Regional Support: Shipping (UK)

[Victor]

Learn more about handling shipping and fulfilment while running your Shopify store in the UK.

This thread is part of the Regional Support threads offered for merchants in the United Kingdom. To see which other topics are available, you can visit the UK hub here.

Merchants based in the United Kingdom can offer both manual and third-party carrier calculated shipping rates to their customers at checkout. This second option allows UK merchants to link their FedEx and UPS accounts to Shopify and offer live rates from these providers at checkout.

Please note that the live rates can only be enabled if the merchant has the carrier calculated shipping feature enabled, which is a standard feature of our Advanced and Plus plans. However, this feature can also be added to a merchant's store for an additional cost of $20 USD per month if they are on the Shopify plan. Merchants on the Shopify plan can instead have this feature enabled at no additional cost if their subscription is paid for on an annual basis. If you’d like to add this feature to your account, please contact our support team.

Outside of the integrated options of FedEx and UPS, there are a number of third-party applications that allow UK merchants to offer live rates from other shipping providers. Some apps will also allow you to buy shipping labels for different providers in the UK. These include:

• Royal Mail Shipping Extension (includes live rates from Royal Mail that appear at checkout).
• Starshipit Shipping & Tracking (includes live rates from the likes of DHL and DPD at checkout, as well as the ability to buy shipping labels from numerous carriers, including Royal Mail).
• Zenstores - UK Shipping App (includes the ability to buy shipping labels from numerous carriers, including DHL, DPD, Hermes, Royal Mail and Parcelforce).
• Multi Carrier Shipping Label (includes the ability to buy shipping labels from UK-based carriers including Royal Mail, Parcel Force & DHL)

Royal Mail also offer their Click & Drop app, which can be installed in the form of a sales channel in the Shopify admin. This app will allow you to easily buy and print Royal Mail shipping labels for your orders. You can refer to Royal Mail’s setup instructions to install the app in your store.

If you’re looking for more information or direct assistance with any of these apps, we recommend contacting the developers of the app directly. The developers build and support these apps and their contact information can be found on the app’s page on the Shopify App Store.

If you have a question or comment to make about shipping when based in the United Kingdom, please post it below.

[George_Greenhil]

It's starting to become a joke really now. Really disappointed after years of pointing this out to them they still ignore us.  

[St3v3]

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@George_Greenhil wrote:

It's starting to become a joke really now. Really disappointed after years of pointing this out to them they still ignore us.  

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Didn't realise it had been going on for that long!! Thats terrible service from Shopify.

Definitely time to look for alternatives then, I am fed up of losing money on orders due to Shopify's inability to resolve this.

[George_Greenhil]

Still nothing, still losing money. @Victor  any update?

[Victor]

Hi @George_Greenhil,

I don't have any updates at this time, no. I know that our development team are currently considering and working on a number of potential initiatives to better help our merchants during this difficult period, and if there is anything announced that I feel is of particular interest to UK-based merchants I will be sure to post here with more information.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[George_Greenhil]

Hi @Victor 

Is there a legal issue or something with splitting the UK up?

I really don't understand it, you've launched a new whole email platform this week and come out with loads of cool complicated new features like product recommendation algorithms.

But you can't add 4 tick boxes after 5 years. It's so strange.

Thanks,

George

[Victor · Accepted solution]

Hi @George_Greenhil,

I am not aware of the specific reasoning behind why this hasn't be done yet, although I don't believe it's due to any issues of legality. We've also had requests from merchants in other countries who are wanting more specificity when setting up shipping zones for their region.

Many of the more recent features announced, including Shopify Email, have been in the work for some time prior to their launch. Some features and their launches have also been prioritized due to the ongoing pandemic (e.g. the launch of the curbside pickup feature). I do believe it is mainly a question of prioritizing which features are rolled out first, although I understand that this is something UK-based merchants have been requesting for years and personally I hope it is something that is addressed soon, as I know it would be a huge help to many of you.

I've advocated for this feature internally and am continuing to log all feedback we receive on this in the merchant feedback system we use here. As mentioned before, I will be sure share more information about this feature here if and when it comes.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Peng15]

I would like to add my request to the list for UK to be separated out with Northern Ireland. Its vital to my business as its illegal at the moment for me to ship to Northern Ireland without tests that cost 20 times the product. 

What is best current work around and please can I have an idea of how long before this will be available

[lolly2020]

Any Update shopify !!

[EZB]

What a joke! 

12 pages of replies and Shopify has its head in the sand. 

[bakeryben]

Hi, 

Our bakery is offering local delivery within our city. We split different areas into different days to make it possible for our drivers, and people select their area based on the map on our site. Often however it goes wrong, due either to site glitches or human error people end up in the wrong group. Is there an app that will work out if someone's address falls within a given area, perhaps even not based on postcode, and then informs them which day they will receive their delivery?

Many thanks!

Ben

[Victor]

Hi @bakeryben,

Thank you for detailing your current set up and I can see why this may lead to errors with customers falling into the wrong group. There are a number of apps that can help merchants offer local delivery options to their customers, however I am not sure if it would be possible via these apps to restrict delivery days to specific postcodes or regions—nonetheless, I'd recommend checking these apps out and seeing if they're of any use to you:

• Local Delivery
• Store Pickup + Delivery
• Store Pickup + Local Delivery

You can make use of the free trials these apps offer to install them into your store and see how they work, and if they'd improve the management of your deliveries and the checkout experience for the customer.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Yegordrozdov]

Hello , Victor! I have a question about enabling payment.

My business is registered and operates in the United States ,but I am a citizen of another country. I do not have an SSN , how can I enable Shopify Payment? I have all the other business documents , but no SSN. What should I do?

[Victor]

Hi @Yegordrozdov,

Shopify Payments is only available in specific countries, and as a result you would need to meet specific criteria in terms of verification we may request from you. For example, if you are in the United States, in order to use Shopify Payments you will likely need to provide a Social Security Number, as well as an account from a bank with a physical location in the United States. It's not real feasible for merchants outside of the US, who do not have a presence there, to use the gateway.

Can you let me know which country you are based in? I may be able to suggest some alternative options for you.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Simply1]

Hi, Im just starting out on Shopify. Ive read lots of information on shipping. Am I correct in saying that i need Royal Mail extension app to enable the shipping to be calculated ? I can only have this app at $10 a month and only on an upgraded plan ? ( i am currently on the basic ).

Also if all the above is correct. If I were to use this app, and i add each products weight individually. What is the box information used for please. I really do not understand the box information page.

Does this app accomodate muliple items in the shopping cart ? does it adjust the shipping accordingly ?

Thank you

Regards

Alison

[Victor]

Hi Alison,

Thank you for reaching out with your question, and yes, this is correct—the Royal Mail Shipping Extension will allow you to offer live, calculated rates to your customers within Shopify. The app has a monthly cost of $10 USD p/m, although it does also require you to have the carrier-calculated shipping feature enabled on your store. You can add this feature to your plan for an additional $20 USD p/m, or you can receive it for free if you decide to switch from a monthly to an annual billing cycle for the Basic plan. Please let me know if you've any questions on this.

I believe the app will take the average parcel size you enter in here—letter, large letter, small parcel or large parcel—and accommodate this into its calculations, along with the total weight of the customer's order and their shipping address. It would then take these variables and present the customer with as accurate a shipping rate as possible, which they can then select and pay for at checkout. This will work for single-product orders and for orders with numerous items. You will want to ensure that your product weights within Shopify are accurate, as these are used in the app's calculations.

I'd also point out that whilst I am familiar with the app and know roughly how it works, it is not made by Shopify and instead by a third-party developer. If you have any further questions about the app please feel free to ask them here, but you can also reach out to the developers directly at support@developify.co.uk. I'd also suggest checking out the reviews for the app on its page on the App Store, linked above, to see how other merchants have used it.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Daviddbx]

I ship a lot of items to the USA from the UK. All small items.

I’m currently using RM click and drop integration. The integration is perfect for my needs. Love it. Uk shipping is great but US shipping has always been problematic with long delays (like 3 weeks being a regular delivery time!) Since covid its just beyond a joke. USPS will put me out of business if i carry on like this.

I’m trying to use UPS. I’ve done a few trial runs and the delivery times to the USA are fantastic.

Problem is, I can’t find a label app for UPS! Just about every other shipper in the world is well catered for, but hardly any for UPS.

a) Can someone recommend a UK appropriate app for UPS (and ideally, Royal Mail)?

b) Can someone tell me if these apps will offer the same sort of functionality as click and drop?

Any help much appreciated. It seems a really hard / opaque thing to do considering how fundamental a part of selling through shopify shipping is.

Thanks,

David.

[Victor]

Hi @Daviddbx,

Thank you for reaching out with your question and for detailing your predicament. I've taken a look through our App Store and have found the following apps which should allow you to purchase UPS shipping labels:

• Easyship
• Multi Carrier Shipping Label
• eShip
• ShippingEasy
• Shippo

All of the above apps claim to integrate with UPS, although I am not sure if all will allow for UPS label purchases for merchants based in the UK. I would recommend installing the apps that interest you—all are either free to install, or offer a free trial period—and see if UPS is a label purchase option for you. I don't know if these apps will allow for the same functionality you've experienced with the Click & Drop app, but they will allow for the buying and printing of shipping labels via the Shopify admin.

Give these a try, and please let me know if you've more questions about this.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Da_Do]

I have built & will manage an eCommerce site for the UK called planetsal.co.uk - novelty gifts, cards & now face masks.

We have done very few sales to date but have come across two related issues.

I cannot see how to configure the shipping to match UK Royal Mail rates which are based on weight AND size - I don't see where the package size is used in any calculation.

(The size of this enterprise probably precludes the cost / benefit of eg the Royal Mail extension, especially having to upgrade the Shopify Plan as well).

I have been using a quick & dirty workaround by specifying a fixed price on every item, via a fictitious item weight which equates to a Postage rate - so an item weighing 1.5 LBs would mean a cost of £1.50.

That works for individual items, especially when the product is 'unique' & only likely to be bought singly.

However, multiple face masks could easily be ordered - the above workaround is then broken as the customer gets charged eg £1.50 for each mask in the order.

I may be misunderstanding something so can you please suggest a way forward.

Thank you,

Ron

[Victor]

Hi @Da_Do,

Thank you for reaching out with your question. The problem you're experiencing here is a relatively common one, and it often requires some creative shipping rate creation to find the best solution for your store.

I'll point out first of all that the weight of the default package on file is included in the total weight of the order, which is used at checkout when the system is calculating which shipping rate to offer to the customer:

In this instance from my test store, the system will add together the total weight of the products in the customer's cart with the weight of the default package on file, which in this case is 0.188kg. This total weight will then determine which shipping rate is offered to the customer. This is something that will need to be considered when you are setting up your shipping rates, and sometimes it's best to set the default package weight to 0 so that you can dictate shipping rate eligibility by the weight of the products alone.

Using fictitious weights is totally fine when you are using manual rates, as this allows you some creativity and more control when it comes to setting up your shipping rates. However, as you've experienced, it can get a bit more complicated when you are considering what happens if a customer orders multiple units of a product, and what shipping rate they should be paying then. Can you tell me a bit more about your store and how you want your rates to display, in an ideal world? Do you sell numerous products or is it just the face masks that you referenced? Can you also tell me at what point you would need to use a larger package if the customer orders numerous packages of face masks?

If you can provide more details about your ideal set-up, I'll see what I can recommend in terms of configuring your shipping settings.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Da_Do]

Thanks for the reply, Victor - especially highlighting the weight of the default package which I hadn't picked up on & will consider as we progrees this issue. As you say, there are pros & cons in including it.

Masks - I'm awaiting details from the store owner but the large envelope must take 5, with a mixium of 10. So, in practice, its unlikely that customers would would order more than 5. As a safety measure we could set the inventory level to avoid 'bulk' orders.

Physical shop - gifts, cards & novelties. Eventually we may advertise products available in the store as a catalogue but without online purchase.

Online shop - currently masks are the only items that fall into the 'problem' area, & my thinking has progressed since my initial query. As I said above, almost all orders ought to fit into what we could the default package size. There are some items we sell with free shipping (taken care of), then there are larger items that we have priced delivery individually. We may in the future sell packs of gift cards which would 'fill' a Large Letter more quickly than the cloth face masks.

To summarise :

- masks probably OK

- fixed delivery cost OK as long as cumulative weight of eg masks or other future products did not increase to the level of the fictious rates

-  ideally I would like to cater for all eventualities for ever (!) but I'm beginning to warn the Store Owner that we may have to be pragmatic, & just deal with what we sell now & worry about the future in the future !

[Victor]

Hi @Da_Do,

Thank you for providing these additional details. Setting up your shipping rates correctly is often done via some trial and error—ideally you want to cover yourself for every potential order combination and make sure the shipping costs are handled correctly, but there are some eventualities that are unlikely to occur (e.g. a large order of masks) and that may be something you deal with if and when it comes. One thing I will say is you could indeed use inventory tracking to configure a set number of masks available at one time, and then just adjust the inventory levels when the masks have been purchased, although there are apps such as Order Limits that allows for greater control on how many units of a product a single customer can order. You can also just add a note in the product description notifying customers of a maximum order limit to deter larger orders.

In terms of your shipping rates, I'd recommend continuing using the fictitious weights and managing your shipping rates via this method. If you can fit 5 masks into a large envelope, as you mentioned, then you could set a shipping rate that maxes out at [weight of mask] x 5. You mentioned in your initial message that a 1.5lb item would cost £1.50 to ship, so you could set the weight of the mask at 0.3lbs, presuming that you're happy to ship up to 5 masks for a price of £1.50. You could then set a higher shipping rate for orders of 1.51lbs and up, meaning if a customer orders more masks—or some masks and other products—they'll be paying a higher shipping rate, and you're covering yourself financially if this situation occurs.

It's not a perfect solution, but you can usually cover yourself for most possible order combinations with some creative shipping rate configurations using fictitious weights for your products. I hope this has explained things further, but let me know if you still have more questions.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[panterandhall]

Hello, I'm dealing with some fragile/valuable items so can't have a standard shipping option on the website for everything. I was wondering if there was a way to have two £0 shipping options at checkout but one would say 'Free' and the other would say 'To Be Determined' so we could be in touch with a specialist quote later?

For example, the options I want to have are: 

1. Collect - Free
2. We will be in touch to arrange a quote - To Be Determined

I have worked out how to change the text between the two options by editing the theme language but I can't see a way to have both - if it's possible I would love to hear how! 

Many thanks 

Beth

[Victor]

Hi @panterandhall,

Thank you for getting in touch! In an ideal world, would you rather have one shipping rate appear for non-fragile items and another for fragile ones? If so, you can use shipping profiles to separate products into individual profiles, and then set shipping rates that only apply for each one. This would allow customers an easier, more straightforward checkout if they are purchasing easy-to-ship items and they don't need a quote, and only when customers are buying fragile items will they be presented with this option.

Even without using separate shipping profiles, you should be able to set up these two rates to appear at checkout simultaneously. In your shipping settings, you can set up two price-based rates of £0 and above, and title them as you wish. They'll then appear at checkout for every customer with a product in their cart.

I'd encourage you to check out the linked Help Center page on shipping profiles, as it's very thorough and informative. I believe that this may be the best way for you to set up your shipping rates. Please let me know if you've any further questions!

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[CA75]

I'm utterly astounded that you cannot separate the UK. 

I seriously cannot believe this most basic of functions within woo commerce isn't available. I have a Northern Irish based business and have spent the last few weeks working on my migration to shopify.

What an utter waste of money and time this now seems. Of course I have separate rates between North, South Ireland and the UK.

Have you not heard about brexit?????? What do you think customs charges and tariffs will do to standardised UK Shipping costs?

Even if the nonsense of brexit didn't exist I still have to separate my domestic market. Why does Ireland have separate counties but you can't even provide the UK countries

I don't need live courier pricing - I have a contract and know what the costs are. I only need the most simplest thing to split the UK countries.

So i'm expected to pay $50+ a month for an app and data feed for something I don't need and for a result it may not even do.

Pathetic 

[nicolema]

Hello Shopify team,

Our UK company is setting up an online store where we have below product categories and are planning to offer international shipping. Our store will start quite small scaled with just a few product types and not massive qty. 

1. Book (one size for now, 50 pcs)

2. Ceramic vessels (few different sizes, 10-20 pcs, fragile and heavy)

3. Art prints (5-6 sizes, 50 pcs, handled with care)

I have been reading the help centre and this forum thoroughly but still couldn't find the best solution. Our shopify plan is basic and what I understand is that we can opt to pay $20 monthly for calculated shipping rate feature, otherwise we would have to manually check with selected carrier and input shipping fee based on weight/ price/ destinations one by one, is it correct? 

To be more cost and time efficient, what would you normally suggest merchants of similar scale like us to do? I am assuming it is best to use carrier's calculated shipping rate systems like DPD/ UPS/ DHL/ Fedex? But would be great to know of smarter suggestion and learn from your experience.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Nicole

[Victor]

Hi @nicolema,

Thank you for detailing your situation and for asking your question here. I'd be happy to explain in more detail how shipping settings work within Shopify and what your options are.

It sounds like you are offering a variety of different products that require differing shipping options, both in terms of package type and size, and also the costs associated with shipping these items. Using shipping profiles, you'll be able to use manual rates based on product weights to offer shipping prices based on both the merchant's location and the products they have ordered. I'd recommend checking out our detailed documentation on shipping profiles as it helps explain how they work and how they can be used to optimize shipping options for your store.

Using shipping profiles, you could therefore set different shipping rates for books, ceramic vessels and for your art prints, which I presume come with greatly varied costs. You can set international shipping rates for each profile so each product can have specific rates for different countries and regions you're selling to.

The carrier-calculated shipping feature you referenced allows you to use live rates at checkout from the likes of UPS and FedEx, along with a number of third-party apps that integrate with more couriers. This feature comes as standard with our Advanced plan, but can indeed be added onto other plans for an additional cost of $20.00 USD per month (or for free if you opt to pay for your subscription on an annual basis).

These rates work by using a number of variables—your shipping origin, the customer's location, the total weight of the order and the default package on file—to offer your customer customer an accurate live rate at checkout from the courier(s) you have enabled. It can make things easier as you don't need to set up your rates manually, but you do need to ensure the data you have on file (such as the weights of the products) is accurate. However, some merchants may prefer to use manual rates as it allows them greater control over what shipping costs are charged to their customers at checkout.

There is no right or wrong way to approach this, but my general recommendation would be to make use of shipping profiles and manual shipping rates first of all and see if you can cover your bases via this method. It may be that the greater control you have using manual rates is better for your store, although it requires more setup than simply enabling the live rates on your store.

I hope this explains things, but please let me know if you do have further questions!

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[RichL1]

Hi

I am also trying to use Royal Mail Click and Drop here in the UK. I have uploaded my store csv file into my Click and Drop account but have come across an issue whereby the default weight in shopify in in grams but the Click and Drop app expects it to be in kg. Each one of my products has a weight which gets totalled at checkout but gets incorrectly passed to Royal Mail. Anyone got any good workarounds?

[Daviddbx]

Click and drop will store item data (like weight) separately from the Shopify settings. Set it in click and drop, save it and next time the correct weight should automatically pop up.

After now spending a considerable amount if time trying to use UPS marketplace ‘integration’, it sure makes me appreciate the simple genius of click and drop!

[RichL1]

Hi David

Thanks for reply. Sorry to appear a bit thick but where in Click and Drop do you set default weight units?

[Daviddbx]

When you apply postage, set the weight (top left) as you want it. Ensure the ‘overwrite product data’ button is ticked at the bottom. Next time the system see’s that product / SKU, the weight will be correct. For non-EU sales you can set it as part of the export info box that pops up too.

[RichL1]

Ok. Does that have to be done against every product or does applying it to one change it for all. I have over 2000 product lines to sort out.

[Victor]

Hi @RichL1,

Thank you for reaching out with your question. I do not have extensive experience using the Click & Drop app but it seems like @Daviddbx does and has offered some sound advice here, so I'd suggest trying the workaround they have suggested. I will also point out that within Shopify it is possible to change your weight format from grams to kilograms, which might be worth considering if that is the measurement that the Click & Drop app uses:

The standards and formats settings can be found in Settings > General within the Shopify admin.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Diana_Kimili]

Hi Victor,

Thanks for the useful information. As I can see Shopify provides many discounted shipping rates for customers based in the USA. However such service is not available in the UK. Are there any recommendations about the shipping company/suppliers that can offer a competitive shipping prices for domestic and international shipments for a start up business?

Thanks a lot in adnvace.

Diana

[Victor]

Hi @Diana_Kimili,

Thank you for reaching out. You are correct that being able to buy labels via Shopify Shipping is not possible for British merchants at this time, as the service is currently only available for those in the USA, Canada, and Australia. However, there are a number of apps that you can install and use to buy shipping labels if you're shipping from the UK. These include:

• Starshipit Shipping & Tracking
• Zenstores
• Easyship

These apps will allow you to easily buy shipping labels for the orders you receive through Shopify from couriers such as Royal Mail, DHL, DPD, Hermes, Parcelforce, and others.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[kevlond]

HI I wonder if you can help point me in the right direction?

I Set up Free Local Delivery using UK postcodes. entered as RM1,RM2, RM3 and so on through to RM11 

however anyone checking anywhere in the UK can select to choose free delivery at checkout which is causing abandoned carts?  Just having the option is off putting if you are outside of the range.

Any idea how i solve this?  It works fine using the radius from postcode but that is not an option.  Thanks kev