Setting up shipping options FAQ

Choosing a shipping option can feel like an intimidating task when building your online store, especially when there are multiple options to choose from. We’ve collected some common questions from our Setting up shipping and taxes webinar, and boiled them down into five frequently asked questions to help you out. 

 

1. What’s the best shipping option for me? 

Setting up shipping options is not a one-size-fits-all process. The best shipping option for you depends on the products you sell and what will help you reach your profit margins goals. That said, let’s go through the shipping options available on Squarespace and identify the types of products that will be best suited for each of them. 

Flat rate 

Flat rate shipping is an option that lets you set a shipping price based on the number of items in an order. Flat rate shipping is easy for customers to understand, and it can be a great selling point to advertise on your online store. It’s best suited for merchants who sell items that are roughly the same size and weight. 

You may want to consider flat rate shipping if you find most of your products can fit in the same size packaging or if you sell high-value items where the price of shipping is negligible. Jewelry, for example, usually lends itself well to flat rate shipping as pieces can typically fit in the same sized packaging. 

If you use flat rate shipping, consider adding an announcement bar to your site to highlight it as a selling point. 

Depending on weight 

As the name suggests, depending on weight shipping lets you set shipping costs based on an order’s weight. It’s an excellent option for merchants who sell merchandise that’s roughly the same size but vary significantly in weight. With this option, you can set weight ranges with their own shipping costs. 

A merchant who sells clothing, for example, may want to consider the weight dependent shipping option as a winter coat is much heavier than a silk blouse, and it will cost more to ship. 

If you plan to use weight dependent shipping, ensure you’ve added accurate weights and dimensions to all of your products. 

Carrier calculated shipping 

Carrier calculated shipping lets you use real-time shipping rates calculated by FedEx, UPS, and USPS based on package weight, dimensions, and shipping addresses. This is a good option for those who want to ship with a particular carrier and those who sell items that vary in size. 

If you plan on using carrier calculated shipping, you’ll need to add weights and dimensions (based on how they’re shipped) to your products to get the most accurate rates. 

Please note, carrier calculated shipping is available on the Commerce Advanced, Premium, and some legacy billing plans, and it’s not available for shipping to Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands. . 

2. What if I want to have different shipping options for specific products? 

After reviewing the shipping options above, you may be thinking, “What if one shipping option isn’t suitable for all of my products?”. This is where fulfillment profiles will come in handy. 

Fulfillment profiles are similar to categories that you can create and assign to specific products to limit shipping options for them. They let merchants who sell a variety of products control the shipping options that customers see at checkout. 

Let’s use an example of a merchant who sells vintage furnishings. They may want to make smaller items (like vases and light fixtures) available to ship at a flat rate, but may want to reserve heavier, fragile items (like glass tables and mirrors) for local pickup only. Assigning fulfillment profiles to these products will automatically limit the shipping options available at checkout for those products. 

This lets you use multiple shipping options on your site and contributes to a seamless checkout experience for your customers. 

 

3. How can I use a free shipping discount to achieve my business goals?  

Shoppers love discounts, and free shipping discounts are no exception. With Squarespace, you can create a discount to offer free shipping by sharing an offer code or, if you’re on Commerce Advanced or Premium plan, by creating an automatic discount. Let’s talk about a couple of ways that adding a free shipping discount can help you achieve your business goals. 

Increasing average order value (AOV) 

Have you ever added an extra product to your cart when you saw that orders above a certain amount were allotted free shipping? It’s a nice perk because it’s effective at getting shoppers to follow through with their purchases, and it can also help increase your average order value (AOV). 

With Squarespace, you can set up a free shipping discount for any order or orders over a certain amount within the Selling > Discounts panel of your site. You can even limit the discount to specific shipping options, like free two-day shipping. 

Building your mailing list 

A free shipping discount can also help you build your mailing list. Consider creating an automated email campaign with a special free shipping discount code for those who subscribe to your mailing list. 

You can advertise that subscribers receive free shipping off their first order in your newsletter block to see if that moves the needle on your mailing list growth goals. 

 

4. What if I want to charge different shipping rates based on location? 

A package’s shipping cost depends on multiple factors, including where (and specifically how far) you’re shipping it. That said, you may want to charge different shipping rates for different areas or limit shipping to some areas. For example, if you’re shipping from the U.S, you may want to charge one rate for orders within the U.S and another rate for orders shipping to the rest of the world, which will cost more to fulfill. 

You can do this by creating shipping zones. When you add a new shipping option, you’ll be prompted to create shipping zones for it; and when your customers enter their shipping address, they’ll only see the shipping options that are relevant to them. 

Squarespace supports state, province, city, and postal code specific shipping options for eight countries.

As a tip, you can create a local pickup option for buyers in your postal code to avoid having to pay for shipping on orders that are very close to your business location. 

 

5. What are some benefits of offering local pickup? 

Local pickup may work for your business if you have a local customer base or if you sell items that are difficult (or too expensive) to ship. Aside from providing your customers with another fulfillment option, there are some other benefits to offering local pickup. 

Save effort and money 

This may already be apparent, but local pickup can spare you the effort and money it takes to ship your products. Customers come right to your business to pick up their order, and you don’t have to worry about the shipping cost or lugging your packages to the carrier. 

Build a local customer base 

Offering local pickup can help you build a local clientele base. If you have customers in your area, local pickup can encourage them to make a purchase as they won’t need to pay for shipping. Additionally, if you sell your products at markets or trade-shows in your area, you can inform shoppers about local pickup if they’re on the fence about making a purchase right then and there. 

As a note, if you do sell your products in person, you may be interested in learning more about selling in person with Squarespace point of sale.

On 4/1/2024 at 9:40 PM, Parker_SQSP said:

Please note, carrier calculated shipping is available on the Commerce Advanced, Premium, and some legacy billing plans, and it’s not available for shipping to Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.

Please also bear in mind that carrier calculated shipping is NOT available outside the US. The rest of the world cannot use it.

 

On 4/1/2024 at 9:40 PM, Parker_SQSP said:

Carrier calculated shipping lets you use real-time shipping rates calculated by FedEx, UPS, and USPS based on package weight, dimensions, and shipping addresses.

*It's also important to remember that the carrier calculated shipping feature cannot be used with negotiated carrier rates. It always uses the full RETAIL rates.

I am having trouble with multiple items in one order using Carrier calculated shipping. We have a premium account, and it is calculating everything individually and assigning a shipping cost per item vs a larger box with everything in it....

 

Commerce has an option for “Per Order” and “Per Item” pricing. The problem is that if a customer buys a quantity of 1, BOTH of those get applied to that order! So I have Per Order set at $0, Per Item set higher than I normally would (bad for higher quantities).

Is there a way to set it for single-item shipping, then another price per item above 1? Example: Coffee mug order of 1 = $5 shipping, each additional mug $2 shipping. Using Per Order $5 and Per Item $2, anyone purchasing 1 coffee mug pays $7 shipping under Squarespace's setup.

Printful has "Single Product" and "Additional Product" shipping prices, which is what I'd like to use in my Squarespace store. Squarespace doesn't appear to work this way. Am I missing something?

On 5/1/2024 at 6:28 AM, CDuMez said:

Commerce has an option for “Per Order” and “Per Item” pricing. The problem is that if a customer buys a quantity of 1, BOTH of those get applied to that order! So I have Per Order set at $0, Per Item set higher than I normally would (bad for higher quantities).

Is there a way to set it for single-item shipping, then another price per item above 1? Example: Coffee mug order of 1 = $5 shipping, each additional mug $2 shipping. Using Per Order $5 and Per Item $2, anyone purchasing 1 coffee mug pays $7 shipping under Squarespace's setup.

Printful has "Single Product" and "Additional Product" shipping prices, which is what I'd like to use in my Squarespace store. Squarespace doesn't appear to work this way. Am I missing something?

There is a way to get "around" this (not really sure if I'm getting around it or just using it correctly). 

For example, at my store, I charge $8 for the first item/box and an additional $5 for each additional item. 

In the shipping rate setup in Squarespace, this looks like: 

Flat rate: $3 per order, $5.00 per item.

This adds to $8, which is my "standard" shipping fee, and then adds on $5 when someone adds an additional item to their cart. 

So for your mugs, you would want to do: 

Flat rate: $3 per order; $2 per item/mug

This will add to $5 for the first mug, and then will be an additional $2 per mug added to cart.

Hope this makes sense.

I have a question surronding shipping options - I have setup shipping zones which is great. However where I am from in New Zealand - we have rural delivery, where someone lives outside of a usual servicable zone by a courier. Therefore an additional fee is charged (typically $3.50). 

Is it possible to add a check box "Rural delivery charge" and people tick this box if they live in a rural area? People know if they are a rural address.

Alternatively - are there any other ways to capture this rural additional cost? It's not possible in the shipping zones on offer. I am currently eating the additional shipping fee myself.

Thanks