How to offer first class letter shipping for small items?

[1acornindustrie]

I am selling small, handpainted items that will easily fit into a small envelope and weigh in at less than half an ounce. Is it possible to offer first class letter shipping to my clients, so they are not spending $5 on shipping a $4 item? Can I offer an option for first class free, with the 55¢ built into the cost of the item, as well as an option for shipping, for instance, Priority Mail, as well?

[Finley]

Hey @1acornindustrie!

This is Finley from the Social Care team at Shopify. I came across your question and wanted to see how you got along with your shipping rates.

It sounds like you're located in the United States and interested in having USPS First-Class Mail and Priority Mail available for your customers at the checkout, is that right?

Add a free shipping rate

You can absolutely create a free shipping rate for "USPS First-Class Mail". You will want to add that 55¢ to the product cost like you mentioned ensuring those shipping fees are covered.

You can create a custom flat rate from your Settings > Shipping and delivery > Manage rates > Shipping to > Add rate > Set up your own rates like so:

Your customers will see a free shipping rate option at the checkout. When you go to purchase the shipping label, you'll be charged for the cost of the label at that time.

Add a carrier-calculated rate

You can add calculated shipping rates based on the total order weight at checkout. To add a Priority Mail shipping rate, you can once again "Add a rate" but this time Use carrier or app to calculate rates like so:

Your customers will see the cost of USPS Priority Mail and can decide whether they'd like to choose this shipping option over the free shipping option.

Testing your shipping rates

After you've added both shipping rates, I recommend navigating to your checkout and making sure it all looks good. This is what I was able to set up, using the examples you provided:

I hope this helps, but feel free to reach out if there is any point I can clarify!