Before You Buy That Label! Get a Full Surcharge Breakdown With EasyPost
by Sydney Ton
If you’ve been shipping for a while, you’re probably familiar with surcharges. Whether it be fuel, handling, remote area delivery, or some other fee, surcharges have a way of sneakily driving up the total cost of shipping.
To keep costs transparent for our customers, EasyPost is releasing an update to our Shipping API. You’ll be able to see an itemized list of all surcharges for a label at the time of rating, so you’ll have a clear understanding of the true cost before buying your label.
The total shipping cost will remain the same as before this update. However, the breakdown will provide a more detailed view of the individual components that make up the total.
What do the surcharges look like during rating?
You’ll see a “surcharges” object in your rating response. Each surcharge type will include the name and price. Please see our example below.
How do I enable this feature?
To access this feature, contact your customer success manager or our Support team and let them know you’d like to view surcharges during rating. Once activated, there are no other steps you need to complete. To learn more about the API response, see our documentation here.
Please note, this feature is not currently available to shippers creating a label through the EasyPost dashboard. It’ll only appear in the API. If you have any additional questions, please contact your customer success manager or our support team.
Surcharge FAQ
When are surcharge objects returned?
Surcharge objects are returned after label purchase. The shipment object includes the same surcharge breakdown found in the original rate. Please note that surcharges may not be returned from requests with third-party billing enabled.
Is this available for all carriers?
Today, this feature is only available for FedEx, UPS, USPS, Canada Post, and DHL eCommerce shipments.
Can surcharges vary between carriers for the same service?
Yes. Each carrier uses its own surcharge structure; the standardized categories help normalize these differences.
Is it normal for surcharges to come back as $0.00?
Yes. Each carrier handles surcharges differently and sometimes returns $0.00 to a surcharge string if it is not applicable.
How are newly introduced surcharges handled?
Unrecognized surcharge types are labeled with the "UNKNOWN" category until mapped to an existing or new category.