Sales Online Direct launched AIship yesterday, a hosted solution that calculates accurate package shipping and insurance charges in real time. AIship utilizes the USPS' postal rate engine to generate accurate shipping values. AIship's patent-pending proprietary technology provides online auction sellers, retailers and consumers with instant calculations for shipping, packaging and insurance costs for multiple carriers.

The fees for using the AIship service can be found at http://www.auctioninc.com/info/page/pricing . Pricing begins at $9.99/month for up to 50 items listed for sale. Sellers pay for the service that can be used free by consumers to calculate shipping charges for the sellers' items.

AIship computes shipping costs based on the destination zip code, weight and size of the item. Using the sellers' preferences, the system can include packaging, labor costs, sales tax and insurance so that the consumer can get accurate, real-time shipping and handling charges.

Customers simply enter their zip code when they begin shopping. As items are added into the shopping cart, or via phone, AIship, instantly recalculates the shipping, packaging and insurance costs. The lowest carrier with combined shipping and insurance fees appears first, with additional shipping options available in a pull down menu. When shopping is complete the customer clicks on the preferred method of shipping, AIship populates the invoice with the shipping charges and carrier information and the consumer pays for the purchases and shipping charges in a traditional manner.

“In addition to the consumer benefits, AIship offers significant savings to online auction sellers and retailers.” said Richard Rotman, Sales Online Direct CFO. “AIship eliminates the typical series of emails or phone calls between auction winners and the customer service departments regarding shipping details. At our Rotman Auction subsidiary, implementing AIship reduced correspondence per month related to shipping from 20,000 calls to 3,000, reduced order processing staff by 30% and saved on average over $2 per package.”

A demo of AIship is available at http://www.auctioninc.com/info/page/ship_calculator.
http://www.auctioninc.com

Sales Online Direct maintains and develops portals and web sites for various companies with a focus on the antique and collectible industry

Sales Online Direct (http://www.paid.com) owns Rotman Auction, an eBay Power Seller that sells tens of thousands of items per year through auction, direct sales, and special events.