Shipping Charges for the Highlands and Islands in Scotland

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

UK merchants are requesting the ability to set separate shipping rates for Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, where delivery costs are significantly higher than mainland Scotland. Currently, Shopify’s platform allows zone separation for territories like Isle of Man and Guernsey, but not for specific Scottish regions or UK islands like Isle of Wight.

Key Issues:

  • Merchants report losing money on orders to these areas (one user cited shipping costs 10x higher than expected)
  • The only workaround suggested by Shopify support is increasing rates for all of Scotland, which would overcharge customers in major cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh
  • Example cost disparity: £6.75 to Glasgow vs £23.75 to Highlands for identical parcels

Current Status:

  • Shopify acknowledged the issue over a year ago and passed feedback to their development team
  • No timeline or concrete solution has been provided
  • Merchants express frustration that third-party apps (which charge monthly fees) are the only current solution for what they consider basic e-commerce functionality

Merchant Request:
Ability to exclude specific postcodes or create granular shipping zones for UK regions—functionality they note exists on competing platforms and older bespoke websites.

Summarized with AI on October 24. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
2

Hi @greenblueberry1 ,

Thank you for your post. This is something I have spoken to numerous merchants who ship within the UK about and I know it’s a pain point for those who have customers throughout Scotland. It is not possible at this time to differentiate the Highlands & Islands and the rest of Scotland within your shipping zones, but I will be sure to pass on your feedback to our development team who focus on developing our shipping platform over time.

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