Shopping carts and multi-box shipments

The current shopping cart system I'm using calculates shipping charges
based on the number and weight of boxes being shipped. This method is
very accurate and unfortunately is the only good feature of my current
system. The newer shopping cart software seems to only calculate
shipping by percent of the total sale or by the weight of a single box.

I'm at the point of trying to either change how I calculate shipping
charges or try to find another shopping cart program that can calculate
multi-box shipments.

How do companies usually calculate the shipping charges they charge
customers for products purchased?

Hello,

I work for an ecommerce provider (Nexternal.com) and I can't speak for
everyone else, but I can tell you how our software works and how our
clients charge.

We allow you to use real-time rates or to set up rate tables,
percentages, flat rates, etc. However, you can specify items as
"stand-alone" shipments, or tell the system that once a shipment
reaches X lbs. it needs to be split, or specify the number of packages
based on where the packages are shipping from (multiple warehouses).

In terms of how the clients charge, most use real-time rates with free
shipping over X dollars. Some use flat rates like $4.95, some don't
charge at all. It really depends on what you're selling, your
clientele and lastly, your profit margins.

Drop me a line if you want more info.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!