SMKlog Parcel Shipping Rates

The weight USPS, UPS and FedEx bill for a box: dimensional weight (L x W x H / 139) against actual weight, rounded as each carrier rounds, and the parcel and USPS limits it meets. Explains why a big light box costs more and how small a box would bill at its real weight. A calculation only: no carrier call, no quote allowance, nothing stored; get_parcel_quote prices the box live.

Parameter rules:

• length_in, width_in, height_in, weight_lb: all required, above 0, at most 1000.

• USPS: sides rounded up, 139 only above 1728 cubic inches; UPS and FedEx: nearest inch, every box.

• Weights round up to a whole pound; USPS prices under 1 lb by the ounce.

• Limits: parcel 150 lb, 108 in longest side, 165 in length plus girth; USPS 70 lb, 130 in (Ground Advantage) or 108 in (Priority Mail).

Cancels a create_checkout_link session the human has not opened yet: its handoff link stops binding a checkout, and get_checkout_status answers session_cancelled from then on. Nothing has been paid at that stage, so nothing is refunded and no human is needed. Once the human opens checkout the call is refused with session_in_checkout and the checkout stands: an unpaid one expires on its own, a paid one is refunded by SMKlog support and get_refund_status follows it. Idempotent: cancelling a cancelled session answers the same. No carrier call, no quote allowance.

Parameter rules:

• session_id is the as_ plus UUID id from create_checkout_link.

• An unknown, malformed or expired id answers session_not_found.

• From checkout_started on: session_in_checkout, and nothing changes.

• To try again, call create_checkout_link for a new session.

• 60 calls an hour per client, shared with get_checkout_status.

Turns a decided shipment into a payment session: the amount and a handoff URL to prefilled SMKlog checkout. Pass quote_id from get_parcel_quote: its price is reused, no second carrier call. Keep the returned session_id for get_checkout_status. It never charges: the human confirms contents and consents, then pays on the page.

Side effects: writes a 30-day session record; not idempotent, two calls make two sessions. No session for a non-parcel, several boxes, or an installed lithium battery crossing a border.

Parameter rules:

• A valid quote_id overrides product, from_zip, to_zip, to_country and quantity; service still applies.

• An expired quote_id reprices from the fields, or fails with missing_required_fields without them.

• service is a case-insensitive fragment of the display name; no match anchors the quote's first rate, not always the cheapest.

• from_zip: 5-digit US ZIP; to_zip follows to_country (US, CA, GB, DE, AU).

• International: customs on the page; the recipient pays duty.

Reports where a create_checkout_link session stands: whether the human opened checkout, paid, and whether the label exists, with the tracking number once it does. Reads SMKlog's own records only: no carrier call, no quote allowance, nothing changes. Poll minutes apart: nothing moves until the human acts.

Statuses, in order: awaiting_checkout, checkout_started, paid (label not bought yet), label_ready (tracking_number present; pass it to track_parcel), delivered, refunded.

Parameter rules:

• session_id is the as_ plus UUID id from create_checkout_link; no order id, email or quote_id works.

• A session lives 30 days; an unknown, malformed or expired id answers session_not_found.

• The answer never carries names, addresses or emails; whoever holds the session_id can read the tracking number.

• A manual-review request is not a checkout: the status stays awaiting_checkout.

• 60 checks an hour per client.

The carriers’ own send-by dates for delivery by the 2026 winter holidays: USPS (Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express; delivery by Dec 25) and FedEx (Ground Economy, Ground and Home Delivery by days in transit, Express Saver, 2Day, Overnight; delivery by Dec 24), each marked on_track or too_late for today in New York, with the page each date was read from. UPS publishes no fixed dates, and the answer says so. Contiguous US only; never a guarantee and never an SMKlog estimate. No carrier call, no quote allowance.

Parameter rules:

• No parameters.

• After Dec 24, 2026 the answer says the season is over and lists no dates.

• For a real lane and service, get_parcel_quote returns each service’s delivery estimate.

Live parcel rates from a US origin: USPS, UPS, FedEx; DHL Express to DE and AU. Describe the item to estimate the box, or give exact dimensions and weight. Up to five services, each a total with the SMKlog fee inside (itemized only on the checkout receipt). To buy on smklog.com: quote_id to create_checkout_link. Typical prices: get_price_index (free).

Parameter rules:

• weight_lb, length_in, width_in, height_in count only as a set of four above zero, else the box is estimated.

• One label per box: units that fit one box are priced as that box; more boxes or a quantity above 1 sent with exact dimensions: multiple_boxes.

• Over 150 lb, 108 in longest side or 165 in length plus girth, or pallet or freight: mode not_a_parcel.

• product: the item, up to 200 characters; a bare route, weight or question: product_not_recognized.

• from_zip: a real 5-digit US ZIP, else invalid_us_zip.

• to_country: US, CA, GB, DE or AU, else international_unsupported_online; to_zip follows it.

• 80 calls an hour per client.

The SMKlog parcel shipping price index: a monthly repriced basket of six common boxes (1 to 20 lb) shipped from Newark, NJ to five US cities, quoted through the same live USPS, UPS and FedEx pipeline that prices real shipments. Returns the cheapest purchasable service per box and lane with every rate behind it, plus basket averages. Reference data for questions like "what does shipping a shoebox cost in the US right now" — reading it spends no quote allowance. For a price on a specific shipment, call get_parcel_quote instead. Parameter rules: month names one published issue as YYYY-MM; issues exist from 2026-07 onward, one per month, and omitting month returns the newest. A month with no issue answers issue_not_found together with available_months, so one miss lists every valid value; anything not shaped YYYY-MM answers invalid_month. Every issue prices the same boxes and lanes, so two months compare cell for cell.

Says whether the payment behind a create_checkout_link session was refunded, how much and why. Status: not_paid (nothing to refund), none (paid, not refunded), requested (a refund is under way), under_review (an unused non-USPS label, decided by an operator), declined (the label was scanned, so the carrier refused the refund), partially_refunded or refunded; with amount_paid, amount_refunded, reason (unused_label: the automatic refund of a never-scanned label; other) and the refund policy in force. Unused USPS labels are refunded automatically; this tool only reads, it never starts a refund. SMKlog records only: no carrier call, no quote allowance.

Parameter rules:

• session_id is the as_ plus UUID id from create_checkout_link; no order id or email works.

• An unknown, malformed or expired id answers session_not_found.

• It reports on the checkout get_checkout_status reports.

• No names, addresses, emails or card details.

• 60 checks an hour per client, shared with get_checkout_status.

What SMKlog will not ship and what ships only with conditions: prohibited categories (weapons, drugs, counterfeit goods, money and valuables, living and perishable contents, dangerous goods, controlled exports), restricted ones (batteries, medicine, chemicals and aerosols, regulated natural products, age-restricted goods), the lithium battery rules the checkout applies (installed: UN3481 mark, ground; power banks: UN3480, ground only, up to 100 Wh and 5 lb; larger or lithium-metal batteries reviewed by hand), how to describe an item, and the international rules. The policy published at smklog.com/shipping-restrictions. No carrier call, no quote allowance.

Parameter rules:

• No parameters.

• A policy reference, not a verdict on one item: get_parcel_quote and the checkout check each item, by name too.

• The lists are examples, not complete; carrier and destination rules can be stricter.

Track a shipment whose label was bought on smklog.com, by carrier tracking number: the current status, the latest scan events (newest first, up to eight) and the estimated delivery date when the carrier gives one. SMKlog labels only: not a universal tracker, so another seller's number answers not-found. Spends no quote allowance. Once a create_checkout_link session reaches label_ready, get_checkout_status hands back this number.

Parameter rules:

• tracking_number is the only key; no order id or email.

• It is matched after removing spaces and hyphens, ignoring case.

• Typical shapes: USPS 20 to 22 digits (13 characters ending in US for international), UPS 1Z plus 16 characters, FedEx 12 to 22 digits.

• Under 6 characters after cleanup: tracking_number_required. A number SMKlog never sold: 404 tracking_not_found.