FedEx Box or Custom Boxes for Packing WooCommerce Orders

Choosing the right box is essential for cost-effective and safe shipping. Whether using standard FedEx boxes or your own custom packaging, proper box selection helps optimize shipping rates.

The WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin lets you pack orders using FedEx-provided boxes or custom boxes. Similarly, Shopify users can use the Shopify Ship, Rate, and Track for FedEx app to set up and use FedEx or custom boxes for their shipments. 

Let’s explore how these packing options work and how you can make the most of them.

What are FedEx Boxes?

FedEx provides various boxes for different shipping needs. The WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin supports many of these and also lets you define your own custom boxes. Before using the plugin, it’s helpful to understand how box packing works and how custom boxes can be configured.

Let’s look at an example from one of our customers:

Lorenzo: We are going to use our own custom boxes. Is there a way to prioritize one specialty box over the other in the packaging generation? For example, we have one box that will fix most of the items, and we have another box that is bigger that we will use when the customer orders many items together and it cannot fit in the small box.

Lorenzo wanted to pack items efficiently, and the plugin does just that. It’s a smart packing algorithm that automatically prioritizes boxes. If an item doesn’t fit in one, it switches to the next suitable box and calculates rates accordingly.

Configure FedEx Boxes in WooCommerce Shipping Plugin

If your products fit into standard FedEx boxes, you can use them instead of custom packaging. In the FedEx settings under the Packaging tab, choose the packing method: “Pack into boxes with weight and dimensions.” 

This will display available FedEx packaging options.

As shown in the image, there are several predefined FedEx boxes available. You can also create custom boxes such as large framed art boxes, laptop boxes, small electronics boxes, and tablet boxes as shown in the image. When a customer orders a matching item, it will be packed according to the specified box dimensions.

Defining a custom box in Shopify

The Shopify Ship, Rate & Track for FedEx app allows merchants to configure and use both FedEx standard boxes and custom boxes for shipping. You can also display real-time FedEx rates at checkout, print shipping labels directly from your store, and provide live tracking to customers.

To set up custom boxes, select the Box Packing method as the packaging type. Once selected, you’ll see a list of predefined FedEx boxes along with an option to add your own custom boxes.

• You can enable only the FedEx boxes you want to use, or click on “Add Custom Box” to define your packaging.
• You can enable Volumetric Weight if you want FedEx rates to be calculated based on dimensional weight.

The option to “Stack Products in Boxes” allows for efficient use of space inside boxes when packing multiple items.

This setup ensures accurate shipping rate calculations by matching your products to the right packaging, whether it’s a FedEx box or your own custom-sized box.

Conclusion

Choosing the right packaging, whether standard FedEx boxes or custom boxes, is key to optimizing shipping costs and ensuring safe delivery of WooCommerce or Shopify orders. The FedEx Shipping plugins and the Shopify FedEx App empower store owners to easily configure both FedEx and custom boxes, enabling smarter packing decisions with accurate rate calculations. Start shipping your products with smart packaging today!

You can contact our customer support if you have any issues setting up FedEx shipping on your online store.

Happy selling!