Website Settings: Shipping

The Website Settings Tab

You can get to this part of the system by clicking on the gear icon on the right side of blue Admin Toolbar and then clicking Settings > Website Settings > Shipping.

Setting Your Options for Shipping

There are a few options you can configure for your shipping that are relatively new to the system. When you go to the Shipping Settings page, if you don't see options as those pictured below, please call our Support team and we can get this newer shipping interface enabled for you. Please note, if you do not see the interface below, please call support at (877) 909-6699 and use option 2 and we can enable it for you, if possible.

1. Enable System Configured Shipping Options - If you want the Rain system to dictate what charges are set for your various shipping methods, you will need to set this to ON. Click the Configure button to set up your Domestic and International Shipping Methods. See section below on Configuring Shipping Methods.
2. Enable Shipping Station Integration - Our system has the ability to integrate with ShipStation.com so you can use the shipping settings from your account there for carriers such as USPS, UPS, and FedEx. PLEASE NOTE: This integration is technically in Beta and may not work for all clients! Please see the section below on Working with ShipStation for further details on how the integration works. If you wish to use it, turn it ON and click to Configure your settings.
3. Charge Taxes on Shipping - If you are required to charge tax on shipping, you can click this setting to ON so that the shipping charges will be taxed along with the rest of the order.
4. Enable In-Store Pickup - If you want online shoppers to have the option of coming to your location and picking up their order, turn this option ON. When you click to Configure the settings, you will see a panel pop up with options for your different Locations (if you have multiples). Just check the box next to the Location(s) you want and click Save. Your online shoppers will have the option of choosing whichever Locations you have selected as the place to go to pick up their order.
   
5. Enable International Shipping - If you wish to fulfill international orders, set this option to ON. You will still need either the in-system shipping methods set up, including at least one International method, OR you will need to have the ShipStation integration on and have international options there.

Where's my Save button? This tab of your settings was created to save your options as you set them, so those changes were saved along the way, and you don't need to click a Save button.

Working with ShipStation

The Rain system allows you to integrate with ShipStation. You will need an active account with ShipStation, and be advised that there is a monthly fee for their service. The advantage this configuration offers is that it will allow you to do very precise shipping rates based on the Shipping Address for the order. PLEASE NOTE: Our current configuration of this service accesses YOUR rates that you pay for the shipping methods you've set up with the various providers, so it does not allow for additional fees to cover your handling. Also, as mentioned above, this feature is technically in Beta, and may not work for all clients.

Configuration - To configure your integration, you will need to get your Key and your Secret code from your ShipStation account and enter them below. They will appear similar to the sample ones provided.

Carriers - The Carriers you have set up in your ShipStation account will be visible, and you can click the Refresh button to have the system search for your Carriers and display them. Check the boxes for the ones you will use for your web orders.

Services - For each of your Carriers, available Services will be listed, as in the example below. Check the boxes for all Services you wish to offer.

Packaging - All packaging options for the Carriers you have selected will be available. Check the boxes for all Packaging you intend to utilize.

Configure Free Shipping - If you wish to offer free shipping as an incentive for customers to do larger orders, you can check the box to Enable Free Shipping, then set the total Amount of the order where free shipping would begin to apply. For example, if you set an amount of 100 (you don't need to put in the dollar sign), any order at or over that amount would not be charged shipping by this system. You will also have a shipping service that will be used for your free shipping, and usually it is best to select a slower, cheaper service. If your customers want their merchandise faster, they will still have the option of paying for shipping.

Additional Settings - If there are some items that you wish to exempt from generating shipping charges, you can enter them into our system with 0 Weight value and if you enable the option to Not Require Items to Have a Weight, they will still be able to be ordered, and you will essentially ship them for free.

Be sure to Save your settings once you are done entering your preferences.

Configuring Shipping Methods

To begin setting up your shipping, click Yes to enable shipping at the top of the page. You will then see the following options for Domestic and International:

In our example above, we have already set up a couple of shipping methods. You can set up as many as you like, for example, for Domestic, you could have an Economy that ships a little slow but is more affordable, as well as a Priority rate that is a little more expensive but is faster. And so on.

After you have set up shipping methods, you can View, Edit, or Delete them after you check the box on the left next to the shipping method title. To create a new method for either Domestic or International, simply click the green button to Add a New Method.

Domestic Shipping Setup

Currency: For right now, Domestic shipping in our system can only be set up for US States and Territories, so you will choose US Dollar as the currency to be used.

Regions: If you are shipping with the United States Postal Service, their rates apply to all states and territories, the default choice. If you are using another service, you can set up different rates that would apply to different states for a specific shipping zone.

One option you might consider would be an in-store pickup shipping option. To set this up, you would select from the list only your state or territory as the shipping region, and then below, you would set the rate to be $0.

Shipping Method Name: There is an extensive list of descriptive names for whatever shipping method you might prefer. These names to not actually do anything other than describe the method; you will set your own ranges and rates below.

Select Delivery Time: This is also descriptive (it does not tie into a shipping service), so it is provided just to give the customer an idea of the time frame shipping will take.

Shipping Rates Based On: You can base your shipping on the Total Dollar Amount, the combined Total Order Weight, or the Total Item Quantity. Most use the first option (see note below about Classes), since it works well with the flat-rate Priority shipping from the USPS. For shipping based on weight, you will need to have weight values in the system for your products. For shipping based on the total number of items, this works well if you only sell one type of product and you can project what shipping would be based on the number being ordered.

Shipping Rates: You will first enter the range, From and To, for each of your shipping costs. The important thing with the ranges is to always have two digits after the decimal point, and for each successive line to start .01 higher than before. So in our example above, line one starts at one penny (0.01) and goes to twenty dollars (20). The second line starts at twenty-oh-one (20.01). Do not put in dollar signs. Also, each field will need to have a decimal point and two digits after it, even if they are both zero. For example, this is right: 20.00. This is wrong: $20. The third column is the rate the customer will pay if the order falls within the range listed. For an example by weight, look at the international method below.

To determine your rates if you are using Total Dollar Value, we recommend bringing home the full range of packaging you will use and experiment with what will fit in the packaging at certain total dollar amounts for the items.

If you are using the weight method, you might need to set up different zones with the states that would be at similar shipping rates for different weights. If so, you will need a separate shipping method for each zone. Don't worry about having duplicated method names: the system will show the customer all rates that can be selected for their area only, so don't be afraid to create as many as you need.

International Shipping Setup

Currency: For now, the options you see for different currencies do not apply, so you will choose U.S. Dollar.

Country: If you are setting up a specific shipping method for a specific country, you would only need that country in the list. It is recommended to set up a separate method for each country you plan to ship to, so your rates can be as accurate as possible. For countries that have regions with different shipping rates, e.g. Canada and its Provinces, you would need to add the country name as well as the province name(s) you will be shipping to, as in the example below. 

This rates themselves will be set up the same way as they would for a domestic rate, here are the specifics:

Shipping Method Name: There is an extensive list of descriptive names for whatever shipping method you might prefer. These names to not actually do anything other than describe the method; you will set your own ranges and rates below.

Select Delivery Time: This is also descriptive (it does not tie into a shipping service), so it is provided just to give the customer an idea of the time frame shipping will take.

Shipping Rates Based On: You can base your shipping on the Total Dollar Amount, the combined Total Order Weight, or the Total Item Quantity. Most use the first option (see note below about Classes). For shipping based on weight as in the example above, you will need to have weight values in the system for your products. For shipping based on the total number of items, this works well if you only sell one type of product and you can project what shipping would be based on the number being ordered.

If you will be using online class registration that can be paid for through the website, you will need to set up your shipping using the Total Order Weight option, since your classes have 0 weight, so they will charge no shipping.

Shipping Rates: You will first enter the range, From and To, for each of your shipping costs. The important thing with the ranges is to always have two digits after the decimal point, and for each successive line to start .01 higher than before. So in our example above, line one starts at one penny (0.01) and goes to twenty dollars (20). The second line starts at twenty-oh-one (20.01). An exception to this would be one-point-five pounds, which can be entered as 1.5 just fine, as in the example above. Do not put in dollar signs. The third column is the rate the customer will pay if the order falls within the range listed. For an example by dollar value, look at the domestic method in the section above for Domestic Shipping.

To determine your rates if you are using Total Dollar Value, we recommend bringing home the full range of packaging you will use and experiment with what will fit in the packaging at certain total dollar amounts for the items.

If you are using the weight method, you will need a separate shipping method for each country. Don't worry about having duplicated method names: the system will show the customer all rates that can be selected for their area only, so don't be afraid to create as many as you need.