Go beyond flat rates by setting up custom shipping tables. This guide explains how to create table rates based on order amount or weight to ensure accurate shipping costs for your products.

Overview

If you need a more precise way to calculate shipping costs than simple flat rates, you can set up custom table rates. This method lets you base shipping fees on an order's subtotal or weight.

Custom tables are useful if you:

• Want to encourage customers to spend more by offering lower shipping costs for bigger orders (e.g., free shipping over $300).

• Ship large orders by freight and need to accurately cover those expenses.

• Use a shipping service that doesn't provide real-time quotes.
  

Rates Calculation

You can base your custom tables on either subtotal or weight. Weight-based rates are generally more accurate as they reflect the actual cost of shipping. If you need help determining what to charge, you can contact postal services for information on shipping costs for different package sizes and weights.

There are two main ways to calculate rates:

• Range only: The shipping cost is a simple flat rate within a specific subtotal or weight range. For example, you could charge $10 for all orders between $10 and $49.99.
  

• Range, subtotal, and weight: This more complex method combines a flat fee, a percentage, and a per-item or per-pound fee to calculate the final shipping cost. For example, a shipping fee could be $5.00 plus a $1.00 per-item fee.
  

Rates Based on Order Subtotal

If you want shipping costs to depend on the customer's total order amount, you can set up a table based on subtotal ranges. This is perfect for offering tiered shipping rates or free shipping for high-value orders.

Here's how to add a custom table based on order subtotal:

1. Select the Shop App from your dashboard or app menu.

2. From your Shop App dashboard, click Shipping & Pickup.

3. Click Add Shipping Method.

4. Under Other Carriers, enter a name for the shipping method that customers will see at checkout, then click Set up.
   

5. Click Set up Custom rates.
   

6. From the Table based on drop-down menu, choose Subtotal.

7. From the Rate based on drop-down menu, choose your calculation method.
   

8. Set your subtotal ranges and the corresponding shipping rates. Click Add row to create more tiers.
   

9. Click Set delivery speed to enter an estimated delivery time (optional).

10. Click Set shipping region to specify the destinations for this method.

11. Click Save & Finish.

Rates Based on Order Weight

You can also set up a table with tiered rates based on the total weight of an order. This helps you cover the actual cost of shipping different products or large, heavy orders.

Here's how to add a custom table based on order weight:

1. Select the Shop App from your dashboard or app menu.

2. From your Shop App dashboard, click Shipping & Pickup.

3. Click Add Shipping Method.

4. Under Other Carriers, enter a name for the shipping method that customers will see at checkout, then click Set up.

5. Click Set up Custom rates.
   

6. From the Table based on drop-down menu, choose Weight.

7. From the Rate based on drop-down menu, choose your calculation method.
   

8. Set the weight ranges for each rate and make sure there are no gaps between your ranges. Click Add row for more rows.

9. Set the shipping rate you want to charge for each weight range.

10. Click Set delivery speed to enter an estimated delivery time (optional).

11. Click Set shipping region to specify the destinations for this method.

12. Click Save & Finish.

After you save your custom table, the shipping rate that applies to the customer's order subtotal or weight will automatically appear at checkout.

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