Although you haven't given me much to work with - Such as the quotes you are receiving from each carrier, and where the parcel is destined to, using the screenshot provided I can see that the quote requested is for a parcel that is
70cm long
20cm wide
20cm high
Weight 960grams.
Entering this data into the Australia Post server (I used the arbitrary destination of USA) the cost for Airmail should be $29.70
The Australia post servers don't have inputs for the item dimensions, as (apparently) their normal 'cubing rules' don't apply for overseas.
Entering the same information into the skippypost server - Who *do* have the dimension fields, the cost for the same parcel to the same destination is $92.35 (plus the $9.00 shipment fee) - So, what you claim appears to be correct - The skippypost quote is outrageous in comparison.
So, here's where it gets a little interesting - The SkippyPost *website* actually has two different rate calculators - A 'volumetric weights' calculator, and a simple 'rate estimator'
Like the AustPost server, the simple rate estimator only has two inputs - The parcel weight and its destination. If/when this calculator is used, the quote for a 960gm parcel to USA is listed as ~$22.00.
Now, the thing is, the ozpost system doesn't get a choice as to which of the Skippy Calculators to use, and if it submits a request *without* the dimensional data their servers return the error:
---------------------------------------------------
ErrorSkippyPost
internal error: detected an error in element content
-------------------------------------------------
In other words the quotes returned by ozpost are exactly the same as the skippypost volumetric weight calculator, and there is nothing I can do about this. The parcel is being quoted based on its cubic rate rather than its deadweight.
I think this now brings up the question as to which is the *correct* quote (what will you actually be charged). Personally, I have no idea, so on this basis alone, even if I could overcome/override the quotes based on the cubic rate (eg, by submitting 'fake' dimensions rather than the 'real' dimensions), it isn't something I would be keen on doing unless I'm 100% confident that the cubing rules don't apply, because if I'm wrong, such an override would leave the merchant (you) almost $70 out of pocket on just this one transaction.
The ozpost philosophy is to 'Protect the merchant' - I feel it better to provide inaccurately high quotes, which will drive the customer to either opt for a cheaper option, or if they do select the overly expensive option a refund for the overcharge is much more beneficial in so many ways than having to carry the loss, ask the customer for more money, or telling them that the method they chose can't be done due to the quote error.
I'm not sure if this reply helps you in any way - One solution (your risk) would be to adjust your product dimensions so that the cubing rules would never apply (which is true for most products, most of the time anyway), or, As you have a Skippypost account (which I don't), perhaps you might like to get clarification from them as to if/when the cubing rules do apply. If it turns out that they are never applied (and I have documented proof/evidence) I might consider an override, but then it makes me wonder why they have the volumetric calculator and why the dimensions are even needed in the 1st place.
Over to you.....
Cheers
RodG
Bookmarks