CustomCart is at your service with 10 shipping charge options which we call "Shipping Charge Models":
First Item/Additional Items
With the "First Item/Additional Items" shipping charge model, you charge your customer a certain amount for the first item in their order and a lower amount for each additional item. For example, you might charge $5 for the first item and $1 for each additional item.
Flat Rate by Order
As it's name implies, the "Flat Rate by Order" shipping charge model allows you to charge your customer a preset flat dollar amount for their order regardless of the size of the order. So, for example, you might charge a flat rate of $9 for shipping an order, no matter how many items the customer orders.
Flat Rate Per Item
If you wish to charge a predfined amount for each item in a customer's order, select "Flat Rate Per Item". For example, you might wish to set your shipping charge to $1.50 per item in a customer's order. If a customer were to order 3 items, then the shipping charge presented to the customer at check out would be $4.50.
Flat Rate by Geographical Zone
For the "Flat Rate by Geographical Zone" shipping model, you first define zones based on US State. You may create up to 51 zones, but 3 - 4 is much more the norm. Then, you assign a flat rate for shipping an order to that zone.
Flat Rate by Product Shipping Class
If you sell widely varying items, then you may wish to select the "Flat Rate by Product Shipping Class" shipping model. With this shipping model, you assign all of your products to a set of Product Shipping Classes. You might sell very heavy items as well as very lightweight items. In this case, you might wish to create two product shipping classes: "Heavy" and "Lightweight". By setting a higher flat rate to the "Heavy" class and a lower flat rate to the "Lightweight" class, you can properly charge shipping for your products.
Flat Rate by Zone by Product Shipping Class
If you need the features of both the "Flat Rate by Geographical Zone" and the "Flat Rate by Product Shipping Class", then this is the shipping model you should choose. With this shipping model, you can create a cross-reference table by zone as well as product shipping class.
Tiered Pricing by Number of Items Per Order
With the "tiered pricing models", you create a series of tiers, (in this case based on the number of items in the customer's order) and assign a dollar amount to them. For example, a typical set of tiers by number of items per order might be:
- For 1 - 5 items: Shipping charge $5
- For 6 - 10 items: Shipping charge $10
- For 11 or more items: Shipping charge $15
Of course, you may create any number of tiers and assign any shipping charges you wish to them.
Tiered Pricing by Order Dollar Total
One of the most popular shipping models is "Tiered Pricing by Order Dollar Total". With this model, you define tiers of order totals and assign shipping charges to those tiers. For example, you might define your tiers as follows:
- $0.01 - $50: Shipping charge: $4.95
- $50.01 - $100: Shipping charge: 9.95
- $100.01 - $150: Shipping charge: 14.95
- Orders over $150: Shipping charge: 19.95
Of course, you may define as many tiers as you like and assign any shipping charge to that tier.
Percentage of Order Dollar Total
Some web businesses charge their customers for shipping as a percentage of the order total. In this case, you simply set the percentage that you will charge and CustomCart does the rest. For example, you might set your shipping charge to 5%. If a customer places an order for $100, they are then charged $5 (5%) for shipping.
Free Shipping
What could be simpler than free shipping? In this case, the customer is not charged any additional amount for shipping when they place an order.
Shipping Overrides
In some cases, you may wish to offer your customers a reward for their business and CustomCart allows you a number of ways to accomplish this.
Free Shipping Based on Order Total
One of the most popular shipping overrides CustomCart offers is for free shipping if the order total exceeds a preset amount. For example, you may wish to offer your custmoers free shipping if their order total is more than $100. Of course, you may set this threshold to any amount you wish.
