How to set up shipping rates for your online store
Shipping is one of the first things a shopper checks, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Charge too little and you pay the difference. Charge too much and shoppers leave at checkout. This guide walks through the options and a simple way to pick numbers you can stand behind.
The building blocks: zones and methods
Most stores describe shipping in two parts.
- A zone is a group of places you ship to: a whole country, a few states, or a range of postcodes.
- A method is one way the order can be delivered in that zone, with its own price.
A shopper enters an address at checkout. The store finds the matching zone and shows that zone's methods. Payly works this way, and it offers three types of method: flat rate, free shipping and local pickup.
The three types of rate
Flat rate
One fixed price for the order. You can also add a cost per item. In Payly, the per-item cost is added for every shipped item, the first one included. A base of $6.00 with $2.00 per item makes an order of three items cost $12.00. Leave the per-item cost at zero for one single charge.
Free shipping
Delivery that costs the customer nothing. You can offer it on every order, or set a minimum order amount, so it appears only at or above that amount. The amount is measured before shipping and tax and after any discount code.
Local pickup
The customer collects the order from you. The fee can be zero or a small handling amount, and the label should say where, such as "Pick up at the studio".
How to choose your rates without live carrier prices
Payly does not fetch live prices from carriers, so you set your rates yourself. That is simpler than it sounds. A practical method:
- Weigh and measure your typical order. Pack a few real orders of different sizes.
- Get real quotes. Use your carrier's own price calculator to price a few of those parcels to a near destination, a far one and the farthest one you serve.
- Group your destinations. Put places with similar costs in the same zone, such as your home country in one and everywhere else in another.
- Choose a rate that covers the average. You will lose a little on far, heavy parcels and gain a little on near, light ones. If the gap is large, add a per-item amount so larger orders pay more.
- Add the packaging. Boxes, tape and padding are a real cost. Many sellers include them in the shipping rate.
- Review after a month. Compare what you charged with what you paid, then adjust.
Because the rate is not tied to a live quote, very heavy, very large or fragile items may need their own handling. If a product is much costlier to ship than the rest, consider building part of the cost into its price or limiting where you sell it.
Setting it up in Payly
Go to Settings, then the Shipping & Tax tab.
- Simple store. If you ship from one place at one price, the two boxes at the top are enough: Flat shipping and Free shipping over. They apply to every order until you add a zone.
- Several rates. Click Add a shipping zone, name it, choose countries, and optionally narrow it by state or postcode. Then add one or more methods. A zone with no method cannot be saved.
Payly checks your zones from top to bottom and uses the first match, so put narrow zones above broad ones. A zone with nothing filled in matches every address, which makes it a good last row, named "Everywhere else". If no zone matches, the shopper is told you do not ship there and cannot pay. Products that are not shipped, such as digital downloads, never add a shipping charge.
When a zone has more than one method, the shopper chooses at checkout and the first method in your list is preselected. Add the one you prefer first. The full steps are in Set up shipping zones and Shipping methods and rates.
To offer free shipping on larger orders only, give a zone two methods: a flat rate for every order and a free shipping method with a minimum. Small orders see only the flat rate, and large orders see both.
Check it before you open
Turn on test mode, add a product to the cart and enter an address in each zone. Compare the shipping line with what you expect. Then try an address you do not ship to. For the rest of your launch checks, see the launch checklist.
Questions
Can Payly show live rates from my carrier?
No. Payly does not calculate live carrier rates, and it does not buy shipping labels. You set your own rates, and you add the carrier and tracking number when you mark an order as shipped.
Should I charge by weight?
Payly's rates are a flat price plus an optional amount per item, not by weight. If your products vary a lot in weight, use zones and per-item amounts to approximate it.
Can I change my rates later?
Yes. Checkout reads your zones as soon as they are saved, so you do not need to publish again.
The shipping amounts in the examples are made up. Check current prices with your own carrier before you set your rates.
