Shipping Methods

Currently my client uses an outside company that determines what the cheapest shipping method is. Right now their website has a "we'll eMail you back with shipping costs after you place the order" mechanism, and they're wanting to automate it.. thank God.

I'm new to calculating shipping, and have a bunch of questions.

1) Do companies like FedEx and UPS figure both weight and dimensions into the price?
2) In the inventory database, should there be a weight field and a dimensions field, or like a weight field and a size field?
3) I understand you can download prices from shipping companies in order to calculate shipping costs. Do you have to sign up somewhere to get these, or are they just available on their site?
4) How would one handle wholesale orders? For example, 20,000 screws. To ship one screw, it would probably be about 30 cents, but if I multiplied that it would be $6,000.
5) Does anyone have any opinion on what the best shipping company is? The client is selling western home decor - I think the biggest thing they sell is a porch glider.

1) Do companies like FedEx and UPS figure both weight and dimensions into the price?

AFIK, mostly weight up to a certain size, then it becomes oversized.

2) In the inventory database, should there be a weight field and a dimensions field, or like a weight field and a size field?

I would. That would be the size of the actual box. You may want to find packing optimizing algorithms to see what size box 3 x Item A + 2 x Item B would fit in.

3) I understand you can download prices from shipping companies in order to calculate shipping costs. Do you have to sign up somewhere to get these, or are they just available on their site?

Yes, contact Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL, whomever else. All of them will work with you and have software available you can interface.

4) How would one handle wholesale orders? For example, 20,000 screws. To ship one screw, it would probably be about 30 cents, but if I multiplied that it would be $6,000.

See my answer to #2

5) Does anyone have any opinion on what the best shipping company is? The client is selling western home decor - I think the biggest thing they sell is a porch glider.

It depends, seriously, on how far you are shipping it, the weight, the urgency, a number of factors. From California to Maine for the same shipment might be cheaper with UPS Ground but a lot slower, than, say Fed-Ex Ground. Where within the state of Tennessee (I didn't randomly pick this state ...) Fed-Ex may be both cheaper and faster. For something that big, in my experience though, UPS Ground will usually be the cheapest.

Thanks so much for your help. This should get me started on the right track.

looked into this many moths ago but all the big shippers offer shipping calculators for websites.

Yikes, how things have changed. Here is what UPS offers: http://www.ups-scs.com/tools/myfreight.html

I'm sure going to all the others websites have something similiar.

Ten years ago I never would of thought it but I really like the US Postal Service.