lightweight parcel can still be expensive if it takes up too much space in a courier network. Carriers calculate freight using cubic weight when dimensions are large relative to actual weight.
Read guideDelivery delays, poor tracking, redelivery problems and customer service issues all create costs beyond the label price. True cost includes the full delivery experience.
Read guideMost carriers price aggressively where they want volume and protect margin elsewhere. Metro satchels, regional freight and bulky items all rate differently across carriers.
Read guideMargin leakage comes from poor carrier selection, incorrect shipping rules, manual decisions and not understanding the difference between quoted and invoiced freight.
Read guideA practical checklist to review your carrier mix, delivery zones, cubic weight exposure, surcharges, tracking visibility and dispatch consistency.
Download checklistFreight pricing is rarely as simple as a base rate. Carriers may apply fuel surcharges, cubic weight calculations, zone pricing, manual handling fees, redelivery fees and other adjustments that can make the final cost higher than expected.
Most carrier invoices include charges beyond the base rate. Common surcharges include fuel levies, residential delivery fees, redelivery fees when nobody is home, remote area surcharges, manual handling fees for oversized parcels, and dangerous goods fees. These can add 10–30% or more to the base label cost. Reviewing invoices line by line is often the fastest way to find unexpected cost.
Carriers charge based on whichever is higher — actual weight or cubic weight. Cubic weight is calculated using parcel dimensions: (length x width x height) divided by a cubic divisor. For road freight, the divisor is typically 250; for air freight, 167. A lightweight but bulky parcel can cost significantly more than its actual weight would suggest. Retailers who sell cushions, clothing or packaging-heavy goods are especially exposed.
A carrier that offers a low label price can still create significant cost in other ways. High redelivery rates mean more customer service contact and refunds. Poor tracking visibility increases enquiries. Slow transit times reduce repeat purchases. When you add these costs to the label price, the cheapest option often isn't. Evaluate carriers on delivery performance and support quality — not just price.
Carriers are not trying to be the best option for every shipment. Most price aggressively where they want volume and protect margin where freight is less attractive for their network. A carrier may be very competitive for metro satchels but expensive for regional, bulky or heavier consignments. Retailers often overpay when they rely on one default carrier for every order regardless of whether it is the best fit.
Margin leakage often happens quietly — from poor carrier selection, incorrect shipping rules, manual fulfilment decisions, undercharging at checkout, or not understanding the difference between quoted freight and final invoiced freight. Retailers using a single default carrier, not reviewing invoices regularly, or who haven't updated shipping rules as their product range grew are most at risk.
Review your freight setup at least quarterly using these seven checks:
Instead of relying on one default carrier for every order, EZShip helps retailers make smarter shipping decisions based on weight, destination, service type and fulfilment needs.
Send us a sample of recent shipments and we'll help identify where carrier mix, rate setup or fulfilment decisions may be costing margin.
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