Pricing

• Why a shipping surcharge can appear weeks after delivery

  Retrospective surcharges almost always come from a remeasure. Carriers reweigh and re-dimension parcels on automated belts, and if the parcel differs from what was declared, the difference is billed after delivery. Address corrections and residential-delivery fees are the other two common late arrivals.

• How is volumetric weight calculated, and when does it beat actual weight?

  Volumetric weight is length x width x height divided by a carrier-specific divisor — usually 139 for inches and pounds, or 5,000 for centimetres and kilograms. You are billed on whichever is greater: actual weight or volumetric weight. That figure is called the chargeable weight.

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