Setting Up Shipping on a New Store is Complicated, Confusing, and Cumbersome

Event Horizon

For example: Assuming that Band Information is the same as Zone Information, I am unsure what to enter for "Zone 1 Pricing" as it is apparently a mandatory field and in any case shipping varies depending upon order weight. I cannot save the shipping method without putting something into this field.

I also took a screenshot but even then Preview won't show me what the post would look like with the image IRL, so I removed it.

- EH

HeartlandBrix

One option you have is to copy a publicly-available shipping setting another store has created and modify it to suit your needs. You can do this by selecting the "Shared Shipping Methods" on the shipping settings tab (blue button at top of page). Click "View" to go into an option's specific settings, and if you like it, click "Create" at the very bottom to add the option to your store. You can modify the settings before clicking "Create" or you can find the option in your own store's shipping settings afterward and modify it there. Some of them are relatively current. Others are probably more complete, though the prices will likely be out of date. The other option, obviously, is to create your own from scratch.

I've seen in prior posts you have a store on the other site, but I'm going to go at this as though you're brand new to selling entirely. Please forgive me if I say things you already know; I'd rather be thorough than leave out something important on the assumption you already know what I'm referring to.

"Bands" and "Zones" are actually two different terms. We'll start with "Bands" first. You first decide if you want to charge shipping based on the weight or value of the order. I see you're in the US, so let's suppose you choose "weight" (being the recommended option), and you want to ship USPS Ground Advantage with a mailing package that can hold up to 16 oz. The "band" is the weight level you're charging to ship. For example, you can set a band to cover 0-4 oz, a second band to cover 4.1-10 oz, and a third band to cover 10.1-16 oz. A customer that buys literally one part would pay your 0-4 oz band price, where a customer that buys 300 parts might pay the 10.1-16 oz price. Alternatively, you can set one band to cover the entire 0-16 oz weight range. Make sure you're including the weight of the empty package within your shipping band; parts aren't the only thing going through the mail, after all.

I don't use the "Price by order value" option, myself, but it would work similarly. Orders below $X.XX pay one rate, orders above pay a different rate.

"Zone" is the mailing zone. The US has nine mailing zones, where Zone 1 is closest to you and Zone 9 is farthest. Shipping a product within your city would almost certainly be Zone 1 pricing (cheapest) to the USPS, where shipping a product further away could be Zone 6 or higher (most expensive). If you have a "flat rate" shipping option, each zone would be the same price. The USPS has their zone prices available for download here: https://pe.usps.com/pricechange/index. The prices are updated twice a year for sure: January and (I think) June. They've had "holiday" rates that start in October through the day after Christmas. They didn't do that in 2023, but it's something to be aware of.

There most likely won't be a "one size fits all" option for you. The shipping container you use (box or envelope), the company (USPS, FedEx, UPS) and the method (flat rate, Priority, basic) will determine what setting(s) you need to create. Most stores, whether via their own creation or the Shared Shipping Methods will have at least a couple. I personally have 16 options I maintain, because I have several sizes of containers and utilize three of USPS's shipping methods. Once you set up the shipping method, though, the only thing you should have to do is update the prices.

I hope that helps!

Event Horizon

Thank you HlB. I'm sure I'll be able to use most of, if not all of, this info. That's a lot of time and detail in answering my newbie's cry for help. Very appreciated.
- EH