Shopping Cart >

Setting Up Shipping, Taxes and Policies

The fourth step to getting your products ready to sell is setting up your policies, taxes, shipping and opening your e-store.

Overview

1. Shipping
   • Cost Per Order, Cost Per Item in Order, Cost Per Unit of Weight
   • Shipping Calculated as a Percent of Your Total
   • Unique Shipping Rates Per Item
   • Shipping Rate Tables
   • UPS Shipping
   • US Postal Service Shipping
2. Taxes
3. Policies

To make any changes to your Shipping, Taxes, or Policy settings, click the 'Edit Store' tab, then click 'Shopping Cart'.

 

1. Shipping

Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'. You'll see that you already have the options of UPS or USPS shipping calculator. You can also charge shipping as the following:

• Cost per order
• Cost per item in order
• Cost per unit of weight
• UPS shipping calculator (US shipping only)
• US Postal Service shipping calculater

There is also a workaround to set shipping as a percent of the price. See Can I charge shipping as a percent of sales? As well, there is a workaround to charge a unique shipping amount for each item (e.g. Shirt costs $3.00 to ship each shirt, Plate costs $1.50 to ship each plate, etc.). See Can I charge a unique shipping rate for each product on my site? Lastly, we also have a workaround for charging based on a table. See Can I charge shipping using a shipping rate table?

You can also specify by what region you wish the shipping to apply. It can be by country or by state/province in the US and Canada.

Note: You can create several shipping methods of any of the 4 options we give you. When a customer buys a product, they first enter their shipping location. On the next page, your customer only sees those shipping options which apply for their geographic region (e.g. you can have special rates for customers within California versus the rest of the continental US). Then, they mark off the one that applies to them. This is an example of what your customer will see:

Cost Per Order, Cost Per Item in Order, Cost Per Unit of Weight

Here are the steps for setting up a shipping method:

1. Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'.
2. Click 'Add Custom Shipping Method'.
3. Type in a name for your shipping method.
4. Select one of the following:
   
   • Anywhere - This would be for shipments going anywhere in the world.
   • Inside - This indicates that shipping applies to those countries you select on the right. If you wish to select a state or province. Choose 'Inside' and then select United States or Canada on the right. Then, continue to the next step to narrow that to a state(s) or province(s).
   • Outside - This indicates that shipping applies to those countries not selected on the right.

   Then, select a country or countries on the right. To select several countries. hold down the CTRL key while clicking on your selections. Make sure the country or countries you want are highlighted when you are done.

5. If you wish to include all states and provinces, you can type in the initials under States/Provinces. If there are several, separate them with commas. If you do not wish to indicate a state or province within the U.S. or Canada, leave the box blank or at its default (Any).

6. The last step is to choose how cost is calculated for shipping. You can choose just one cost or do a combination. Here is an example of how the charges differ.

   John Doe buys 3 items. Each item weighs 2 lbs. Here is what it would cost if:

   • the cost per order is $5, the total shipping would be $5.
   • the cost per item in order is $4, the total shipping would be $4 X 3 items which is $12.
   • the cost per unit of weight is $3, the total shipping would be 3 items X 2 units of weight X $3 which is $18.

   If the cost was a combination of cost per order and cost per item in order, the total shipping would be $5 + $12 which is $17.

7. Click 'Save' when you are done. Your new shipping rate will be added to the 'Shipping Methods' table.

NOTE: If you choose to calculate shipping by cost per unit of weight, make sure for each of your products that you input its weight value. To do this, go to your catalog page and click on your product. Click 'Edit Page' in the toolbar and then enter the weight value in the space provided.

Shipping Restrictions

This is where you input any geographic limitations on where you ship goods or any other restrictions relating to shipping. For example:

"We ship anywhere in the United States. Sorry, we do not ship anywhere else at this time."

It is seen by your customers on the Shipping and Billing Info page.

 

UPS Shipping Calculator

IMPORTANT: The UPS Shipping Calculator only applies to shipping to continental US destinations.

You must make arrangements with UPS for actually shipping your products. Go to http://www.ups.com/.

The UPS rates are based on UPS picking up the item from your business. Sorry, no drop off rates are included and no overweight shipping (i.e. over 150 lbs). Also, deliveries to residential locations are more expensive than commercial locations.

All your products must have a shipping weight entered or shipping cannot be calculated. To do this, go to your catalog page and click on your product. Click on 'Edit Page' and then enter the weight value in the space provided.

Here are the steps to set up the UPS Shipping Calculator:

1. Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'.
2. Click 'Edit' beside the UPS Shipping Rate in the 'Shipping Methods' table.
3. A pop-up opens. Read the notice and then check the top 2 boxes. If the 3rd box applies to you, check it. Enter your zip code and on the 'Save' button.

The status in the table then changes to 'Enabled'.

 

US Postal Service Shipping Calculator

IMPORTANT: Please note that the calculator is only available for shipping from the United States and only calculates the cost of shipping. You will have to make arrangements with the US Postal Service to ship the goods.

Rates are based on USPS picking up the item from your business. Sorry, no drop off rates are included and no overweight shipping (i.e. over 70 lbs).

All your products must have a shipping weight entered or shipping cannot be calculated. To do this, go to your catalog page and click on your product. Click 'Edit Page' and then enter the weight value in the space provided.

1. Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'.
2. Click 'Edit' beside US Postal Service in the 'Shipping Methods' table.
3. A pop-up opens. Read the notice and then checkmark the boxes, then fill in your zip code.Click the 'Save' button.

You'll be returned to the main shipping setup page and you'll notice that the status besdieUS Postal Service has been updated to 'Enabled'.

 

Deleting a Shipping Method

To delete a shipping method, click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'. Then, click on red 'X' to the right of the shipping method you want to remove.

 

Editing a Shipping Method

To edit a shipping method, click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Shipping'. Then, click on the 'Edit' button to the right of the shipping method you want to edit.

 

Step 2. Tax Calculator

Taxes can be calculated based on state or province for the U.S. and Canada as well as by country. It is based on the shipping address that your customer inputs. The tax is automatically calculated. You can also input several taxes for different areas. Your customer sees the total tax on the Billing Page during the order process as seen below:

Here is how to set up your taxes.

1. Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Taxes'.
2. If the 'Add Tax' form isn't open already, click 'Add Tax'.
3. Enter a name for your tax.
4. Select one of the following:

• Anywhere - This would be for shipments going anywhere in the world.
• Inside - This indicates that shipping applies to those countries you select on the right. If you wish to select a state or province. Choose 'Inside' and then select United States or Canada on the right. Then, continue to the next step to narrow that to a state(s) or province(s).
• Outside - This indicates that shipping applies to those countries not selected on the right.

Next, select a country or countries on the right. To select several countries. hold down the CTRL key while clicking on your selections.

5. If you wish to indicate a state or province within the U.S. or Canada, you can type in the initials under States/Provinces. If there are several, separate them with commas. If you do wish to indicate all states and provinces, leave the box blank.
6. Click on the down area to indicate if tax applies to shipping charges.
7. Enter your tax rate and click 'Save'. For a tax of 7.25%, enter 7.25 in the box provided.

You will then see a summary of your tax rates.

 

Deleting a Tax

To delete a tax, click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Taxes'. Then, click the red 'X' to the right of the tax you want to remove.

 

Editing a Tax

To edit a tax, click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Taxes'. Then, click 'Edit' beside the tax you want to remove.

 

Step 3. Policies

Your guarantee and return policy are available to your customers during the checkout process and look something like:

To modify your policies:

1. Click the 'Edit Store' tab -> 'Shopping Cart' -> 'Policies'.
2. Enter text for your guarantee and return policy, then click 'Save'.