Possible To Have Two POD apps for one store - Teelaunch and Printful together

[Q-sourced]

Hi, really need help to get started on my POD store.  I am probably having analysis paralysis and struggling to get started.  I would like to do POD with Teelaunch and Printful as they have different products which I would like for my store, however, I am wondering how to handle shipping and a few other things. My questions:

1.  What methods do you use to price for shipping? - I would like to offer free shipping to make things easier (problem is the shipping can be high if customer orders many items, how to resolve and make it affordable).

2.  Solving the two package from two different companies can be solved by having a store announcement that products may be from different suppliers, so shipment may come in multiple packages. Is this something that is normally done?

3.  Can the two apps work together i.e. Teelaunch and Printful?

 Hope to get some great advice from the shopify community.  

Thanks much in advance.  Blessings.

[Elias · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Q-sourced.

Elias here with Shopify Support. Thank you for reaching out.

I understand you're looking to have two POD services integrated with your store. You can integrate with both, Teelaunch and Printful, and use separate shipping profiles to create the different rates for each service provider. Since you a few more questions listed in bullet points, I'll answer them in the same format for clarity.  

1. For the methods to price for shipping, I'd recommend referring to the shipping costs directly from both of the POD's website. This way, you have the most accurate rates for setting up your own shipping rates on your store. If you'd like to offer free shipping, you can include some of the shipping costs in the price of the product. However, to resolve the higher shipping costs for when a customer orders too many items, you may want to explore options like offering an automatic discount (eg. Buy 3 Get 15% Off) or integrating your store with a loyalty program. 
2. You can use an announcement banner or create store policies (eg. shipping policy) to let your customers know that they may receive two separate packages when ordering multiple items. While I can't say whether this is normally done, I have received separate packages when ordering multiple items. However, this could also be due to the store having separate fulfillment warehouses.
3. Teelaunch and Printful can work together. Each app is synced with the products that you've imported through their app, so there won't be any conflict between them.

Are you offering any incentives for customers visiting your shop at the moment? 

[Q-sourced]

Hi Elias, thanks for your suggestions.  Do store owners do free shipping for USA and charge extra for international shipping outside USA? My main audience will be in the USA, so giving free shipping for international customers will make the price too high.  If it is possible, is there a video tutorial how I can set that up, please?  Hope you are able to advise.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Wyman

[Q-sourced]

At present, I am not giving incentive.  I am in the process of setting up my store and trying to get around these issues before I launch my store. 

Blessings.

[Elias]

Hi, @Q-sourced.

Thank you for the follow-up!

It's hard to say what store owners do for shipping in the USA, as this can vary between businesses. That being said, I've seen US stores offer free shipping or charge for shipping, and charge extra for international shipping.

You can offer free shipping and charge for international shipping by creating separate shipping zones (eg. US and Rest of World). This allows each shipping zone to have their own shipping rates, so you can charge different shipping rates on US and international orders.

You can also create separate shipping profiles to account for the shipping costs from each supplier (eg. Teelaunch and Printful). This way, when customers purchases products from different suppliers on your store, the shipping costs for each supplier are accounted for and customers will see a combined rate at checkout. We've also got a video tutorial on shipping profiles (and much more) on Shopify Compass - Learn more about shipping profiles. 

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions on this topic, don't hesitate to let me know!