Changing order of Shipping Methods

[SusanT]

I have set up shipping rates based on parcel weight and region within NZ. We mostly sell plants but also sell other products that can be shipped using a satchel, ie fertiliser. The customer will get presented with 2 shipping method if their order is under 1kg - Satchel and Carton. When customers are placing orders, the default option is set to Satchel. Most of our orders are for plants. Is there any way I can change the default option from Satchel to Carton? I have added a second line to the Satchel rate saying 'NOT SUITABLE FOR PLANTS'. The customers seem to be choosing the cheap option thinking that they'll get away with it.

[DarianBia]

Have you tried hiding the shipping options based on the products the custom has in the cart? So if the customer is purchasing a plant they don't have the other option?

[SusanT]

Thanks for the reply. How do you do this?

[DarianBia]

I actually have an app that allows you to do this. Here is an example:

In this case you would need to tag your plant products with a tag and it will hide the shipping option if there is a product in the cart with that tag. The app is called Checkout Plus https://apps.shopify.com/checkoutplus

[Keerthi_Sree]

Hello @SusanT 

You can explore using Shopify Shipping Profiles under Shipping & Delivery settings to achieve this. Create a Custom Profile and move all your plant products to this profile. Then, set up the shipping zones and add the Carton shipping option for these items only.

With this setup, when customers add only plant items to their cart, only the Carton option will be displayed. If they combine plants with other products from the general profile, Shopify will sum the cheapest shipping options from both profiles and show the combined cost as the final shipping rate.

Note: In this case, the shipping cost is calculated based on the weight of items in each profile, and then added together. 

I recommend testing this setup with a couple of products first to ensure the rates match your needs.

Hope this helps!

[SusanT]

Thanks for the reply. I have set up another profile for the Satchel items and removed the satchel option from the other profile. When I test it using a satchel item and a plant item it combined the two shipping rates rather than just using the carton rate. Am I missing something?

[SusanT]

Sorry, I re-read your reply and see that I did the exact opposite. I will try again.

[SusanT]

I have tried again but haven't received the desired result. I do not want one shipping cost for satchel items and a separate shipping cost for plants, the two costs being added together. What I want is the customer to be able to have the cheaper satchel rate if they are only selecting items that fit inside of a satchel, but the moment they select a plant the shipping rate is for carton which is higher. I don't want the two rates to be added together. I am having to use the most expensive courier in NZ as it is, I don't want to scare my customers away.

[Keerthi_Sree]

Hello @SusanT 

I understand that you would prefer to display only the Carton shipping option when both products are in the same cart, rather than the summed-up cost. However, this requirement cannot be achieved with Shopify's standard shipping configuration and you may need to explore third-party apps.

If you are open exploring to third-party apps, then you can try the following options:

Option 1: Look for third-party apps that allow shipping rate configuration based on products. 
I recommend trying out the Multi-Carrier Shipping Label app, where you can set up shipping rules based on Product Type. The app also comes with 14-days free trial period.

Option 2: Explore third-party apps that provide the ability to hide certain shipping methods based on products.

Note: If you have more than two Product Types, you might want to explore solutions that offer shipping rule configurations based on specific product tags.