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Setting up express shipping on a eshop 1.0

Express shipping on an eShop 1.0 is manually configured within your websites backend. Express shipping is often a more expensive option than standard postage, so as far as your website is concerned this is calculated on a cost per weight basis – the variables of which have to be input manually as a ‘new’ shipping method.

Please click here for a list of express satchel pricing and weight limits with AusPost. International postage would have to be configured using an averaged flat rate for each country and most likely with a courier company.

The eShop 1.0 allows for multiple shipping methods to be created and enabled on the website at any given time. There are two types of shipping: Product Level and Global Shipping.

Product Level Shipping

This would apply if you only want to offer express shipping on certain products, but not others.

When you create/edit a product, there is a field to enter Shipping for that product. Entering a price into this field will trump any Global Shipping rates that you may have already defined, or may later define.

An example for using this shipping type would be if you were selling a fridge, and there was a definite set price you needed, separate from the rest of the order that the customer was placing. The total shipping price would then be combined from the product shipping price, and then the global shipping price for the rest of the order.

Global Shipping

Global shipping options can be set up by creating Custom Shipping Methods.

Custom Shipping methods allows you to set up multiple methods based on weight, base price + weight, price-based or a flat fee per item. The advantage of using this option is that, as a global setting, you can update it at any time, and it will apply globally to any order, rather than having to go through each product and updating its individual Product Level Shipping.

To set up custom methods, do the following:

    1. Go to “cart settings” and then “shipping management.”
    2. Click on the Custom Methods tab and then click fill in the details below.

Here is where you’ll need to have a good think about how you’re going to ship your items, paying particular attention to the calculation method. Australia Post is a popular shipping option. While the cart does not integrate directly with the Australia Post shipping calculator, it is possible to manually create some shipping methods based on this.

Regarding prices for shipping, you will need to go to Australia Post, or whichever courier you will be using, and take a look at the prices they charge for different weights, etc. From this, you will then need to decide how much you would like to charge for shipping, and what method would suit you best. Below are some examples for each Shipping Method that can help shed some light on the matter, and lead you in the direction that you would like to have for your shipping.

Shipping by weight

If you are to follow the above guide from Australia post this is calculated on weight – so this would be most applicable method.

You ship products nationally and wish to create shipping methods based on Australia Post rates. The recommendation here is to create several different weight-based methods for different states. For example, say for products up to 500g shipping is $5, for over 500g but less than 1kg is $10 and so on. As this rate is for all states, then select all. If you wish to set up a  per  state then select the specific state and set up 2 weight-based methods. Note that the cart calculates the shipping per kg so for the 500g shipping method at $5 you should input $10.

Note: you will need to ensure that the correct weight is applied to all your products at a product level for the weight-based shipping methods to effectively calculate.

Other non express shipping methods which can be used for promotional purposes (such as flat rate shipping) during the festive period are listed below.

Shipping by base + weight

This method is similar to shipping by weight except you can add a base price to the shipping cost. This method will also require the products to have weights added to them individually. So for example, you wish to use Australia Post rates similar to above with 0-500g at $5 and 501g-1kg at $10, but with an additional shipping base price of $2 for the first 500g and $4 after that, the method would appear as follows:

Shipping based on price

It is possible to set up shipping based on price, for example a sliding scale which rewards customers for spending more money by paying less shipping. In this example, spending up to $10 is $10 shipping, spending up to $20 is $7.50 for shipping, up to $100 is $5 shipping, and spending over $100 entitles the customer to free shipping.

Shipping with a flat rate

Flat rates operate on a per item basis. In this manner you can set up shipping which either increases or decreases shipping depending on how many items the customer purchases. In the below example, a flat shipping rate exists such that 0-10 items purchased are shipped at $5 per item but if the customer purchases over 10 items, shipping is free.

Once the shipping methods are set up, it is recommended to do a series of tests to ensure that shipping is calculated correctly by the cart.

Once you have figured out which shipping method you would prefer to use, as well as the price ranges that you will charge, you will be able to enter them into the Shipping Methods page. If you know how much you would like to charge for shipping, but are unsure which method would work best for the picing structure you have, our support team can help in advising you of the best method to use.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please email [email protected]

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