Charging the correct amount for shipping is an important part of running your store. This article will explain the different ways that you can calculate and charge for shipping.
In this article
What is the difference between product level shipping and shipping rules?
How do I set up product level shipping?
How do I set up shipping rules?
How does Cratejoy handle shipping on orders with multiple products?
How can I tell how shipping was calculated for an order?
What is the difference between product level shipping and shipping rules?
There are two ways that Cratejoy calculates shipping: product level shipping, and shipping rules. Product level shipping is set at the individual product level, while shipping rules will apply at the order level based on the country you are shipping to.
Note: If an order matches a shipping rule that you have set up, the shipping rule will always be used instead of the product level shipping settings.
Product level shipping is set up on the product setup pages for each of your subscription and one time products, while shipping rules are set up on the Shipping settings page.
Product level shipping is very straightforward. This method looks at each product that is purchased and applies the product level settings that you have set up. the three ways you can charge at the product level are:
- Automatically calculate (when shipping from the US only)
- Free
- Flat rate
Shipping rules are different because they are based on the country the recipient lives in. They let you calculate the shipping cost and factor in different information about the order including:
- The total price of the products to be shipped
- Total weight of the products to be shipped
- Whether the matching products are subscription products or one-time products
- Where the order was placed from
When would I use product-level shipping?
- When you plan on charging the same amount for a given product, regardless of where it will be shipped
- When you want a shipping charge for every product ordered
When would I use shipping rules?
- When you want to charge different amounts based on the country the order was placed from
- When you want to restrict shipping to certain countries
- When you want to combine certain orders with multiple products into one shipping charge
- When you want to charge shipping differently depending on the type of product (e.g. subscription vs one-time)
How do I set up product level shipping?
Product level shipping can be set up on each of your product pages. You can find these pages in the Products tab in your seller account.
There are three options for product level shipping. One of these options must be selected when creating a product, but these can be updated later on.
Automatically calculate
This option looks at the address you have set as your shipping address on the Shipping settings page, the address you will be shipping to, and the weight of the product to estimate the cost of shipping via USPS.
Note: This option only works if you are shipping from the US.
Free
This option means that if product level shipping is used, there will be no shipping charge for that product
Flat rate shipping
This option lets you charge a fixed amount each time the product is purchased
How do I set up Shipping rules?
Shipping rules can be set up on the Shipping settings page. Shipping rules are based on the country that the order is placed from. To set up a shipping rule:
- Click Add a Country in the Shipping Rules section of the Shipping settings page
- Type the name of the country you want to set the rule up for and select it from the list. Type Rest of the World to create a rule for all countries that don't have their own specific rule. This will create a new tab for the country you select
- Click Add {Your Country} Rule
- After naming your rule, there are three options you can base the rule on
- By Weight - Based on the weight value you entered on the product page
- By Price - Based on the price of the matching products in the order
- Restrict this country - This will block shipping to the country you are setting up the rule for
- Select the product type. You can select:
- Subscription Products Only
- One-Time Products Only
- All Products
- Enter the minimum and maximum values (this will either be minimum/maximum weight or minimum/maximum price depending on what you selected in step 4)
- Select the shipping price if the rule is matched
- Click Add New Rule
How does Cratejoy handle shipping on orders with multiple products?
Some orders contain multiple products. Depending on whether you are using product level shipping or shipping rules shipping can be calculated differently.
Note: If an order matches a shipping rule, the rule will always be used instead of product-level shipping.
Product level shipping
Shipping is very straightforward if you are using product level shipping. If you receive an order with multiple products, each product will have it's shipping calculated and the cost of shipping for the order will be equal to the sum of those amounts. For example, if you have one product that charges a flat rate of $7 and another that has a flat rate of $5 and they were ordered together, the total shipping cost for the order would be $12.
Shipping rules
When you use shipping rules, Cratejoy will try and match every product that it can to your rules. For any products that don't match the rule, product level shipping will be used. To be able to tell how shipping will be calculated, there are a few things to keep in mind about shipping rules:
- If there are multiple subscription products, each product will be evaluated separately and Cratejoy will attempt to match it to a shipping rule. Any products that match a rule will be charged the amount that matches the rule, while any that don't match a rule will be charged the product level amount for shipping
- If there are multiple one time products, Cratejoy will first try to combine the products' weight and price and match the combined products against your shipping rules
For example, if you have a weight-based rule that charges $5 for orders that weigh between 1 and 2 lbs you have an order for two products with a combined weight of 1.5 lbs, then the shipping charge for the order will be $5
If there is no match for the combined products, then the system will try to match them individually to a rule. If they don't match a rule individually, then the product level shipping will be applied
How can I tell how shipping was calculated for an order?
On every order page, there is a section called the History Log. This history log includes an entry that describes what shipping rule was used.
