In the shipping settings section of your eCart console, you can add, edit and monitor your shipping methods and charges. The eCart supports shipping services such as USPS and UPS as well as your own user-defined methods.
To set up shipping choices for your customers, follow these steps:
1. Make sure that shipping has been enabled for your cart by checking “Yes” under “Enable Shipping.” If you choose not to enable shipping for your cart (for example, if you sell concert tickets that must be picked up at a box office) the address fields of the cart will be disabled, and your customers will not be taken to a “Select Shipping” page during checkout.
2. If you do choose to enable shipping, you must then enter the zip code and country from which the items you sell will be shipped.
3. Add, edit or delete your shipping methods.
When you click the “Add Method” button, you will be taken to a screen that explains how to add a new shipping method to your enabled methods. There are three shipping methods to choose from: formula, incremental, or per-item shipping.
Select a name for your new method and enter it in the “Name of Method” space (ie: Ground). Then determine which of your orders this shipping method will apply to (ie: all orders over $100.00, or any order weighing less than 30lbs.). To apply the new method to all of your orders, leave the “Application of Method” section blank.
You will then need to choose which type of shipping method you would like to add:
The formula shipping method will calculate your customer's shipping charges based on the formula of your choosing. A formula can be something like “Charge $3.00 for the first item and $1.50 for each additional item.” But, it doesn't have to be based on individual items; it can be based on total items, total dollar amount spent, or total weight of the order. It can also be either a dollar amount or a percentage of the total amount spent by the customer.
This method will use only the shipping amount entered in the individual product descriptions. This method may be useful for very heavy or oversize items that will be delivered via truck or some other unusual method. To set this method for only some items, make sure you fill in the fields at the top of the Add Method page to specify which items you would like to apply this method to. (ie: Method Name=Oversize, Apply To=Items weighing 50-200lbs.) Remember, you can create as many methods as you need.
The increment table allows you to choose several ways in which you can determine shipping charges based on dollar amounts, weight or quantity of items ordered. Follow these three steps to set up your increment table:
Select a category for your table.
Dollars: Select “$” if you want your shipping charges to be based on the total dollar amount spent my the customer.
Weight: Select “lbs” if you want your shipping charges to be based on the total weight of the order. (This option requires that you specify a weight for each product in the individual product descriptions.)
Quantity: Select “Quantity” if you want your shipping charges to be based on the total number of products ordered.
Select the shipping charges format.
Dollars: Select “$” if you want your shipping charges to be a dollar amount multiplied by the weight or quantity (depending on your selection in step one).
Percentage: Select ”%” if you want your shipping charges to be a percentage of the total dollar amount of the order.
Flat Rate: Select “Flat $” if you want your shipping charges to remain at a flat rate.
Fill in each of the tables. Separate minimum and maximum values with a comma. Place each increment on its own line. Each line from the increment table corresponds to a charge in the charges table. For example, an order that falls in the increment table on line 3 will be charged the shipping amount on line 3 in the charges table.
The example below shows a shipping method that uses the total dollar amount spent to determine the shipping charge.
You can edit any of your shipping methods at any time by clicking on the “Edit” button to the right of the method you would like to change. Then follow the steps detailed above for adding a method.
To delete a shipping method, click on the “Delete” button to the right of the method you would like to delete. You will be asked to confirm your deletion.
You can also select one or more of the UPS (United Parcel Service) and USPS (United States Postal Service) shipping options. If you have an account with either of these companies, you may choose to use them to calculate and determine all shipping for your account. However, we would like to remind you that if you choose to use either UPS or USPS, they will control the rates of shipping for your account.
If you choose any of these options, you may want to add a surcharge to the rates calculated by UPS or USPS. Simply enter the amount into the box to the right of each method and it will be automatically added to the customer's shipping charges in their shopping cart.
