X-Cart shopping cart software allows you to define shipping rates for each shipping method and destination zone defined by the administrator of your store. This is done by setting up shipping rules in the 'Shipping charges' section. Each rule defines a shipping rate for a specific shipping situation (e.g. the shipping of an order the weight of which is between 10 and 15 lbs to the country located in zone 2 by UPS Ground should cost that much).
Note: Each of the shipping methods can be used more than once: you can make any method available for more than one zone, or set up different shipping rules for the same method within one zone.
If your shipping policy is complex you may need to define multiple shipping rules to cover all the cases.
In X-Cart Pro shipping charges are defined by providers for the shipping methods set by the store admin. If a provider fails to define shipping charges for certain shipping methods, the shipping cost for those methods will be set to zero. In X-Cart Gold both shipping methods and shipping charges are defined by the store admin. If he fails to define shipping charges for certain shipping methods, such methods will be unavailable to customers.
Shipping charges in your store are calculated according to the formula:
SHIPPING = Rate + TOTAL_WEIGHT*Weight_Rate + ITEMS*Item_Rate + SUM*Percent_Rate/100
where:
SHIPPING is Total shipping cost.
Rate is Flat shipping charge.
If you want the shipping charge to be a fixed value, enter the shipping charge amount into the "Flat" field.
Weight_Rate is Shipping Charge Based on Product Weight.
If you want shipping costs to be calculated based on the weight of the products ordered, enter the shipping charge amount into the "Per lb." field. The value in the "Per lb." field will be the flat shipping charge applied to each pound of the products ordered.
Item_Rate is Shipping Charge Per Item.
If you want shipping costs to be calculated based on the number of items (quantity) purchased, enter the amount into the "Per item" field. The value in the "Per item" field will be the flat shipping charge applied to each item of the products ordered.
Percent_Rate is percent of the Total Amount Ordered.
If you want the shipping charges to be calculated as a percentage of the total order amount, enter the shipping charge amount into "%" field.
TOTAL_WEIGHT is the sum of weights of all the items in the shopping cart (variable). Product weight can be defined when you add a new product.
ITEMS is the total number of items in the shopping cart (variable).
SUM is the total order amount (variable).
| 1. | Click on Shipping charges in the Inventory menu, the 'Shipping charges' form will appear. |
| 2. | Scroll to the 'Add shipping charge values' section of the 'Shipping charges' form. |
For orders with total over $100 shipping charge will be $5 (flat charge) plus $3 for each lb (per lbs charge)
| 3. | Define the shipping rule: |
| ▪ | From the drop down list select the necessary shipping method. |
| ▪ | Select the destination zone for which the shipping method should be available (E.g.: If you use the same shipping method for shipping orders to Mexico and Australia, but the charges are different, put these countries into different shipping zones and create a shipping rule for each zone). |
| ▪ | Define the weight and order subtotal range the shipping rule should be applied to by entering the minimum and maximum weight and order subtotal values. |
Note: To define 'unlimited' weight and order subtotal amount, enter a huge value like 999999.9 (set by default).
| ▪ | Enter the appropriate values into the Flat charge, Percent charge, Per item charge and Per lb. charge fields (These values will be used in shipping charges calculations as described in the shipping formula above). |
Flat charge is the most commonly used option. It defines a fixed amount that will be charged if this rule is applied. (E.g. if the package weight is up to 10 lbs - the delivery costs $30)
Percent charge - the delivery cost is calculated as a fixed percent of the order subtotal. It may be useful if you need insurance for the package depending on the package value.
Per Item charge is a fixed amount charged for each item in the shopping cart.
Per lb charge is a fixed amount charged for each lb of the order weight.
The values in these fields can be combined.
| 4. | Click on Add. |
| 1. | Click on Shipping charges in the Inventory menu. |
| 2. | Select the group of shipping methods the charges for which you need to modify. Select the shipping zone. |
When the page is reloaded, only the shipping methods belonging to the specified group will be displayed.
| 3. | Change the values that need to be modified (you can change the shipping method, the destination zone, the weight range or the total order amount range, the contents of the Flat charge, Percent charge, Per item charge and Per lb. charge fields) |
| 4. | Click on Update. |
| 1. | Click on Shipping charges in the Inventory menu. |
| 2. | Select the group of shipping methods to which the shipping charge you need to delete applies. Select the shipping zone. When the page is reloaded, only the shipping methods belonging to the specified group will be displayed. |
| 3. | Select the check boxes next to the shipping rule that needs to be deleted. Use the check box next to the shipping method name to select or unselect all the charges for this shipping method. |
| 4. | Click on Delete selected. |