Add a Shipping Rule

A shipping rule sets what shipping costs for a group of orders. With rules you enter a flat cost per order, or your own rates per country, weight or quantity. Use them when no carrier reports the real cost of your parcels, and as an estimate for orders whose real cost has not arrived yet.

Where

In the sidebar: Shipping, then Add rule.

Who

Stores that know roughly what a parcel costs them.

Time

2 minutes for a flat cost, about 10 minutes for rates per country.

Updates

You choose per rule: all orders, new orders only, orders from a date, or orders in a date range.

Create a Rule#

In the sidebar, open Shipping and click Add rule. The wizard New shipping rule opens. Nothing is saved before you click Create rule in its last step. The screenshots follow one rule from start to end: orders to North America cost $6.90 for 1 to 2 items, $9.90 for 3 to 5 items and $14.90 from 6 items on.

1. 1

   Step 1 of 5

   Pick what the rule applies to#

   Under What does this rule apply to?, pick one of five scopes and click Continue. When several rules match the same item, the higher level wins.

   

   1. AAll ordersLevel 1. Every item of every order, the baseline when nothing more specific fits. Preselected; the wizard then skips the next step.
   2. BSpecific countriesLevel 2. Orders shipped to one of the countries you pick.
   3. COrders with tagsLevel 3. Orders that carry one of the listed Shopify order tags.
   4. DProducts with tagsLevel 4. Items whose product carries one of the listed Shopify product tags.
   5. ESpecific product or variantLevel 5. The products you pick, or only some of their variants.
2. 2

   Step 2 of 5

   Add the countries, tags or products#

   For Specific countries, pick the countries:

   

   

   

   Zoom in

   

   1 · Countries

   2 · Countries

   3 · Countries

   1. 1Open the pickerClick Add country or region.
   2. 2Pick a region or a countryA region such as EU, North America or UK & Ireland adds all its countries in one click.
   3. 3Check the countries× removes one, Clear all removes all. Click Continue.

   The tag scopes ask for the tags. For Specific product or variant, search for the products. All variants of a product are picked, so untick the ones the rule should not cover. These three scopes also offer Limit to specific countries (optional).

3. 3

   Step 3 of 5

   Answer the cost questions#

   How does your carrier charge you? asks up to four questions. Each answer shows what an example order would cost; pick the one that looks like your carrier's invoice.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   Zoom in

   

   1 · Cost

   2 · Cost

   3 · Cost

   4 · Cost

   5 · Cost

   6 · Cost

   1. 1Does the cost change with the size of the order?No, one price per order ends the questions. The slider Example order sets the size of the example.
   2. 2Does a heavy item cost more to ship than a light one?Yes, the weight counts ends the questions with rates by weight.
   3. 3Does every item cost the same to ship?Yes, a fixed price per item ends the questions.
   4. 4When an order gets bigger…The whole order moves to a new price, or only the extra items get a different rate.
   5. 5Enter your ratesUnder Your setup, fill in Tier breakpoints; Add quantity break adds a tier.
   6. 6Check the receiptIt shows what the example order costs at your rates. Click Continue.

   Nothing is preselected on the Cost step. Continue works once your answers lead to a cost mode. A question only appears when the answer before it needs it. The prices on the answers are sample rates, not yours.

   1. 1Is it one price for every order (No, one price per order)?

      Yes

      Yes

      Per order
      No
   2. 2Does a heavy item cost more to ship than a light one (Yes, the weight counts)?

      Yes

      Yes

      Tiered by weight
      No
   3. 3Does every item cost the same to ship (Yes, a fixed price per item)?

      Yes

      Yes

      Per item
      No
   4. 4When an order gets bigger, does the whole order move to a new price (The whole order moves to a new price)?

      Yes

      Yes

      Tiered by item count
      No
   5. Only the extra items get a different rate leads to Cumulative tiers.

   The labels in brackets are the answers you click.

   Cost mode	What it charges	Example
   Per order	One amount for the order, whatever it contains	$4.80 per order
   Per item	The amount times the number of items	3 items × $3.00 = $9.00
   Tiered	The order falls into one tier, by item count or by weight	1 to 2 items $6.90, 3 to 5 items $9.90
   Cumulative tiers	Every item is charged at the rate of the tier it falls into, then all are added up. Quantity only	See the calculation below

   Cumulative tiers

   3 × $4.50 + 1 × $1.50= $15.00

   Your setup shows the fields of the mode:

   Mode	Fields
   Per order	Cost per order
   Per item	Cost per item
   Tiered by item count	Cost shape and Tier breakpoints
   Tiered by weight	Weight unit, Cost shape and Tier breakpoints
   Cumulative tiers	Per-item rates by bracket

   For tiers, a Preview line below the tiers repeats the rule in words. Costs are entered in your store's currency. How tiers work in detail is in Set Shipping Rates by Weight or Quantity (Tiers).

4. 4

   Step 4 of 5

   Check the impact#

   Review & Apply shows what the rule would change.

   

   1. AImpact summaryOrders affected, Current shipping cost, New shipping cost and Net change.
   2. BChart window or All timeThe orders of the chart's period, or every order of your store.
   3. CThe chart's period30d, 90d, 180d or 12mo.
   4. DView … ordersLists the orders with their status.

   The chart and the order list sort the orders of the period by what the rule does to them.

   Status	Meaning
   Affected	The rule wins for the order, and the option you choose below recalculates it
   Matches but skipped	The rule wins for the order, but the option you choose below leaves it as it is
   Lost the bid	The rule matches the order, but it does not win. The Lost to column of the order list gives the reason
   Doesn't match	The rule does not cover the order. The Why not column of the order list gives the reason. Not shown for All orders rules

   A rule loses the bid when a more specific rule wins, when the order is outside the rule's countries or dates, or when a weight rule finds no weight. "Shipping cost" on this step is the cost the rule records as your store's shipping expense, not what your customer paid.

5. 5

   Step 5 of 5

   Choose how to apply it and click Create rule#

   Under How should this rule be applied?, pick which orders get the rule and click Create rule.

   

   1. AAll ordersExisting orders are recalculated in the background, and new orders use the rule. Preselected.
   2. BNew orders onlyExisting orders keep their current shipping cost. New orders use the rule.
   3. CFrom a dateOrders from the start date on are recalculated, and new orders use the rule.
   4. DDate rangeOnly orders between the two dates, both included. New orders use the rule until the end date.
   5. EThe timelineWhich past orders get recalculated and which new orders get the rule.

   Each option shows how many past orders the rule matches. From a date and Date range start today. Pick another date in the calendar. For Date range, also pick the end date. An end date before the start date cannot be saved.

   From a date and Date range also limit the rule itself. It only matches orders placed on or after the start date, and up to the end date of a range. The Effective column of the list then shows the period instead of Ongoing.

   Show advanced settings holds Priority, a number that decides between rules of the same level that match the same item. The higher number wins. With the same priority, the rule with fewer countries wins, then the older rule. Leave it at 0 unless your rules overlap.

   When you edit a rule, the button is Save instead of Create rule, and the option starts at All orders, or at the rule's dates if it has any. When several rules match one order, see How Several Shipping Rules Combine on One Order.

6. Done

   The rule is in your list#

   The rule appears on the Shipping page under its level. Existing orders are recalculated in the background. See What Happens Next.

On a phone, the wizard opens as a sheet from the bottom of the screen, with Back and Continue at the bottom. Closing it with changes asks Close without saving? Your changes will be lost.

What Happens Next#

Every option except New orders only recalculates existing orders in the background and replaces their current shipping costs. This can take a few minutes. The window Applying Shipping Rule shows how many orders are done. When it has finished, it stays open with the result:

• Orders updated and the Shipping cost change in total, or No change.
• No change means the shipping of these orders already matched the rule, or comes from labels, carriers or costs entered on the order, which take precedence over rules.
• Orders not updated only appears when some orders could not be recalculated. They keep their previous shipping cost and are listed by number. Contact support if this happens again.

Only one shipping recalculation runs per store at a time. While one is running, the options are locked and a rule that recalculates existing orders cannot be saved. Wait until it has finished before you save another rule.

Example: A Flat Cost per Order#

You ship with one service and a parcel costs you roughly the same every time, for example $4.80.

1. Click Add rule, leave All orders selected and click Continue.
2. Answer Does the cost change with the size of the order? with No, one price per order.
3. Type $4.80 into Cost per order and click Continue.
4. Leave All orders selected and click Create rule. Every existing order gets the flat cost in the background.

Example: Rates per Country or Zone#

Your cost depends on where the parcel goes: one rate at home, another for neighbouring countries, a higher one overseas.

1. Add one rule with the scope All orders as the rate for every country you have no special rate for.
2. Add one rule with the scope Specific countries for each zone. A zone is the list of countries that share a rate.

A country rule replaces the All orders rule for the orders it matches. The two are not added.

Limits#

• Shipping rules are estimates. They do not know surcharges, returns or failed deliveries.
• A rule's cost is entered in the store's currency. There is no cost per currency.
• A rule limited to countries never matches an order without a shipping country.
• Deleting a rule happens at once, without a confirmation, and recalculates the orders it matched.
• Only one shipping recalculation can run per store at a time.
• Rules are not shared between the stores of an account.