Freight per order fell from $28.88 to $21.98 across July — a 24% improvement. That is not better pricing; it is smaller baskets. Cushions per order dropped from 2.5 to 1.3, and smaller parcels sit lower on the weight curve.
Margin per order peaked at $97.14 in mid-July and has since slipped to $82.76. Freight got cheaper, but revenue per order fell faster — $130.69 down to $110.66 — because baskets shrank. The margin rate held around 75%; the margin dollars did not.
I sampled 250 consecutive orders from 1 July. Every one carried a $0.00 shipping line — first as Priority Tracked Shipping, later renamed Free Shipping. The only exception anywhere is the remote-region rate at $19.99, which fires on about 1.2% of orders.
That is a deliberate choice and it may well be the right one — free shipping converts. But it means every dollar off freight is a dollar of margin, with no pricing lever in between. It is why parcel size matters more here than anything else on this page.
This is the one lever that changes cost per order. Freight is priced by parcel weight; one cushion + cover + box is 1,290g. Cost per kilo falls as you add units — until the parcel passes 5kg, where it jumps 35%.
Four units is 5,160g — just over the line. Order #4345 proved it: $91.91 as one parcel, $69.28 split 2+2. $22.63 saved on one order, which is nearly a whole order's worth of freight.
Optimal splits — 4→2+2 · 5→3+2 · 6→3+3 · 7→3+2+2 · 8→3+3+2. Three units is cheapest per cushion; never strand a lone single. 627 orders historically shipped at four or more units.
Last 60 days, 1,162 US orders, all YunExpress services. Only two states cost more than the rest. Everywhere else lands within a few dollars of $26.95 whatever the distance, so there is nothing to price differently.
| State | Orders | Freight / order | You charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 3 | $55.80 | $19.99 |
| Alaska | 3 | $46.25 | $19.99 |
| Every other state | 1,156 | $26.95 | $0.00 |
They are expensive because neither ever rides EconoLink Standard — both route to YW-EconoLink remote, a separate rate card. Singles cost $35.74–$38.70, pairs $61.43–$67.27. At $19.99 you lost $47 on order #4379 alone. That rule covers every one of the six orders in the window.
| State | Orders | Freight / order |
|---|
| Week | Orders | Cushions / order | Freight / order | Product / order | Cost / order | Revenue / order | Margin / order | Margin % |
|---|
skuQty: null, so unit counts undercount slightly. All dollar figures come straight from order fields and are firm.