Rate Types

When defining a Rate you can choose between five types that determine how the price of your Rate is calculated (prior to any modifications being applied). The five types are:

Free

As the name suggests, this Rate type results in a Rate with a price of zero, in other words, free shipping.

Flat

A flat rate levies a single basic charge for shipping. If ‘Flat’ is selected as the rate type, a new field will be displayed called ‘Rate’. You should enter the price you wish to charge for shipping into this field.

Weight

A weight-based rate derives it’s price from the total weight of an order. When selecting ‘weight’ as the rate type, three additional fields will be displayed:

Base rate - you can optionally set a price that will be applied regardless of the weight of the order. For example you may wish to charge all orders at least $5 before any weight calculations are taken into consideration.

Surcharge per number of g/kg/oz/lb - This field is made up of two inputs. In the first you set a price and in the second you set the number of weight units that price should apply to. For example you may wish to charge customers $2 for every 500 grams that their order weighs. Note: The weight unit that will be displayed matches the weight unit that you have set on Shopify. If you change this weight unit you will need to update your rates accordingly.

Minimum charge - This field allows you to specify a minimum price that should be levied for this rate. If the base rate plus the total weight prices combined are less than the minimum amount you specify, then the minimum charge will be used instead.

Quantity

A quantity-based rate derives it’s price from the total number of items of an order. When selecting ‘quantity’ as the rate type, three additional fields will be displayed:

Base rate - you can optionally set a price that will be applied regardless of the number of items in an order. For example you may wish to charge all orders at least $5 before any quantity-based calculations are taken into consideration.

Surcharge per number of items - This field is made up of two inputs. In the first you set a price and in the second you set the number of items that price should apply to. For example you may wish to charge customers $2 for every 3 items in their order.

Minimum charge - This field allows you to specify a minimum price that should be levied for this rate. If the base rate plus the total quantity prices combined are less than the minimum amount you specify, then the minimum charge will be used instead.

Percentage

A percentage-based rate derives it’s prices from a given percentage of the total value of an order. When selecting ‘percentage’ as the rate type, three additional fields will be displayed:

Base rate - you can optionally set a price that will be applied regardless of amount applied as a percentage surcharge. For example you may wish to charge all orders at least $5 before any percentage-based calculations are taken into consideration.

Percentage surcharge - Within this field you can enter a percentage value. This percentage of the total value of the order will be added to the rate price. For example if you set a 20% surcharge and the total order value is $10, the rate price would be $2.

Minimum charge - This field allows you to specify a minimum price that should be levied for this rate. If the base rate plus the percentage surcharge prices combined are less than the minimum amount you specify, then the minimum charge will be used instead.

When you have created all the Rates you need, you're done! Now your rates should be displaying to your customers based on their postcode.

Updated on: 14/02/2023