How to handle Shipping with FedEx Non-Standard Packages using WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin

In this article, we will be covering the FedEx Non-Standard Packaging and how you can handle the products that require such special packaging in your WooCommerce.

There are a ton of things which you should keep in mind while running an online business. There will be complex shipping scenarios involving products that cannot be packed and shipped conventionally. And as a result, it will impact the way you pack and ship your products.

With the help of WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin, the non-standard packaging can be easily applied to the product variations. So if a particular variation of the product falls under the category of non-standard packaging, the other variations must be excluded from the same.

But first, let’s have an idea about the FedEx Non-Standard Packaging before going into the technicalities of the plugin.

What is a FedEx Non-Standard Package?

FedEx charges an additional fee based on the product packaging. The following packages are considered as Non-Standard.

  • Any package measuring greater than 60 inches in length but is equal to or less than 108 inches in length
  • The package which is not fully encased in an outer shipping container
  • The package which is encased in an outer shipping container made of wood
  • A Drum or pail (less than 5 gallons) not fully encased in an outer shipping container made of corrugated cardboard

Now since we know what FedEx Non-Standard packages are, let us see how to implement the Non-Standard packaging additional surcharges on the product level with the help of WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin.

What is WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin?

WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin is one of the best WooCommerce shipping plugins you can find for your online store. The plugin allows you to get real-time accurate FedEx shipping rates for domestic as well as international shipments.

Moreover, it also helps in printing FedEx shipping labels automatically and tracking the package across the globe. The plugin is one of the few shipping plugins that are capable of automating the whole shipping process for your WooCommerce store.

Enabling Non-Standard Container Option for a Product

WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin has an option to select whether a product belongs to a Non-Standard container or not. Once you install and activate the plugin, the following option will appear on the Edit Product page for every product.

Non-Standard product

Once you enable this option, the product will be marked as Non-Standard and the real-time shipping rates will include the additional charges for that product. The images below show the shipping rates before and after enabling the non-standard option.

standard fedex shipping rates

And once we enable the option, the following shipping rates are shown including the additional charges.

fedex additional charges

Enabling Non-Standard Container Option for a Product Variation

In the case of product variations, things may be a little different. One such case may arise when only some of the product variations may fall under the category of Non-Standard packaging. Store owners may need a mechanism to differentiate the product variations which require special packaging and which don’t.

With the help of WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin, the store owners can easily make sure the Non-Standard packaging is only enabled for the right product. In the case of variable products, the plugin allows setting the non-standard packaging individually, as shown in the image below.

woocommerce variation

This way when a customer selects the variation with Non-Standard packaging enables, the following shipping rates appear on the cart page.

non standard fedex rates

And, in case of the other variation for which the Non-Standard packaging was not enabled, the standard shipping rates are shown.

non standard packing

Hence this way, the store owners can easily handle the products that fall under the FedEx Non-Standard packaging, on both the product and product variations level.

Final thoughts…

This article covers one of the most important aspects of online shipping via FedEx. FedEx categorizes the packages that are sent for shipping as Non-Standard packages based on some conditions that we discussed above. And special packaging means special (additional) shipping rates. We also saw how WooCommerce FedEx shipping plugin helps you achieve that.

If you own a Shopify store and are looking for ways to provide real-time FedEx shipping rates then check out Shopify FedEx App. This App also comes with amazing features like print FedEx shipping labels, order tracking, FedEx Pickup, and much more.

We hope this guide would have helped you. If you have any query regarding this then feel free to contact our customer support. They should be able to help you out.

Happy selling!

Last Updated On April 10, 2019