First weight and step sizes on Hipobuy lines, destination by destination
What one extra step costs on each line in the 16 October 2026 snapshot, and what that means for a rehearsal.
Four step sizes in one estimator
Hipobuy's estimator explains its first weight unit in a short FAQ on the estimation page: whatever falls inside the first unit pays the price of that unit, and weight beyond it is billed in further units. Behind each line the estimator data carries a first weight and a step in grams. Across the 91 lines in this site's snapshot the step is 50 g on 4 lines, 100 g on 55, 500 g on 20 and 1,000 g on 12.
The step size tracks the kind of service. The 1,000 g steps belong to postal surface, economy air and large air-mail lines with long delivery windows. The 500 g steps are mostly courier and express lines. The 100 g steps cover the dedicated air lines that most light parcels use, and the 50 g steps one tracked economy line per destination.
You can find the step of any line yourself. Enter the same parcel in the estimator at two weights, say 1,000 g and 1,050 g, then at 1,100 g. If the price moves at 1,050 g, the step is 50 g; if it first moves at 1,100 g, it is 100 g; if neither moves, it is 500 g or more.
United States lines
The United States snapshot held 9 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 5 with 100 g steps, 4 with 500 g steps. One step costs between 13.50 and 107.25 CNY as displayed, and 8 of the 9 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
The US list is short: nine lines, no 50 g or 1,000 g options, and every 500 g line is a courier service. The cheapest line by step, an air line charging by actual weight with an 11 to 23 working-day window, costs 13.50 CNY per 100 g, so a rehearsal cannot pay back on settlement there. Worked case 1 runs the numbers.
United Kingdom lines
The United Kingdom snapshot held 14 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 1 with 50 g steps, 7 with 100 g steps, 3 with 500 g steps, 3 with 1000 g steps. One step costs between 8.04 and 149.37 CNY as displayed, and 7 of the 14 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
The UK spans the widest range: a 50 g economy line at 8.04 CNY a step at one end and three 1,000 g postal lines up to 149.37 CNY a step at the other. The 500 g courier lines sit between 65 and 81 CNY. That spread is why the same parcel can be a clear "no" on one UK line and a clear "yes" on another; worked case 2 shows one of each.
Germany lines
The Germany snapshot held 15 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 12 with 100 g steps, 3 with 500 g steps. One step costs between 0.00 and 80.88 CNY as displayed, and 2 of the 15 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
Germany is almost all 100 g steps, most of them dedicated air lines at 6 to 18 CNY a step. One land line charged the same at every weight queried, so its step price shows as zero; a parcel on it cannot be over-estimated in any way that costs money. The interesting German question is not the dead band but which line is cheapest, because lines with low fixed charges and lines with low step prices cross under one kilogram (case 4).
France lines
The France snapshot held 25 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 1 with 50 g steps, 17 with 100 g steps, 4 with 500 g steps, 3 with 1000 g steps. One step costs between 0.00 and 133.19 CNY as displayed, and 7 of the 25 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
France had the most lines in the snapshot, 25, and the cheapest steps: two 100 g lines at 5.00 and 6.12 CNY. The same flat-priced land line as Germany appears here, with one fixed price across every weight queried. France also has the three postal 1,000 g lines found in the UK, Australia and Canada, at 27.30, 82.09 and 133.19 CNY a step.
Australia lines
The Australia snapshot held 14 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 1 with 50 g steps, 7 with 100 g steps, 3 with 500 g steps, 3 with 1000 g steps. One step costs between 7.04 and 136.50 CNY as displayed, and 7 of the 14 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
Australia mixes everything: one 50 g line, seven 100 g lines from 11.85 to 42.12 CNY, three 500 g couriers and three 1,000 g postal lines. The most expensive 100 g line costs 42.12 CNY a step, one of the few 100 g lines where a single step is worth more than a rehearsal. Heavy hauls on the 1,000 g economy air line are where the fee pays most clearly (case 5).
Canada lines
The Canada snapshot held 14 lines that fitted the first-weight-plus-steps rule: 1 with 50 g steps, 7 with 100 g steps, 3 with 500 g steps, 3 with 1000 g steps. One step costs between 7.04 and 140.40 CNY as displayed, and 7 of the 14 lines charge 20 CNY or more for a single step.
Six of Canada's 100 g lines only accept parcels from about 1,001 g, so a one-kilogram parcel sits right at their door. For lighter parcels the 1,000 g surface line, at 44.27 CNY a step, is often the cheapest choice, and its wide step makes the dead band expensive. Case 3 sits exactly there.
Lines whose first block is bigger than one step
On 87 of the 91 lines the first weight equals the step. Four do not. One line each to Germany and France charges a 2,000 g first block and then 100 g steps; one US line starts at 701 g and refuses anything lighter; one UK line combines a 1,000 g first block with 100 g steps but its prices did not fit the clean rule at every weight, so the tool leaves it out.
Inside a large first block, weight changes cost nothing at all, so the dead band only begins above it. A 1,600 g parcel on a 2,000 g first-block line has no settlement risk from an over-estimate. A rehearsal there buys you only the dimensions.
