Item added just over a band boundary
Band pricing means the last item can cost more than the ones before it. Checking the band boundary before adding an item is the whole optimisation in this category.
Reviewed 2026-09-30 · quarterly cycle
4PX in a haul: what it does and where it breaks
Band pricing is the property of this line type that changes how a parcel should be assembled. Rather than charging linearly per kilogram, rates are tiered, and the tiers have boundaries. A parcel at 1.9 kilograms and one at 2.1 kilograms can be priced as different products. The consequence is that the marginal cost of the last item in a parcel is not the average cost of the items before it, and adding one more thing to reach a round number can push the parcel into a more expensive band.
The second property is that divisors are published per service rather than per carrier. Two services under the same brand can use different divisors, which means an estimate built from the wrong service document is wrong in a predictable direction. Reading the divisor from the specific service you are booking is a small discipline with a measurable payoff on a volume-heavy parcel.
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Where it sits on the timeline
- Stage 1: payment not settled
- Stage 2: dispatch never happened
- Stage 3: QC window running out
- Stage 4: line queued behind a backlog
- Stage 5: documentation request
- Stage 6: released but not collected
- Stage 1 — Order and payment
- 0 to 1 days. Most common stall: payment not settled
- Stage 2 — Seller dispatch
- 1 to 5 days. Most common stall: dispatch never happened
- Stage 3 — Warehouse intake and QC
- 1 to 4 days. Most common stall: QC window running out
- Stage 4 — International leg
- 1 to 14 days. Most common stall: line queued behind a backlog
- Stage 5 — Clearance
- 1 to 8 days. Most common stall: documentation request
- Stage 6 — Last mile
- 1 to 6 days. Most common stall: released but not collected
Cost and rule lines
| Line | Range or basis | Basis stated |
|---|---|---|
| Weight band pricing | Tiered by weight band rather than linear per kilogram | Carrier-published rate tiers. Band boundaries are where marginal cost jumps, not where weight increases. |
| Volumetric divisor | Published per service rather than per carrier | Service-level documentation; two services from the same carrier can use different divisors. |
| Restricted goods scope | Published per service | Service-level restricted list. Scope differs between services more than buyers expect. |
Three failures and how they are handled
Divisor taken from the wrong service
Divisors are published per service, not per carrier. Taking the divisor from a different service of the same carrier produces an estimate that is wrong in a predictable direction.
Tracking stage misread as a hold
Several tracking stages look static but are queued rather than stopped. Comparing the timestamp of the last scan against the published range is what distinguishes a queue from a hold.
Restricted goods scope also varies by service, and this is where most refusals originate. A category accepted on one service can be excluded on another, and the exclusion is usually categorical rather than conditional. Checking the list for the service at the moment of booking — rather than for the carrier in general — is the check that prevents a warehouse refusal.
On tracking, several stages look static without being stopped. Queued and held are different states that can present the same way in a tracking view, and the distinguishing feature is the timestamp of the last scan against the published range for that stage. If the last scan is inside the range, the parcel is queued. If it is outside, it is worth a query. Making that distinction before contacting anyone saves a round of correspondence.
The overall picture for this line type is that cost control comes from parcel assembly and divisor accuracy rather than from rate negotiation. That is a useful thing to know because both are within the buyer control, and neither requires a conversation with anyone.
What it combines with
HipoBuy
agent
YunExpress
carrier
CNE
carrier
Line-by-line: matching a parcel to a carrier instead of a habit