What are actual weight and volumetric weight?
The Real Weight (RW) is the gross weight of a product, its value corresponds to the measurement assigned by a scale; while the Volumetric Weight (VW) is equivalent to the weight of a package considering its dimensions.
As a shipping company, at Envíos Market we use the higher value obtained from both weights to calculate shipping rates.
The reason why it is necessary to determine the Volumetric Weight is associated with the fact that the planes, trucks and containers that transport the merchandise generally fill up before reaching their load limit due to the space that the packages occupy.
We should mention that there are very light packages that occupy a large volume, for such cases, the rate is calculated based on the volume. When it comes to very heavy packages, obviously the Real Weight will prevail and the packaging will not influence the rate.
Example of real and volumetric weight
Suppose we have to make a shipment with a weight of 500 kg of cotton and another with 500 kg of gold bars. The weight of both is the same, however, the space that both shipments will occupy will not be the same because the cotton will need more space in the means of transport that will carry out the shipment in relation to the space of the gold bars.
At Envíos Market we carry out the weight-space equivalences, we necessarily calculate both weights (RW and VW) to determine which is the greater and give the customer the honest shipping cost.
How to calculate the volumetric weight?
This simple formula below is used by international carriers:
vw = (Length * Width * Height) / FC
Where FC = conversion factor = 5000 (this value varies depending on the transporter)
Dimensions in cm
We do the calculation and measurement for you
We take care of comparing rates using the volumetric factors of the carriers. Each one uses different criteria, and we offer you the option that best suits your time and budget. (Schedule your shipment)
