Choices, choices, choices!
The administrative tools to manage shipping in the UMSS can be found by clicking on the Shipping/Tax menu in your UMSS administration center. It is also available from the dashboard when you first login.
As is the case with so many tools in the UMSS, shipping options are set on a store by store basis. That means you may set the shipping one way for your public store, making UPS options, for example, available to everyone that visits your web site. You can then set completely different shipping options for one of your other stores. One store may have be granting discounted or free shipping, for example, while all the other stores maintain fu.
What are the different options currently available for calculating shipping?
FLAT RATE - Set a single value that covers all charges. Can also have several values ($5.00 flat rate ground; $25.00 flat rate overnight).
FREE SHIPPING - Set text that says it is free.
SHIPPING BY PRICE - Set flat rate shipping prices based on the dollar value of an order. Can specify the ranges for each store such as orders from $1 to $50 pay $5.00 for shipping; $50.01 to $100 pay $10.00 for shipping and over $100.01 get shipping free, for example.
SHIPPING BY QUANTITY - Set flat rate shipping prices based on the number of items included in an order.Can specify the ranges for each store such as orders with 1 to 3 items pay $5.00 shipping; 4 to 10 items pay $10.00 shipping; 10 to 20 products pays $22.00 shipping, for example.
SHIPPING BY WEIGHT - Set flat rate shipping prices based on the projected weight of the items in an order.Can specify the ranges for each store such as orders weight 1 to 3 pounds pay $5.00 shipping; 4 to 10 pounds pay $10.00 shipping; 10 to 20 pounds pays $22.00 shipping, for example.
UPS COMPUTED - Set the shipping based on a real-time calculation of retail UPS rates plus applicable handling charges. The UMSS will go UPS servers to get a price to use based on the store owner's specified shipping from zip code, the customer's ship-to zip code and the expected weight of the items in the order. The UMSS allows you to also set handling charges, fuel surcharges and more. Those fees are then added to the UPS rate so the customer sees just one total shipping price in their order. The UMSS owner can also set which UPS services to make available and what order to display them in (Ground, Next Day, Second Day, etc.)
If you are wondering where the weight calculations come from, each product in the UMSS has a weight assigned to it. The weight can be adjusted using the edit product functions. Here at UniformMarket we typically use an estimated weight for a product based on the type of product.
For a chart of the estimated weights we use based on product type, click here.