Settings – Shipping.

The ↗ Shipping tab of your Vendor dashboard is where you can configure your store’s default shipping settings and costs. This is also where you can enable/disable shipping methods for your products, as well as set your processing time, shipping policy and refund policy. There are two systems you can use: the ↓ new shipping system or the ↓ previous shipping system.

 

New shipping system settings

When you first visit the ↗ Shipping tab of your Vendor dashboard, you will see all the settings for our new zone-wise shipping system. Using this system, you are be able to use multiple shipping zones, shipping methods and shipping classes straight from your Vendor dashboard (unlike our previous system, where you had to use whatever methods we provided). This means you can set up and customise your entire shipping experience without our help – we just provide you with the shipping zones and classes. For a detailed explanation of shipping zones, classes and methods, read this article.  

Shipping zones

Since we provide you with the shipping zones, you can’t create new ones, but you can edit them. Simply hover over the zone you would like to edit and click the Edit button. The zone name and location can’t be changed, but you can use states and ZIP codes to further define the zone if necessary. The zones “Ghana” and “Local” are both set to the same region (the country of Ghana) purely for this purpose. For example, if you offered a special kind of delivery within your local area, you can use ZIP codes to define the area of your Local zone, then use the Ghana zone for all other deliveries in Ghana by not specifying ZIP codes. You can use a specific set of postcodes, a range of postcodes (e.g. 90210…99000), or wildcards (e.g. CB23*). Only if a customer’s address matches the ZIP code, the delivery method/s for that zone will be shown to them.

Tip: Zones can consist of countries, states or continents. If you need us to add a shipping zone to the list, just contact us!

Note: The shipping zone called “Locations not covered by your other zones” is used for customers who do not match any of the custom zones. Adding methods to this zone is completely optional, depending on your needs. It cannot be moved, renamed or deleted because it acts as the default option when no other zones apply.

 

Shipping methods

Once you have edited your shipping zones, you need to add shipping methods to them. This will determine the means and cost of delivery for that region. When you hover over a shipping method name you can see two buttons – one for editing the shipping method and another to delete it. You can also click on the toggle button in the status column to temporarily disable the use of a particular method. For a list and an explanation of all the available shipping methods, read this article, and for more info about shipping classes, read this article. How to add a shipping method:

1. Log into your ↗ Vendor dashboard.
2. Click the Settings tab on the left menu.
3. Then click the Shipping tab on the left menu.
4. Click the Edit button for the zone you would like to configure.
5. On the new page that loads, click the Add shipping method button.

6. Select a shipping method from the drop down menu, then click the Add shipping method button.
7. Once the method has been added, click the Edit button.

8. Enter a Title that displays to customers when checking out.
9. Enter a Cost that is applied to the entire cart. Note that what you enter here will be factored into the overall cost in the shipping classes section, unless you leave it blank. If you are not using shipping class costs, then use this “Cost” field. See advanced calculations here.
10. Select a Tax Status to define whether or not tax is applied to the shipping amount.
11. Enter the Shipping Class Costs if applicable (learn more here).
12. Click Save settings.
13. Repeat steps 5 – 12 to add as many shipping methods as you like.
14. Then click Save changes.

 

Shipping policies

To set your processing time, shipping policy and refund policy, click the Click here to add shipping policies button at the top of the page, then click Save settings.

 

Previous shipping system settings

All of the settings mentioned above are for our new shipping system which is a lot more versatile. However, our previous shipping system can still be accessed, and has a few handy features that you might want to use. These settings can be accessed by clicking the link at the top of the ↗ Shipping tab.

  Tick the Enable shipping checkbox if you would like to use the previous shipping system. To set a default shipping price (which is helpful if you do not want to add the shipping price each time you create a product) then you can do so by entering an amount in the Default shipping price textbox. It will be the base shipping price, and it will be used as a reference to calculate the shipping price. The Per product additional price is used to define the shipping price for every additional product if a customer buys more than one type of product from your store. The Per quantity additional price is used to define the shipping price for every additional product if a customer buys more than one unit of the same product from your store. This price will be added to every count after 1. The Processing time is the same as the new shipping system – it is a simple way to display the time required before delivering the product. The Shipping policy and Refund policy textboxes allow you to display your store’s important policies. These policy settings will be copied over to the new system, so there are no conflicting policies. Lastly, you can select the location that your store ships from using the Ships from setting.

 

Using the previous shipping system settings, you can also set different shipping rates based on location (country or state). Click the Add location button to configure the settings for several locations. In the Ship to field, you can add the location you want to ship to. After selecting the country, you will get the option to select a State as well. Finally, you can set the Cost of delivery by entering the amount into the textbox provided.

  Individual product shipping settings The main benefit of using the previous shipping system is that you can override the default settings on a per product basis. This is not currently possible with the new shipping system. If a particular product requires a different processing time, additional cost, or per quantity additional price, all you have to do is tick the “Override your store’s default shipping cost for this product” checkbox located in the “Shipping and Tax” section when editing the product listing. However, for this to work, the previous shipping system needs to be enabled in the shipping settings of your Vendor dashboard, as described above. The Additional cost can be a positive or negative value, depending on your requirements. This will allow you to add a surcharge or discount to the shipping cost. The additional cost will be added or subtracted from your Default Shipping Price. For example, your default shipping price is set to ₵5 but you would like a particular product’s shipping price to be ₵3, then you would enter -2 in the Additional Cost field. Other charges, such as location based prices, will be added afterwards. For example: A customer adds 5 of the same product to their cart. If your default shipping price is ₵5, but you have discounted the product by -₵2 using the additional cost field, then the shipping price is reduced to ₵3. However, you have set a per quantity additional price of ₵1, and a location based price of ₵10, the total shipping cost would be ₵17, calculated as follows: (5 – 2) + (4 x 1) + (10).

Note: The “Additional cost” field can be a positive or negative number, so you can use it to apply a surcharge or even a discount. The additional cost will be added or subtracted from your Default Shipping Price.

Helpful links: Shipping & Delivery > Shipping overview Shipping & Delivery > What are the shipping methods on CuteMesh.com?