The flat rate shipping system includes both national and international options. This applies to all levels and offers the following choices.
- Shipping fee
- Quantity override (this means the shipping fee will be charged only once, no matter how many items are in the order)
- Free shipping is available for national or international deliveries
- Set a minimum and maximum shipping charge for each rate (national or international)
- Offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount
- Disable this method (this will stop national or international shipping from being available)
Minimum, maximum, and free shipping thresholds
WC Vendors allows vendors to set minimum and maximum shipping fees. Vendors can also offer free shipping if the order total exceeds a specific value. These settings can be applied at the product level, store level, or globally for all products. This is the only part of the shipping system that works for both product and store levels. This is because product-level settings affect only that product, while store-level settings apply to the entire order from the vendor.
- Minimum: The lowest shipping fee that will be charged
- Maximum: The highest shipping fee that will be charged
- Free shipping: If the customer spends more than this amount, shipping will be free
Product-level limits apply only to that product. Store-level limits apply to the entire order from the vendor. Both levels are checked when the shipping cost is calculated. This means if a product-level limit is met, the shipping and total amount for that product will be used in the final shipping calculation.
Shipping threshold calculation example
Product A costs $25, with shipping costs set at the product level
| Rates | Cost |
|---|---|
| National shipping rate | $3 |
| National minimum shipping rate | $10 |
| National maximum shipping rate | $50 |
| National free shipping spend | Not set |
Product B costs $34, with shipping costs set at the store level
| Rates | Costs |
|---|---|
| National shipping rate | $9 |
| National minimum shipping rate | Not set |
| National maximum shipping rate | Not set |
| National free shipping spend | $99 |
Customer Cart Shipping Calculation Steps
This is an example of how the shipping system calculates shipping rates for a vendor’s store, including how it applies threshold checks.
Step One: Check the shipping rates per product
The system first checks the shipping cost for each product. This can be set at the product level, store level, or global level.
- 3 units of Product A have a shipping cost of $9 (that is $3 multiplied by 3).
- 5 units of Product B have a shipping cost of $45 (that is $9 multiplied by 5).
- The total cart value is:
- Product A: $75
- Product B: $170
- Total: $245
- The total shipping cost before any threshold checks is $54.
Step Two: Apply threshold checks
Now the system checks if any shipping rules or minimums need to be applied.
- Product A has a minimum shipping cost requirement of $10. Since the calculated cost of $9 does not meet this requirement, the system adjusts it to $10.
- However, since the total cart value for this vendor is $245, the order qualifies for free shipping under the vendor’s free shipping threshold rule.
Final Calculation:
- 3 units of Product A: Shipping cost is adjusted to $10
- 5 units of Product B: Shipping cost remains $45
- Total cart value: $245
- Total shipping after threshold checks: FREE
Product level options
The following flat-rate shipping options are available for this product. These options will replace the default shipping settings set by the vendor’s store or the global settings.
Store-level options
Vendor store shipping is the default shipping method set for each vendor. These settings will be used for any product that does not have its own shipping option set. This section will display the flat-rate shipping choices for the vendor’s store. You can find these shipping options by going to Dashboard > Settings > Shipping tab.
The flat-rate shipping options let you set default shipping rates, as well as default settings for each order placed with a vendor. These settings are only available in the flat-rate shipping module. Each vendor can also set their own default options, which include:
- Charges per order
- Charges per product
- Minimum and maximum shipping costs
- Handling fees
- Shipping and return policies
- Shipping origin (Store address or another location)
Shipping Fees
The following flat-rate options are available for the vendor’s store. These options are the same as the ones used at the product or global level. This rate will be used if no specific shipping rate has been set for a product.
Overrides
Under the shipping fee are the override settings that will take precedence over the fees. These include
Free Shipping
Free shipping will set the national or international rate to free shipping for all orders.
Charge Once
“Charge once” means the shipping cost for a product will be applied only once, no matter how many units of that product the customer adds to the cart. Even if the customer buys more than one of the same product, the shipping fee will not increase.
Disable
This will disable the rate, national or international, completely
General fees & settings
The following general fees can be set for each vendor’s store. These fees will be added to any order that includes products from that vendor.
Shipping From
The shipping from allows vendors to set a different shipping address for their products from their store address. This allows vendors to have their shipping calculated based on the location of their warehouse.
