Parcel Weight and Volume

We use weight and volume to determine the 'size' of your parcel. The maximum sizes differ depending on region, and this page explains all that.

As noted in our Terms and Conditions, we may weigh and scan parcels during transit. If we find a parcel to be under-declared in either weight or volume, you may need to pay an adjustment charge to reflect the difference between the booked and actual size.

While you need to give us your parcel's weight when booking an order, giving us the volume is optional. However, if your parcel gets booked at a lower price due to lacking this info or underquoting, it could attract adjustment charges or be refused at collection.


Size Limits

It's important to note that each of our delivery products can have different size limits. If you system uses the recommended Get products endpoint and supplies all known parcel details (weight, volume, dimensions), we will ensure that only valid products are returned. Using the Get products endpoint before booking helps make sure drivers won't reject parcel pickup due to size issues.

Here is the maximum order weight/volume you can send with the API. Some of these limits are larger than the biggest size tiers available on our dashboard.

  • 25kg / 100L for Australian domestic deliveries (info).
  • 30kg / 150L for Canadian domestic deliveries (en / fr).
  • 50lb for U.S. domestic deliveries (info). Parcels heavier than 20lbs are outside our regular tier pricing structure and different volume limits may apply.
  • 20kg / 100L for International deliveries from Australia (info / pricing). Look at the linked articles for more details, as international shipping works differently to our domestic offerings.

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When quoting or booking a delivery through the API, you should not round your parcel's weight/volume based on our weight/volume tiers. Sending the exact weight and volume helps us work out the best price for your delivery.


Classic Sizes

When shipping through the Sendle Dashboard, we have a number of classic size tiers available: Pouch, Handbag, Shoebox, Luggage, etc.

When building your integration, we recommend not exposing these classic sizes. Instead, your integration should ask for the exact parcel weight and dimensions, and then pass captured details through to our endpoints. This makes sure shipping fees will be accurate and helps ensure shippers won't get adjustments or penalties for their parcels being booked at an incorrect size.


Australian Unlimited Satchels

When shipping domestically inside Australia, you can purchase Unlimited Satchels from us. Using these special compostable satchels from Sendle lets you send as much as you can fit in it, with any weight, while paying the same shipping fee that you would for a regular 500g satchel.

To book an order as an unlimited satchel:

  • Set packaging_type to unlimited satchel
  • The weight and dimensions fields are both required and should be the actual dimensions and weight of the package

More about Unlimited Satchel here.