Skip to main content

Understanding shipping rates

Shipping rates are what you charge your customer in addition to the cost of the products that they order.

Updated over a year ago

Shipping fees are the additional charges applied to your customer's purchase for delivery. These fees are calculated and included at checkout.

You have the flexibility to offer various shipping rates and options, or you may opt for a single method to simplify the process.

Shipping rates can be adjusted based on certain conditions or rules that depend on the items in the customer's cart.

Flat Shipping Rates

Flat rates are fixed shipping charges applied to an order, regardless of the size or weight.

For instance, to impose a $5 shipping fee per order, establish a flat rate of $5 for each destination country.

This method allows you to precisely dictate the shipping fees customers pay during checkout.

General rates

General rates set a uniform shipping fee, irrespective of the cart's contents.

For example, you might provide a choice of $5 standard shipping or $15 expedited shipping, each established as separate general rates. These options will then be available to customers during checkout.

Order-Price-Based Rates

These rates vary depending on the total cart value, allowing for different charges based on the order size.

For example, you could set a $4 shipping fee for orders below $50, and a $10 fee for those above $50.

Thus, a customer with a $35 cart would see only the $4 shipping option at checkout.

Refer to this table for price-based rate examples (in USD):

Order value

Shipping rate price

$0 - $100.00

$24.99

$100.01 - $200.00

$9.99

$200.01 - and up

$0 (free)

Free shipping rates

A flat rate can be converted into a free shipping option by setting its cost to $0. For example, free shipping on all orders can be achieved by creating a $0 flat rate.

Alternatively, to offer free shipping for orders exceeding $100, establish a price-based flat rate with a $0 fee for such orders.

Based on Order Quantity

Shipping rates can be calculated based on the total number of items ordered. This method applies a specific shipping charge per item in the order. For instance, if you set a rate of $2 per item, an order of 5 items would incur a shipping fee of $10.

Base + Price Per Quantity

This shipping rate structure includes a base fee combined with an additional cost per item ordered. For example, you might have a base shipping fee of $10.00 USD. On top of this, you charge $2.00 USD for each item in the order. Therefore, if a customer orders 3 items, the total shipping cost would be $10.00 USD plus ($2.00 USD x 3), totaling $16.00 USD.

Did this answer your question?