Combining shipping rates from different shipping profiles
If you create multiple shipping profiles or have multiple locations within profiles, then some orders might contain products from different profiles or locations. When this happens, the separate shipping rates for each product are combined and a single shipping rate is displayed to your customer at checkout.
On this page
- Combining weight-based and price-based shipping rates
- Naming your shipping rates
- Combined rates for products in different profiles
- Combined rates when only one location can fulfill the order
- Flat rates within a single shipping profile (same location group)
- Combined rates within a single shipping profile (different location groups)
Combining weight-based and price-based shipping rates
Price-based shipping rates and weight-based shipping rates are combined differently. Price-based shipping rates apply to the total price of the cart. Weight-based shipping rates combine the weights of the individual products in the cart, with your store default package weight added to each product's weight.
For example, suppose you have a store default package weight of 1 lb. A customer places an order for two products that requires weight-based shipping rates to be combined. The first product weighs 3 lb and the second weighs 5 lb. The weight that is used to determine the weight-based shipping rate for each product is the product weight plus the store default package weight.
For the first product, whichever shipping rate applies to a 4 lb shipment is used (3 lb + 1 lb). For the second product, whichever shipping rate applies for a 6 lb shipment (5 lb + 1 lb) is used. The two rates from each product are then combined to provide the shipping rate that the customer selects at checkout.
Naming your shipping rates
Shipping rates with the same name are added together and displayed to your customer at checkout, even those in different shipping profiles. If all of your rates have different names, then the cheapest options are added together and displayed to your customer at checkout with the name Shipping.
For example, suppose that you have two shipping profiles: one for shirts and one for pants. They each offer a standard mail service and an expedited mail service. If the standard and expedited mail services have the same name in both shipping profiles, then a customer who places an order with pants and shirts are displayed with both shipping options at checkout.
| Shirts shipping profile | Pants shipping profile | Combined shipping rates at checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping rates |
|
|
|
If the rates aren't named the same in both profiles, then only the cheapest options are added together and shown to the customer at checkout as Shipping.
| Shirts shipping profile | Pants shipping profile | Combined shipping rates at checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping rates |
|
|
|
Combined rates for products in different profiles
For example, suppose that you have a shipping profile for a shirt that charges $3 USD shipping worldwide and a shipping profile for pants that charges $5 USD shipping worldwide. If a customer orders both the shirts and pants, then the customer would get a shipping rate of $8 USD in their checkout.
| Shirts shipping profile | Pants shipping profile | Combined shipping rate |
|---|---|---|
| $3 USD worldwide shipping from a US warehouse | $5 USD worldwide shipping from a US warehouse | $3 USD (Shirts) + $5 USD (Pants) = $8 USD total shipping |
Combined rates when only one location can fulfill the order
Rates are added together only if there is no option to have a single rate from one shipping profile or location. If all items can come from one location but there is more than one location that carries these items, then fulfillment priority picks which location fulfills the order.
If multiple fulfillment locations are involved in a single line item, such as 1 unit from US warehouse and 1 unit from Canada warehouse, and both locations are in the same location group, then the rate from the location with the highest priority is chosen. The other location's rate is free.
| Shirts shipping profile | Pants shipping profile | Combined shipping rate |
|---|---|---|
|
US warehouse (priority 1)
Canada warehouse (priority 2)
|
US warehouse (priority 1, no inventory)
Canada warehouse (priority 2)
| $5 USD (Shirts) + $8 USD (Pants) = $13 USD total shipping |
In the last example, the fulfillment priority chooses the Canadian location to fulfill both items because it has both products available. This gives the customer a combined rate of $13 USD in the checkout. If pants was available at the United States location, then the combined shipping rate would be $8 USD.
Flat rates within a single shipping profile (same location group)
If a single location can’t fulfill an order, but the order can be fulfilled from multiple locations within the same location group that is applying a flat rate, then the flat rate shipping charge is applied only once for all locations.
For example, suppose the New York and Michigan warehouses are in the same location group 1, and you set a flat rate shipping charge of $5 USD. Your customer orders 2 different shirts, 1 in stock in New York location, and the other in the Michigan location.
The New York and Michigan warehouses, which are both in location group 1, are needed to fulfill the two shirts. Your customer is charged a single flat shipping rate of $5 USD for standard shipping or $8 USD for expedited shipping that includes both shipments.
| Location group 1 in a shirts shipping profile | Flat shipping rate |
|---|---|
|
New York warehouse:
| $5 USD total for standard shipping |
Michigan warehouse:
| $8 USD for expedited shipping |
Combined rates within a single shipping profile (different location groups)
If a single location can't fulfill an order, then the shipping rates of all products are added together, unless the products are in the same location group within a profile and are applying a flat rate.
In the table below, suppose a shirt costs $30 USD and that the US and Canada warehouses are in different location groups.
| Shirts shipping profile | Combined shipping rate |
|---|---|
|
US warehouse (priority 1, 1 in stock)
Canada warehouse (priority 2)
| $5 USD (Shirt from the US warehouse) + $8 USD (Shirt from the Canada warehouse) = $13 USD total shipping |
An order of two shirts costs 60 USD. Because the shipping rates are based on price, the rates that apply to orders of 60 USD from each profile are combined.
Instead, consider a situation where weight-based shipping rates are combined. Suppose a shirt weighs 2 lb.
| Shirts shipping profile | Combined shipping rate |
|---|---|
|
US warehouse (priority 1, 1 in stock)
Canada warehouse (priority 2)
| $3 USD (Shirt from the US warehouse) + $5 USD (Shirt from the Canada warehouse) = $8 USD total shipping |
Because the shipping rates are based on weight, the individual weights of the products in each location are used to determine which rates should be combined. Each shirt is 2 pounds, so the rates that apply for orders of 2 pounds are combined.