SHIPPING INFORMATION
DISCOUNTED WORLDWIDE SHIPPING RATES
WHEN CHECKING OUT YOU WILL CLICK THE COUNTRY AND POSTAL CODE
YOU WISH US TO SHIP TO AND OUR SHOPPING CART DELIVERS LIVE CURRENT DISCOUNTED SHIPPING RATES BY ALL INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS
How Does Our Shipping Calculator Compute Rates?
Our Shipping Calculator offers flexible and powerful shipping rate calculations that go beyond the simple shipping calculators offered by the various carriers. The calculator addresses the issues of insurance, packaging materials, combining multiple items together, rating of multiple packages, handling fees and more.
Our calculator first gathers all the necessary item data from you for one or more items, and then uses our account configuration to determine whether to add any additional weight and then constructs one or more theoretical "packages "based on our item data, our configuration, and the carrier limits. We then, under the covers, contact the various carriers directly thru a programming interface (API) and feed them all the appropriate data on one or more packages, along with your destination address, appropriate "entry method", any requests for additional add-on services such as delivery confirmation etc.
The carriers return rates for the specific services we have requested. These rates typically include the carrier's fuel surcharge, surcharges for oversized dimensions, and perhaps accessorial fees. Then, we add to those base rates any handling charges we have configured, either at the item, package, or order level. The final total for each service is then what we show in our "drop-down" of comparative rates.
To use the shipping calculator to its fullest potential ,it is best to understand how it deals with packaging and the various configuration settings that are available.
Packaging Method
The Shipping Calculator allows us to specify items as shippable Together or Separately. Typically items shipped Separately are items that are large or prepackaged whereas items that are to be shipped Together are small and can be packaged with other items. With items that are specified to be shipped Separately, the calculator uses the exact weight and dimensions specified when calculating the shipping charges. For items indicated to be packaged together, the calculator tries to determine accurate weights, dimensions and number of packages based on the factors described below.
Packaging Weight
When creating items to be packaged Together, we use the actual weight of the item. The calculator uses a "Packaging Weight" factor to account for the weight of the packaging materials. This factor uses a sliding scale based on the total weight of the items (i.e. less than 1 lbs add .5 lbs, less than 5 lbs add 1.25 lbs, etc).
Maximum Weight
When packaging items together the calculator recognizes that each carrier and their services have varying weight limitations. The calculator will automatically split a shipment into multiple packages when the combined weight of the items exceeds the limit. In addition to the carrier limitations, the calculator allows you to specify our preferred weight limit for each service which may be set lower than the carrier's. Although most carriers allow between 70 and 150 lbs per package, we may indicate a preferred lower limit (i.e. 40 lbs.) Individual items exceeding our limit will automatically split into separate packages. Note that packaging weight is accounted for when determining if combined items exceed the weight limitations. If any individual item weight including the Packaging Weight factor exceeds the carrier service limit, it will result in the service not being rated.
Dimensions
Another consideration is the dimensions of items when they are to be packaged together. When computing the weight of the package, the calculator will also do its best to determine the package's dimensions since the size can affect the shipping rates as well. Depending upon the item we put the actual dimensions or larger depending on how closely items are to be packed. With fragile items we have added 1 to 2 inches to each of the dimensions to account for the additional materials used to protect the item.
We wanted a system that was the most fair to us and the buyer as well and chose this as being the best.
Thank you for your time in reading how our shipping calculator works.
Normand Paquette
NORMS MODEL SUPPLY
WE CAREFULLY PACKAGE AND SHIP YOUR ORDER
YOU CHOOSE YOUR SHIPPING METHOD
DISCOUNTS ON ALL ORDERS
RATES AND SAVINGS ARE SHOWN
WORLDWIDE
SHIPPING
