You almost never see a prospect's shipping invoice on the first call. But you can build a strong estimate from what's visible — the zones they hit, the weight breaks they live in, the service levels they promise. This drawer sharpens that gut.
Three lenses for turning a public-facing shipping story into a rough but defensible cost picture — the kind you can put on a napkin.
Where they ship from vs. where their customers live. A single-DC brand shipping coast-to-coast is a very different animal from a two-DC one — and it shows up in the rates.
Small movements around the wrong pound tier can double a per-package cost. Knowing where a prospect sits on the curve tells you where to poke.
Every "free 2-day" promise buys a specific class of service. That choice is where budget goes to die — or where a smart rep finds room.
You don't need to reverse-engineer a rate card. Three questions and a rough estimate are usually enough to earn a real conversation.
Find the DC(s). Their shipping page will usually name a city, a state, or at least a region. That single fact drives half the zone math.
Pull three or four typical products off their site. Estimate dims and weight. Dim-weight vs. actual weight is where surprise costs hide.
Read the checkout page like a customer. Every "free 2-day" or "next-day available" is a service-level commitment you can price against.
You'll never guess the invoice exactly. You just need to be close enough that the prospect leans in.