DIM Weight is not figured right. Don't let it sneak up on you. Am I missing something?

[tlc-123]

I have gone to figuring DIM weight and putting that as the actual weight of the item if it is more than One CU FT. Anyone else have a better way to stay out of shipping cost trouble? DIM can sneak up on you. Even if you put the correct dimensions in the shipping cost will change after the item sells.  26x6x6 can be $10 before selling and then turn into $18 when it comes time to actually buy the label.  I have had this happen twice so now more careful.  Anything under One Cubic ft is safe or using any of USPS boxes figures correct as they are under a sq ft.  FedEx is now using dim weight as well.  So those low prices for Smart Post will not be correct. Am I missing something?  Is there a better way?  I use L x W x H ÷ 194 to get DIM Weight.  26 x 6 x 6 = 936 ÷ 194 = 4.82 or 5 lbs   This is USPS DIM    FedEx  ÷ 139  I don't know UPS DIM ÷  Any extra knowledge on this would be great. 

[partial*eclipse]

eBay has admitted that there is a problem with FedEx Smartpost since the big change last weekend. Avoid it until they get it fixed.

But the USPS shipping calculator is 99.99% accurate, including figuring the "dimensional weight" when needed.  But it only applies when Priority Mail is shipped to Zones 5 - 9, not to Zones 1 - 4.  So if you set up the calculator with the Dim weight rather than the actual package weight, you'll significantly overcharge the closer buyers.

Many sellers offer Parcel Select (or Retail Ground) as a second option  for larger packages so farther buyers have a more economical option that is weight-based.

For now, you should stick with USPS, hold off on FedEx, and trust the shipping calculator.

[flyerfandan999]

If you have a documented case where FedEx SmartPost was the selected service, and the shipping calculator showed you the Seller an accurate price for the shipment, and the shipping calculator charged your Buyer a significantly lower price for that specific shipment, bring it to the attention of Customer Service and tag the post for trinton@ebay.

See:  https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/cost-of-FedEx-Smartpost-has-exploded/m-p/28036256#M22...

[berserkerplanet]

FedEx Ground and Express have considered dimensional weight for many years, It is only FedEx Smartpost that changed on 1/22/18 to begin using dimensional weight.

Dimensional weight applies to ALL FedEx shipments - there is no 1 cu-ft threshold.

UPS dimensional weight was much more complicated the last time I checked last year, and used 2 different divisors depending on retail or online, and also depending on a 1 cu-ft threshold. Download the UPS 2018 service guide from UPS.com and figure it out by reading the info yourself.

As pointed out, there is a serious bug in the eBay calculators in search, listings, and checkout where Smartpost rate calculations are ignoring dimensional weight and charging buyers at times, only 25% of the correct amounts the shipping label costs. Don't use Smartpost until it gets fixed.

FedEx Home Delivery is experiencing another less fatal bug, where search, listings, and checkout show an amount about $2-4 less than actual label cost from what I've seen - approximately the amount of ignoring the Residential Delivery Surcharge.