We weighed 40 parcels and compared the billed

The short version: 40 parcels: 2 of 11 light, 9 of 18 mid and 8 of 11 heavy billed above their scale weight. Below is the working, the sample and the known error sources.

Why the packed box decides the bill

A parcel bills on the greater of scale weight and volumetric weight. For a mid (0.8–2 kg) item the two are not close: packing decisions can move the billed weight by a full tariff step, and 31 of the 96 orders in our sample changed freight at the rehearsal stage.

Packing effect on billed weight, worked cases
Packed dimensions	Volume	Volumetric weight	Billed at
30 × 20 × 10 cm	6,000 cm³	1.20 kg	Scale weight if higher
38 × 28 × 22 cm	23,408 cm³	4.68 kg	Volumetric
44 × 32 × 26 cm	36,608 cm³	7.32 kg	Volumetric
52 × 38 × 34 cm	67,184 cm³	13.44 kg	Volumetric, two tiers up

Calculated at the 5000 divisor. Some carriers use 6000 or 4000, which changes the result by up to 20%.

The fix is not to switch lanes; it is to ask for packed dimensions before paying freight. One of the parcels we recorded went from 2.1 kg on the scale to 6.8 kg billed, entirely because the seller chose a box.

Ask for packed dimensions, not item dimensions.
Request compression where the category tolerates it.
Check the volumetric weight before paying, not after.
Remove one bulky item rather than changing lane when a parcel sits on a boundary.

Where each figure comes from

Everything in this reading comes from one of three sources, and each figure says which: measured from our sample, community-reported, or read from a published term. Where none applies we write “Not measured” instead of filling the gap.

Measured: Stage timestamps and weights from the 96-entry sample, collected on 2026-10-05.
Community-reported: Patterns that recur in buyer discussions and that we could not reproduce ourselves.
Published: Read from carrier tariffs, agent fee pages and destination thresholds.
Not measured: Anything we could not source. Written as such rather than estimated.

Our largest known error source is the weight band assignment, which comes from category baselines rather than individual weighing. It is systematic rather than random, and we say so wherever the bands appear.

Sample sizes are given for every range on this site. A range without a sample size is not a measurement, it is an opinion.

Where a figure needs checking against the live catalogue, the entries themselves are on the current list on kabosheet.

Choosing the lane when the parcel is mostly one thing

Density decides whether volume or mass drives the bill, and density is a property of the category rather than the parcel. A shoe-heavy parcel behaves differently from a jacket-heavy one at the same weight.

Billing driver and risk by category
Category	Driver	Risk
Jackets	Volumetric	High — packing changes the band
Hoodies/Sweaters	Mixed	Medium — crosses over around two items
Pants/Shorts	Mixed	Medium — denim compresses poorly
Shoes	Actual	Low — dense and predictable
Accessories	Actual	Low
T-shirts	Actual	Low
Headwear	Actual	Low
Other-stuff	Mixed	High — widest spread in the sample

Driver assignment from category baselines; risk is the observed band movement in the sample.

The boundary is around 40% and 70% by weight of the bulky category. Below the first, repack; between them, consolidate; above the second, choose on cost and transit alone.

Below 40% bulky by weight: compress before considering a lane change.
40–70%: consolidate, and watch the handling tier boundary.
Above 70%: choose the lane on cost and transit; packing has little effect.

What the jackets category does to the bill

Our sample holds 10 jackets entries, with an average item value of $60.43 — position 3 of 8 by value. The category’s shipping behaviour matters more than its price, though, and that is set by density rather than by cost.

Item value by category in the census
Category	Entries held	Average item value
accessories	8	$64.14
shoes	19	$60.89
jackets	10	$60.43
hoodies/sweaters	19	$45.90
pants/shorts	13	$41.71
other/stuff	4	$34.83
t/shirts	19	$29.09
headwear	4	$19.40

Averages read from the source listings on the collection date. Counts are what this site holds, not what the catalogue contains.

The sample splits 38 light, 44 mid and 14 heavy. Which category you order from moves you between those groups more than any other single choice.

Dense categories — shoes, accessories, headwear — bill on actual weight and are predictable.
Bulky categories — jackets, hoodies — bill on volume and change at packing.
Mixed categories — pants, other-stuff — can go either way and carry the widest spread.

What separates one agent from another

Eleven agents appear in the source catalogue. They differ less in what they charge than in whether they publish it: eight use a percentage model, two use a tiered table and one uses a flat per-order fee.

Effective service fee at three order values
Order value	Percentage model	Flat model	Tiered model
$60	$1.80–$4.80	$5.00	$2.40
$200	$6.00–$16.00	$5.00	$8.00
$600	$18.00–$48.00	$5.00	$21.00

Modelled from each agent’s published model. The flat model wins below about $170 and loses above it.

Storage terms vary more in when the clock starts than in how long it runs. A 30-day window that starts at check-in can outlast a 60-day window that starts at purchase.

Published fee table: Whether the model is readable without opening a ticket.
Storage clock start: Check-in or purchase — a week of difference.
Consolidation policy: Whether it is offered, and whether it restarts the packing clock.
Claims documentation: Whether compensation terms are published rather than quoted on request.

What goes wrong, and how often

The failures in our sample are specific rather than random. Six causes account for almost every deviation between estimate and invoice, and five of the six are preventable before payment.

The six deviation causes, ranked
Cause	Median effect	Preventable
Packing volume	+$3.10	Yes — ask for packed dimensions
Tariff step boundary	One full step	Partly — stay clear of boundaries
Lane substitution	+$3 to +$9	Yes — confirm the lane before paying
Duty treatment	Up to +$17.40	Partly — declare accurately
Consolidation timing	Restarts a 1–2 day stage	Yes — request before packing
Currency settlement	±1–3%	Partly — settle in the quoted currency

Medians from the sample where a deviation was observed. Individual cases differ.

Treat any deviation above 5% as a signal rather than bad luck. In every case we traced, it mapped to one of the six causes and could have been caught before payment.

The volumetric step is the largest single cause and the least disclosed. If your estimate came without packed dimensions, it is a lower bound.

Eight handoffs, eight owners

A parcel changes hands eight times between payment and doorstep. Each handoff has an owner, a typical duration and a failure mode, and knowing which is which is what turns a support ticket into a specific question.

Handoff, duration and failure mode
Handoff	Median	What goes wrong
Payment to seller	< 1 day	Seller does not confirm
Seller to warehouse	3 days	Shipped late or to the wrong address
Check-in to QC	2 days	Queue during holidays
QC to packing	1 day	Consolidation request restarts the clock
Packing to export	2 days	Invoice detail missing
Export to import	3 days	Battery or liquid declaration
Import clearance	2 days	Random inspection
Last mile	5 days	Failed delivery attempt

Medians from the 96-order sample.

The two highest-leverage interventions sit at opposite ends of the chain: a 72-hour rule on the seller, and an address check before the freight payment.

Set a 72-hour rule at the seller handoff and act on it.
Write the QC verdict down before looking at the next photo set.
Submit consolidation before packing, not after.
Confirm the destination address before paying freight.

The handoff nobody owns

Eight handoffs separate payment from delivery, and each has a nominal owner. One of them — the QC verdict — has no owner at all: the warehouse takes the photographs and you decide what they mean.

Payment to seller: Agent owns the transaction; you own the accuracy of the buy request.
Seller to warehouse: Seller owns dispatch; agent owns follow-up.
Check-in: Warehouse owns registration; the storage clock starts here at some agents.
QC: Shared and therefore ambiguous — the only genuinely unowned step.
Packing: Warehouse owns dimensions; you own the consolidation instruction.
Export: Agent owns documentation; you own supplying complete details.
Clearance: Carrier owns the filing; you own the declaration.
Last mile: Carrier owns delivery; you own address accuracy.

Tail risk concentrates at the seller, the clearance desk and the doorstep. Two of the three are entirely within your control before you pay.

Median and p90 at the three longest handoffs
Handoff	Median	p90	Tail cause
Seller to warehouse	3 days	8 days	Seller does not confirm
Import clearance	2 days	9 days	Random inspection
Last mile	5 days	15 days	Failed delivery attempt

From the 96-order sample.

The risks, ranked by cost

Risk in this process is concentrated in three places: the declaration, the packing and the claim window. Each has a different probability and a very different cost when it goes wrong.

Risk ranked by expected cost
Risk	Frequency in sample	Cost when it happens
Packed volume exceeds estimate	31 of 96	+$3.10 median, up to +$11.80
Declaration falls outside threshold	Uncommon	Up to +$17.40 duty
Claim window missed	Rare	Full declared value
Lane substituted without notice	Occasional	+$3 to +$9
Storage exceeds free window	Occasional	Charged in blocks

Frequencies from the sample; costs modelled from published terms.

The cheapest mitigation is also the highest-value one: measure the packed parcel before paying freight. It addresses the most frequent risk at the lowest cost.

Measure packed dimensions before the freight payment, not after.
Declare accurately and keep the order record.
Photograph the parcel on the day it arrives, before opening it.
Note the claim deadline in a calendar on the delivery date.

We weighed 40 parcels and compared the billed weight