Welcome to FreeWebStore Support
Welcome to the Postage & Shipping section.
How do I set my postage costs?
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As we have to cater for many different postage options and variations the page to manage your postage rules is the most cumbersome area. If at any point you require help in this area then please contact us through your control panel detailing exactly what your postage rules are and we will endeavour to help.
When a product is added to the basket the WebStore will try to figure what the postage costs should be for shipping the order. This is calculated in the following way.
- does this product have a specific postage cost set? If so then the postage cost is simply this.
- If not, are there any postage rules setup by the store owner that match? If there is more than one matching rule (such as 1st/2nd class) then let the shopper choose.
- If there are no rules then simply multiply the WebStore default postage by the Quantity in the basket.
This may sound a little complicated but in fact is very simple in practice and allows for great flexibility.
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What kind of postage rules can we have?
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At present postage rules are based on one of two criteria. You can setup pricing bands based upon the subtotal of the basket OR the number of items in the basket.
| Example of Banding based on Quantity |
| 0 to 5 items |
$2.50 |
| 5 to 10 items |
$1.80 |
| 10 to 20 items |
$1.00 |
| 0ver 20 items |
$0.00 |
| Example of Banding based on Basket Total |
| 0 to $10 |
$5.00 |
| $10 to $20 |
$3.00 |
| $20 to $50 |
$2.00 |
| 0ver $50 |
$0.00 |
You can also expand the quantity based postage rules to work on multiples. For example you can set how many items can go in each parcel. So you could say 0-100 products are $5 for each parcel and you can fit 10 products in each parcel leading to a
postage cost of $50.
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How do I add postage rules?
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To add postage rules please follow these simple steps..
- Log into your control panel
- Click the 'edit' button on the Postage Panel
- This page will list your existing rules and have the option of adding new ones
- Click the 'add' button to create a new rule
- Decide whether the rule is based on Quantity or Price (Subtotal of basket)
- Name the new rule ('1st Class', 'Intl Airmail' ,'My New Rule!')
- Then decide on the criteria for the rule - this is basically the banding. So you will need a min Qty/Price and a max Qty/Price.
- Use -1 in the max criteria input to denote unlimited
- Set the band price
- Click the save button
- Go to your WebStore to test the new rule to make sure it behaves as you expected
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I need international postage options - is this possible?
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Yes this is possible- you can add rules called anything you like (including Int'l) and you simply set the costs per rule. We think this gives you great flexibility and allows you to offer many postage options to the shopper.
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I provide 1st, 2nd and airmail options - can FreeWebStore handle this?
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Yes - FreeWebStore is already setup to allow you to add multiple overlapping rules whereby the shopper simply selects which postage option they wish to use. Simply add rules with overlapping criteria - name them 1st class/2nd class/Air Mail respectively and set the prices accordingly.
At the checkout stage the shopper will be presented with this list of matching postage rules and they will select the one they want.
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I want to provide discounts for bulk buyers?
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Sure - simply add some simple rules based on quantity. Say add a rule saying 0 - 10 products is £5.00 postage whereas 10+ products could be free postage. It is totally up to you.
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One of my items is big and bulky - can I set a specific postage for this product?
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Yes the postage system allows for this. If you choose to override the postage cost for a particular product you can simply set a specific postage cost per product. This is the postage cost that will always be used when this item is added to the shoppers basket.
So if you have a large or fragile product that requires special carriage then you simply set a premium postage charge for that one item. Conversely if you want to promote a certain product by setting it's postage to Free then it will also work in this context. Simply set the postage cost for this product to free!
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What improvements are planned for the future?
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We are always looking to improve our service and we work very closely with our existing client base to ensure we are delivering exactly what is wanted.
Upcoming updates to the postage system include...
- Postage based on % of basket total
- Maximum postage cost - (an upper limit)
- Improved user interface
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