Shipping Rules

The Shipping Rules page is where you tell the system what each shipping method does depending on the origin, destination, items in the cart, and other variables.

To create a new rule, click the “Add New Rule To This Method” button in the method you wish to add the rule to.

In the first section, you will see “Notes”. Use this to enter notes or any sort of text you with to identify or describe this rule. This is for you. Your customers will not see this. This field is optional.

Requirements & Limitations

Origin Zip/Postal Code
Set the origin zip/postal code for which this rule will apply to. You should leave this blank if the rule applies to your default origin zip/postal code.
For example: You have some items which ship from CA 90210 and some items which ship from NY 10451. If this rule is intended for the NY 10451 items, then you would enter 10451 in this prompt. However, if your default zip code is 10451, then you would leave this blank.

Shipping Category (Optional)
Shipping Categories allow you to set a shipping rule to only include specific items. For example, Freight. You may have some items that are too learge to ship with conventional carriers like UPS/FedEx, and need to be shipping on a pallet. You can create a shipping category called “Freight”, and set the appropriate items’ “shipping_category” column to “Freight”. This will tell the system to use this rule only for those items. If a customer orders one of these items, in addition to smaller items that can go with conventional carriers, then the large item will go with the freight method, and the other items will go with the conventional method.

If you do not specify a category, then this rule will apply to all items that DO NOT have a shipping category set.
If you set it to “All Items – Ignore Category”, then this rule will apply to all items whether or not they have a category set.
If you are not using shipping categories, then leave this set to “None (Default)”.

Item Value Limits
In this section, you can set the minimum and maximum value of the items in the cart for this order to apply.
You can set based on the value of the entire cart, or just the value of the items that this rule will apply to (based on origin zip and/or shipping category).
You may use either minimum, maximum, or both.
Leave blank for no limits.

Item Weight Limits
Item weight limits work in the same way as item value limits, however, it is based on the weight of the items instead of the value of the items.

Destination Countries (REQUIRED)
Select at least 1 valid destination country for this rule. You can select multiple countries by holding down the CTRL (CMD for MAC) and clickin on each country you want to include as a valid destination country for which this rule will apply to.

Destination States/Provinces/Territories (REQUIRED)
This only applies to the USA and Canada, however, we will soon be adding additional provinces for more countries.

If you would like to restrict this rule to specific states/provinces/territories within the selected countries, then you can select them here.
For the USA, we have provide some shortcut buttons that will select all the states/territories shown in the box without having to manually select each one.
If you want to include all states/provinces/territories, then you can simply check the box at the top labeled “All States / Provinces / Territories”.

Note: Selecting states/provinces/territories for which the country is not selected, will not work unless you select the parent country.

Calculation

Shipping Rate Calculation Basis
Here you will tell the system how to calculate the rate. You can set multiple rate levels at which the calculation changes.
The levels can be based upon weight(default), number of items, or subtotal (value of items). Keep in mind that all 3 of these apply only to the items for which this rule applies to.
For example, if you chose “Weight”, you would be able to state the following:
From 0 lbs and up charge $X.
From 10 lbs and up, charge $Y.
From 20 lbs and up, charge $Z.

If you chose “# of items”, you would be able to state the following:
From 0 items and up charge $X.
From 10 items and up, charge $Y.
From 20 items and up, charge $Z.

If you chose “Subtotal”, you would be able to state the following:
From $0 and up charge $X.
From $20 and up, charge $Y.
From $50 and up, charge $Z.

Again, keep in mind that this ONLY applies to the items that fall within this rule, not the entire order.
The first level will always start at 0.

If you do not need to have more than 1 level, then it doesn’t matter which basis you choose as they will always be from 0 and up. Therefore, you can safely leave it set to the default basis of “Weight”.

Below, you will see the table, you can add as many levels (rows) as needed by clicking the “Add Row” button.

Each level allows you to choose from any combination of 5 ways to calculate calculate shipping. You must use at least one for each level created:

Real Time Carrier Rates – Select a shipping carrier rate you wish to use. Be careful to choose only valid rates that will work with the origin/destinations you specified above. Shipping will be calculated in real-time. If you also use any of the other ways below, they will be added to this amount.
Add % of Subtotal – This will add a percentage of the total value of items in this rule to the shipping rate. For example, if the value of the items in this rule is $100, and you set this to 7, then this will add 7% ($7.00) to the shipping total. Enter just a number. DO NOT enter a % sign.
Add $ Amount – Enter a flat dollar amount to add to the shipping total. This is a flat amount that will be added regardless of weight, number of items, or value of the order.
Add $ per Item – This allows you to add a specified dollar amount for each item for which this rule applies to. For example, if there are 5 items that this rule applies to, and you set this to 3, then it will add $15 to the shipping total (5 items * $3 = $15 added to shipping).
Add $ per lbs – This allows you to add a specified dollar amount for each pound of the items for which this rule applies to. For example, if the items in this rule weigh a total of 25 lbs, and you set this to 4, then it will add $100 to the shipping. (25 lbs * $4 = $100 added to shipping).