Live Checkout Rate Displays doesn't compare apples to apples

[lbergman2]

Trying to configure live rates for BigCommerce with Shipstation. The options quite frankly aren't what they claim to be.  Yes, I understand that ShipStation will only show the cheapest rates for "similar services".  But how "similar services" is determined seems to be based upon delivery time estimates that aren't comparable to real world experience.  No one in their right mind would compare USPS Media Mail to UPS 2 Day shipping.  But guess what?  In some cases, ShipStation's algorithm does.

We sell books.  Not big, but heavy.  Shipping rates are a major issue for us.  We want to offer our customers a range of options: 1. the cheapest; 2. Not the cheapest, but more reliable; and 3. Fastest.  While most of our customers only want #1, a significant number of them want #2 as an option.  And it seems that is impossible with the way ShipStation is set up.

I've taken the time to set up these 3 different categories in the "Checkout Rate Displays" table, and I assumed that ShipStation would pull the lowest rate for each.  But if the estimated delivery time for each category happens to be the same, then it won't show #2 or #3. 

We need all three to show, because as anyone who has used USPS Media Mail the past few years can tell you, it's anybody's guess how long it will REALLY take for Media Mail to arrive.  And they've removed the guarantee from Priority Mail too, so that can be 5 plus days sometimes.  But for zip codes that are near our warehouse, these options are considered equal to UPS Ground or FedEx.  10 years of experience says that is NOT TRUE.

So the algorithm isn't really comparing apples to apples.  In which case, allowing human beings to adjust this the way they want it makes sense.

Why can't the algorithm identify the cheapest option within each of the service levels we manually configure in the Checkout Rate Displays table????

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @lbergman2!

First, welcome to the Community—we’re so glad you're here! This space is great for finding answers, sharing feedback, and suggesting new product features. We hope you find it both helpful and inspiring.

Thank you for your thoughtful feature suggestion and the details you provided. We’ve shared your input with our development team for review and consideration.

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[DGfx]

I 100% agree. We run into that problem all of the time. Plus, even if it is 1-2 day shipping as a standard, it is not guaranteed but paying for specific 1-2 day shipping (ie: UPS 2nd day or next day air) is guaranteed. ShipStation, allow our customers to have all the options! 

[Nate22]

My guess is that Shipstation does this on purpose because of some backdoor deal. It makes ZERO sense as a customer. We should have the ability to display rates for carriers and services we want to offer. USPS and UPS are not the same, and many customers prefer UPS, even if it costs more. But because of the "Cheapest Option" UPS Ground is almost always hidden over USPS Ground Advantage. Even though USPS loses about 1 in 20 of our packages.