Shipping costs explained
Shipping is normally the largest single line on a rep order, and it is the one people estimate worst. It comes down to three things: how heavy the parcel is, how big it is, and which line carries it.
5 min read
Real weight vs volumetric weight
Carriers bill whichever is higher. Real weight is what the scale says. Volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres, divided by the carrier's divisor — usually 5000 or 6000.
A 40 × 30 × 20 cm box is 24,000 cm³. At a divisor of 6000 that is 4 kg billed, even if it holds 1.5 kg of clothing. This is why down jackets and boxed sneakers cost more to send than their mass suggests, and why agents compress and vacuum-pack.
Typical weights, so you can plan
A t-shirt runs about 200 g, a hoodie 600–900 g, jeans 700 g, a pair of sneakers 1–1.4 kg without the box and closer to 1.8 kg with it, a puffer jacket 800 g but with the volume of three hoodies. Four or five apparel items land around 3 kg, which is the sweet spot on most lines.
Choosing a line
Lines differ in three ways that matter: price per kilo, transit time, and what they refuse to carry. Budget economy lines take three to five weeks and often will not take batteries, liquids or anything branded too obviously. Express lines land in a week and are the ones most likely to hand you a customs bill.
There is also a first-kilo effect: most lines charge a higher rate for the first kilo and less for each one after. A 1 kg parcel is rarely half the price of a 2 kg parcel — it is more like two thirds. That is the arithmetic behind consolidating.
How to spend less without gambling
Consolidate: one parcel of five items beats five parcels of one, every time. Ask the agent to remove shoe boxes and excess packaging. Do not pay for express on something you are not in a hurry for. And check what the declared value does to your customs bill before you choose — a cheap line plus an unexpected VAT invoice can end up costing more than the expensive line would have.