Rate Shopping & Estimated Shipping Costs
Summary
Rate shopping retrieves real-time carrier rates through ShipEngine to find the cheapest way to ship, while estimated shipping costs are stored at the item, order, and fulfillment-request levels to inform pricing and lowest-cost routing.
Rate shopping retrieves real-time carrier rates through an external rate shopper (ShipEngine) to find the cheapest way to ship. Estimated shipping costs are the values Flxpoint stores at the item, order, and fulfillment-request levels to inform pricing and lowest-cost routing. Rate shopping is one way to produce a dynamic source estimate.
- Feeds lowest-cost routing — rate shopping runs once a routing group is set; results factor into Lowest Cost Routing Priority.
- Needs dimensions & weight — carriers price on size and weight, so items must carry dimensions, units, and weight.
- Costs at three levels — estimated cost can live on the item (variant), the order (channel invoice), and the fulfillment request.
- Estimate, not exact — rate shopping and stored estimates approximate cost; exact supplier rates are not fetched.
Requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source address | Each source needs an address with country, state, and postal code. |
| Mapped shipping methods | Source methods must be mapped to global carriers/methods. |
| Package options | Enable Best Fit Package, or manually select package options for each method. |
| Item dimensions and weights | Variants need length/width/height, a dimension unit, and weight with unit. |
| Valid customer address | Orders need a complete, valid shipping address. |
Enabling rate shopping
- Connect ShipEngine — create a ShipEngine account and connect it to Flxpoint; add your carrier accounts (UPS, FedEx) to ShipEngine.
- Enable globally — Global Settings → Orders → Rate Shopping, toggle On. This activates it account-wide; turning it off globally preserves per-source settings.
- Enable per source — Sources → gear icon for the source → Settings, toggle Rate Shopping On.
Package sizing options
Best Fit Package automatically selects the smallest package that fits; oversized items go to the largest package (for example, a 10x10x5 in, 2 lb item fits a 12x12x6 in box). Manually selected packages means rate shopping only considers the specific package sizes you choose.
| Level | How it is set / used |
|---|---|
| Item | Via GIP/GIS mapping templates or post-mapping workflow rules; populates the Shipping Cost field on a variant. Can be built into list price. |
| Order | Usually imported from the sales channel; shown in the Channel Invoice section. |
| Fulfillment Request | The Estimated Shipping Cost field on the FR, used by routing to select the lowest-cost source. |
Managing dimensions
Rate shopping and package sizing both depend on accurate dimensions and weights.
| Source | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Source data | Imported during the Get Inventory Primary job. If a source sends bad data, set the dimension fields to Don't Map in its inventory mapping template. |
| Catalog data | Based on the source priority you configure; use field-specific priorities to override (e.g. a later source with better dimensions). |
| Missing data | Use the bulk Dimensions Customization Template to fill gaps. |
“No Eligible Package Set for These Items”
Missing dimensions, oversized items, or no eligible package selected. Add dimensions and weight, and configure custom packages if Best Fit cannot place the item.
“No Source Shipping Methods Available”
The source has no configured shipping methods (mapped to global carriers/methods). Assign valid source shipping methods.
“Estimated Shipping Rate Not Provided” or “Error Checking Rates on ShipEngine”
ShipEngine did not return rates or hit a temporary issue. Verify ShipEngine settings and carrier connections, then retry after a short wait.
A rate came back but routing still chose the wrong source
If a method returned but no estimated cost, lowest-cost routing has nothing to compare. Confirm the source method links to a carrier/method that returns a cost, and that item dimensions/weights are present so a rate can be produced.
Do I enable rate shopping in one place?
No — enable it both globally (Global Settings → Orders → Rate Shopping) and per source (Sources → gear → Settings). If the per-source toggle is missing, confirm ShipEngine is connected and rate shopping is enabled for that source.
Can I get an exact supplier shipping rate?
No. Flxpoint estimates cost via configured rules and rate shopping, but does not fetch exact supplier carrier discounts or location-based variations. Rate shopping is an estimate.
Can I show an estimated shipping cost at checkout?
Not natively on standard channels. The Flxpoint API checkout endpoint can implement this, and reseller (B2B) channels give Flxpoint control of checkout.
Where do dimensions come from?
Imported from sources during Get Inventory Primary, then resolved at the catalog level by source priority. Use the Dimensions Customization Template to bulk-fill missing values, and “Don't Map” to ignore bad source dimensions.