How can I solve my shipping issues on my website?

[Peggy8]

I need help!! its been a hair-pulling experience trying to get my shipping done, can someone help? my website has been completed and this shipping piece is holding everything up. Ive watched tons of Youtube videos and its still not working.

[Mac]

Hi, @Peggy8!

Thanks for reaching out in our Community forums.

I definitely understand how setting up your shopping can be difficult as there are so many factors involved. I will do my best to assist you. I know that you have watched a ton of guides, and are still having issues, so feel free to provide some more context about your particular situation. For instance, what type of shipping rates are you looking to offer? Are you planning to ship internationally or just domestically? 

A great option is calculated shipping. This is a simplified shipping solution that provides accurate shipping rates depending on the customers order and location, without having to manually enter flat rates. If this interests you, check out our guide here and be sure your products all have proper weights listed in their descriptions to get the most accurate rates.

If you are looking to set up flat rate shipping, then you will need to edit your shipping rates. These essentially let the system know to charge a specific amount for shipping at checkout. Before you set these up, make sure to get familiar with shipping zones and shipping profiles. Shipping zones are a group of countries or regions that you create for your shipping rates and shipping profiles let you set up shipping rates for specific products and locations.

If you have any other questions, feel free to follow up and let me know! Additionally, I'm always looking to help out merchants with ideas or feedback related to their stores. Feel free to share your URL if you’d like! In the meantime, you can check out our Shopify Store Launch Checklist as this provides a methodical approach to ensure that everything on your store is optimized for conversion.

[greenscottage]

Hi Mac, I also have a problem with shipping, I've set up my zones and rates, but when I try to set up processing time, it says I can't because I have not entered a transit time.  I have followed all the instructions, when I am entering my rates, the instruction is to edit my transit field, however there is no transit field option.  I would be grateful for your help as I have been going around in circles for days. Thanks 

[Mac]

Hi, @greenscottage!

Thank you for joining this thread.

I'm happy to hear that you were able to set up your zone and rates. I understand that you do not have the option to edit your transit time when editing your rates. This can be caused for several reasons, so I suggest checking out our considerations help document that goes over the requirements to have this feature. For instance, Transit time is available to fulfillment locations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, and the United Kingdom. You will also need to have multi-origin shipping enabled and your shipping zones can't have a mix of domestic and international countries. If you have any questions regarding these considerations, feel free to let me know and I'd be happy to provide more information. 

Do keep in mind that Transit time is automatically included in the carrier-calculated shipping rates, so this may be something you wish to look into setting up. Essentially, when customers checkout from your store, they'll see accurate shipping rates and times based on order weight, package dimensions, and shipping destination. Feel free to check out our guide here for more information.

Also, please speak more on your shipping requirements and I can provide some more guidance/tips!  

[greenscottage]

Thanks Mac for your feedback, it is a simple problem, I am shipping handmade cards, I want to ship by post as they are under 100g including packaging. I set up three shipping zones Ireland, Europe and the third is USA and Canada.  Problem with I try to put an order through it does'nt pull the rates through. I read in one of the help pages to download the Shopify Delivery Date And Pick Up app, which I did which allows me to add shipping times to the product page, however it still does not pull my shipping rates through.  At the moment I am forced to offer free shipping.  That's the story so far, would your solution of multi-organ shipping be the simplest solution?

thank sooooo much, Audrey 

[Mac]

Hi again, @greenscottage!

I'm happy I was able to help you out. 

Thank you for providing that additional information. I understand that you set up three shipping zones and your rates aren't being pulled through. If no rate is being pulled, that means that the product has not been assigned a shipping rate. Firstly, are you able to confirm that you are using the general shipping profile? This will ensure that all of your products are accounted for. Then, ensure that you selected each country or region part of that zone.

You will need to add each shipping rate you want in the zone:

1. Next to the zone that you want to add a rate to, click Add rate.

2. Enter the name and amount for the rate.

3. Optional: Add weight-based or price-based conditions.

   1. Click Add conditions.
   2. Select whether to base the condition on order weight or price.
   3. Enter the minimum and maximum value for the condition.

4. Click Done, and then click Save.

If the issue still persists after these steps are complete, we’ll need to access your account in order to gather more information about the issue. While we’re not able to review your shipping setup via Community Forums at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit our Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request. 

You did mention Multi Origin Shipping. This would be applicable if you ship online orders from one or more locations. For instance, if you have multiple retail locations or places where you fulfill orders. Does this apply to you?

[greenscottage]

Thanks very much Mac, you are a really great help. I set my shipping rate to Post and Packaging, delivery time 2-3 business days, which appears in the shipping section when I did a test purchase, however the problem now is where to put in the processing time, which is 1-2 business days, when added on to delivery date would be 3-4 business days from placing the order.  when I try to insert the processing time the message is "you currently don't have any shipping rates with transit times. Once you have set up transit times, you can then use processing time to show delivery dates to your customers" Bear in mind I am not using a shipping company, I am posting the product myself.  Can you pleeeeeese help me to short this out.

Really appreciate you help and hope you can help with this.

Kind Regards

Audrey

[Mac]

Hi again, @greenscottage!

I appreciate the kind words. Let's continue to troubleshoot together. 

When you set up the shipping rate "Post and Packaging", please confirm whether you selected "Use carrier or app to calculate rates" or "Set up your own rates". This will give me a better understanding of which rate is causing you to receive the error message. 

I also want to ensure that you are setting up processing times correctly: 

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.

2. In the Processing time section, click Manage.

3. Select Use processing time to show delivery dates to customers.

4. In the Your processing time field, select the processing time that applies to your business.

5. Click Save.

You also mentioned that you are not using a shipping company and posting your products yourself. Can you elaborate on this? For instance, you are dealing with the packaging and posting, and dropping off the item at a carrier office?  

[greenscottage]

Thanks again Mac for your assistance. OK I log into Shipping and Deliveries and click on MANAGE in GENERAL SHIPPING RATES and click on ADD RATES, the choices are SET UP OWN RATES or USE CARRIER OR APP TO CALCULATE RATES, I select the and put in my description of Post and packaging etc. I add the rate and click DONE my items are very light, less than 100g and basically the same rate for most of the world posting.  The plan is to receive orders, process and send out via my local post office, which will send the item the same day as I post it, also the post office will also give me a receipt confirming that the item was sent which I will pass on a copy to the customer.

Next PROCESSING TIME, I click USE PROCESSING TIME TO SHOW DELIVERY DATES AT CHECKOUT, I select 2 business days and click SAVE but then I am flagged with the message basically telling me that I have no shipping rates with transit times. Pleeeese tell me where I am going wrong. Again thank you very much for your help. Audrey.

[Mac]

Hi again, @greenscottage!

Thanks for the additional information regarding your shipping strategy. 

Are you able to clarify whether you selected Set up your own rates, or Use carrier or app to calculate rates? Apologies as this was unclear in your response below: 

---

@greenscottage wrote:

OK I log into Shipping and Deliveries and click on MANAGE in GENERAL SHIPPING RATES and click on ADD RATES, the choices are SET UP OWN RATES or USE CARRIER OR APP TO CALCULATE RATES, I select the and put in my description of Post and packaging etc.

---

You can configure transit time only for flat shipping rates since Transit time is automatically included in the carrier-calculated shipping rates. If you select "Set up your own rate", and meet all of these considerations, then you should be able to set up your transit time and processing time. If you are still running into issues, feel free to get in touch with our support team via the Help Center so that our team can take a look at your account. 

Thanks again! 

[greenscottage]

Yet again thanks Mac for your valuable input. I am not using the calculated carrier rates, I am using SET UP YOU OWN RATES, I've tried everything, there is no transit or shipping time function or button.  I am really getting frustrated about this as the shipping time is not the correct number of days.  Is there anywhere else on Shopify to correct this, in Notifications or Checkout, can I amend to include the correct shipping time? Pleeeeese.  I have a second issue you could help me with, I make my own products Handmade Greeting Cards,I have an SKU code for each product, I don't have barcode, ISBN,UPC, GTIN, Google will not approve me for ads, what can I change in the set up to select one off products. Pleeeese.

Thanks Again

Audrey

[Mac]

Hi again, @greenscottage!

Thanks for confirming that. In this case, it seems that your account does not currently meet the requirements to edit your shipping and processing time. The best way to confirm this is to reach out to our live support team through chat, callback or email as they will be able to review your account's eligibility. Let me know if you have any questions in regards to contacting support.

In relation to your Google account issue, you will need to ensure that each product has been marked a Custom Product. Essentially, A Custom Product is defined as a product that does not have a valid GTIN or barcode. You can confirm this by heading over to the build editor of the Google Channel and checking if the custom option is true. This can be done by heading over to the Google channel, clicking on the Not Approved products under Product Status. Then, click on Select all and click on Edit Products. From there, add the appropriate Columns and make the edits. 

Let me know how that goes! 

[greenscottage]

Hi Mac, thanks again for your invaluable assistance, I am in the process of contacting the support you suggested.  

On the other issue I have marked as a custom product and the product column now is true and I used the Google Product Category and suggested by Google.  I requested Google Review of my suspended account, and the only issue was checkout, it stated in the email CHECKOUT INCOMPLETE, and the message was CONTENT THAT IS UNNECESSARILY DIFFICULT OR FRUSTRATING TO COMPLETE, I have a feeling that this is related to the shipping and transit issue, if I don't find solutions to this problem soon, I will have to cancel my Shopify account and find another platform to sell my products. Thanks again for all your help.

Audrey

[Peggy8]

Mac,

Thank you so much for this information, I will work through it. Your option, what do you think are the BEST shipping options? to keep cost low for customers. Lots of friends are suggesting Pirate shipping?-Peggy

[greenscottage]

Thanks Peggy for your reply, the items I am shipping are small and light and I sending by post, An Post rates are cheap and a very reliable service, so I won't be using a shipping company.  I have 3 shipping zones, and a flat rate for each zone.  The problem is when I am putting in the shipping rates there is no field for transit or shipping time, so nobody who visits my site cannot complete the order.  I feel that I have missed a step somewhere, or I've made an error somewhere.  I would be grateful for any help.

Thanks again for your reply

Audrey

[Peggy8]

Audrey Im struggling with the shipping piece in shopify, Im sorry Im not the right person to help you, I wish I had the answers. Sorry

[Mac]

Hi again, @Peggy8!

I hope you're having a great day and thanks for your question.

I definitely understand how important it is to keep shipping costs low. There are many third party shipping apps and methods available which all really depend on your unique situation. There are a few tips covered in this article that go into more detail, but my first suggestion would be to reduce weight of packages and choose the right-sized packaging. Doing so will instantly reduce your shipping fees without even needing to look at carriers yet. 

You will then want to evaluate your shipping strategy to what makes the most sense. If you're looking to set up manual rates, flat-rate shipping may be the best option since carrier expenses constantly change. This way, it'll be easier to manage as you know your shipping costs are a single rate, regardless of weight, shape, or size of the item.

I can always suggest Shopify Shipping to cut carrier costs. Not only will it make it faster and easier to fulfil orders, you can also buy shipping labels in Shopify. We have a guide that goes more in detail, but you can essentially save up to 88% on shipping costs in the U.S through pre-negotiated discounts with shipping companies such as USPS, UPS, DHL Express, and more. 

Another awesome method to lower your shipping expenses is to set up local pickup and local delivery. When customers are close to your business, you can offer unique, local methods for them to receive their products. More on this can be found on this help document here.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[Peggy8]

Thank you so much for this information. I think setting up the shipping is going to be the death of me!

So I'm using the Shopify discounted shipping, and having trouble, when I put items in my cart to check out it is not calculating this shipping cost, everything is the same. also, I think I need a separate shipping setup for large mirrors since this will require special packaging. I'm feeling super frustrated since this is what's holding up launching my website. -Peggy

[Mac]

Hey again, @Peggy8!

I hope your day is going well! My pleasure - I'm happy I was able to provide some information for you.

I definitely understand that setting up your shipping can be difficult. We have a team of Advisors that can help you out 24/7! They'll be able to review your current shipping settings and provide more tailored solutions. We’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit our Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request.

In the meantime, I can provide some additional information regarding your situation. You mentioned that you set up Shopify Shipping. Are you able to confirm that you are using the general profile and selected the "Use carrier or app to calculate rates" option when adding a rate? This will allow you to select your desired carrier and services. Are you also able to confirm that you entered the exact weight of your products on each of the product pages? 

In terms of your large mirrors, you will want to create a custom shipping profile. This allows you to have different shipping rates for specific products. More information on how to set this up can be found on our help document here.

Feel free to let me know if you have more questions!  

[Peggy8]

Hi Mac,

I do feel like this shipping piece is going to be the death of me!  Im currently using Shopify to calculated shipping, I have all product weights added, can't wrap me head around this default 1 package and the weights to calculate the shipping. If a customer orders 10 of my glass products you will need a larger box, which will be more cost that's not added.

If they order 3 of my products same thing different size boxes.  And how will my printed label be accurate for the post office?

Again, my products are glassware and mirrors, So I also created a separate custom shipping profile for a large mirror, the problem is that the live shipping rate locally is around $25 verse shipping to Florida would be $45 and etc.  

I just cant wrap my head around any of this??-Peggy

[Mac]

Hi again, @Peggy8!

I definitely understand your concerns. Generally, the rates are automatically calculated based on package type, weight, destination, and origin. Please check out our YouTube video that goes into more detail about Shopify Shipping. 

I also wanted to share another resource that will help you with your packages. Since each shipping carrier has different policies, resources, and requirements. It's important to understand the specifics of the shipping carriers that you purchase labels from to avoid any shipping delays or unnecessary fees. Kindly review our guide on Shopify Shipping Carriers and select the carrier that you are using.

Kindly reply back to this thread with any questions or updates and we can continue our conversation further!

[Peggy8]

Mac,

I appreciate your help in this matter!  So if you set custom shipping for products, you have to look up the live shipping rates and I did this and added this to the custom shipping for those products, they do not automatically calculate because this is customized shipping.-Peggy

[Mac]

Hey again, @Peggy8!

Thanks for your question. 

To clarify, if you set up custom shipping, which is also known as "Set up your own rates", then your rates won't be automatically calculated. Instead, you will have control over precisely what a customer is charged at checkout. You can set up a General rate that provides a flat rate shipping cost regardless of what is in the cart. Another option is a Priced-based rate, as it lets you set minimum and maximum cart values for your flat shipping rates. You can also look to set up Weight-based rates to set the minimum and maximum weights that qualify an order for your flat shipping rates. Feel free to check out our help document that goes into this in more detail. 

So in your case, Shopify Shipping may be the best option as you won't have to worry about keeping your rates up to date as they will be automatically calculated from your selected carriers.