Editing Shipping Rates

Shipping rates control how much customers pay for shipping at checkout. If you use Simple Shipping or USPS, you configure rates through shipping zones - groups of countries or regions with their own pricing. To edit your rates, go to Dashboard → Settings → Shipping and click the settings link for your shipping method.

Understanding Zones

A zone is a destination you ship to. Each zone contains one or more countries (or states within a country). You can create as many zones as you need. For example:

• A Domestic zone for your home country
• A Canada zone for Canadian customers
• An International zone for everywhere else

Customers are matched to a zone based on their shipping address at checkout. If their country is not in any of your zones, they will not see shipping options and cannot complete their order.

Adding a Destination Zone

1. In your shipping method settings, click Add Destination.
2. Select the country or countries for this zone.
3. Optionally narrow the zone to specific states or provinces within a country.
4. Set the shipping rates for this zone (see below).
5. Click Save.

You can add multiple destination zones to cover different regions with different rates. Use the Add Destination button to create each new zone.

Setting Rates for Simple Shipping

Simple Shipping uses a straightforward per-item pricing model with two rate fields for each zone:

• By Itself - The shipping price charged when this is the first (or only) item in the cart.
• With Another - The additional shipping price added for each extra item in the cart.

How the Rates Are Calculated

At checkout, shipping cost is calculated as:

Total = By Itself + (With Another × number of additional items)

For example, if your rates are By Itself = $8.00 and With Another = $2.00:

• 1 item: $8.00
• 2 items: $8.00 + $2.00 = $10.00
• 3 items: $8.00 + $2.00 + $2.00 = $12.00

Shipping Options

By default, customers see a single “Standard” shipping option at checkout. You can add additional shipping options to offer faster or specialized shipping at different prices.

Creating Shipping Options

1. In your shipping settings, look for the Shipping Options section.
2. Enter a name for the new option (e.g., “Express”, “Priority”, “Overnight”).
3. Click Add Option.

Each shipping option gets its own By Itself and With Another rate columns for every destination zone. This lets you charge different prices for different speed levels in each region.

You can also toggle individual shipping options on or off per zone. For example, you might offer Express shipping domestically but not internationally.

Renaming the Standard Option

You can rename the default “Standard” option to anything you prefer, such as “Economy” or “Ground Shipping”. The name change appears at checkout.

Local Pickup

If you offer local pickup, check the Allow Local Pickup option in your shipping settings. When enabled, customers within your area see an additional “Local Pickup” option at checkout with no shipping charge.

USPS Zones

If you use USPS as your shipping method, zones work differently. USPS calculates rates automatically based on package weight, dimensions, and destination. You do not set rates manually. Instead, you:

• Select which USPS services to offer (Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, etc.)
• Choose between retail and commercial (discounted) rates
• Set your ship-from ZIP code

USPS handles all rate calculation. See USPS Calculated Shipping for full details.

Tips

• Make sure every country you ship to is covered by at least one zone. If a customer’s country is not in any zone, they cannot check out.
• Use the rate table to compare pricing across all your zones and shipping options at a glance.
• If you offer free shipping on certain products, consider using promotions and coupons instead of setting rates to $0.00.
• You can remove a destination zone by clicking the remove button next to it. Be careful - this removes all rates associated with that zone.