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Overview
Creating Custom Packages in AfterShip Shipping can significantly speed up your label creation process by allowing you to easily select pre-defined packages for your shipments.
Custom packages are stored and available for quick selection, eliminating the need to manually input package details each time you create a label.
With predefined custom packages, you are less likely to make mistakes when entering package size information manually.
Custom packages ensure that the same packaging is used for similar products or orders consistently.
With custom packages, you can more accurately match the size and weight of the items being shipped with the correct package.
Create custom packages
Go to Settings > Packages in your AfterShip Shipping admin.
Click Add package to add custom packages.
Label the custom package for easy reference when filling in the package information.
Add the dimensions of the package. For example, if you are filling in the size of an Envelope you frequently use to send in physical gift cards to your customers, add in the actual size of the envelope. If you have a pre-agreed price with your carrier, enter the maximum dimensions allowed by that agreement avoid unexpected fees.
Add the average weight of the package. This could be based on your typical packaging for specific items.
Click Add to list the package under custom packages.
Use custom packages
Custom packages come handy when you are filling shipping information for your packages to create labels manually.
Go to the Orders dashboard in your AfterShip Shipping admin.
Select the order for which you wish to create label for.
Under the Package information, you can see your own custom package with the defined dimensions. Once your select the package, you can see the package dimensions auto-populate in the package dimensions fields.
You might see a different weight in the Weight field as oppose to what you configured for the selected custom package. This is because the total weight of the package will be calculated by combining the actual package weight and the total weight of the item in the package.
Click Create label to generate the shipping label for the order.
Demo
Key takeaways
Custom packages in AfterShip Shipping let you save pre-defined package details (name, dimensions, weight) so you can select them instantly during label creation instead of entering everything manually each time.
They reduce manual-entry errors and keep packaging consistent, the same package is always used for similar products or orders.
To create one, go to Settings > Packages, click Add package, then enter a recognizable label, the package dimensions, and its average weight. If you have a pre-agreed carrier rate, use the maximum dimensions allowed under that agreement to avoid unexpected fees.
To use one, select the order in the Orders dashboard, choose your custom package under Package information, and the saved dimensions auto-populate before you click Create label.
The Weight field may differ from your configured package weight.AfterShip Shipping automatically adds the item weight to the package weight to calculate the total shipment weight.