How to Set a Fixed Rate or Surcharge for a Shipping Group

Overview

You want to set a fixed rate for one or more shipping options or methods when a certain shipping group is in the cart.

In this article, we’ll use the example of setting a fixed rate on UPS Ground if the order has products in the “Perishable” shipping group.

Requirements

Ensure you have your UPS Carrier set with UPS Ground as an available shipping method.

Steps: Apply Flat Rate to Group ONLY

  1. Create a Shipping Group. For this setup example, we’ll call it PERISHABLE.
  2. In the lefthand Navigation, go to Shipping Rules > add a new Rule.
  3. In the Basic tab of the rule, name it. For example, we’ll name ours “$5.99 on UPS ground for Perishable items”.
  4. Under the “I want to…”, set “choose an action*” to “Override rates”.
  5. Set “By a Flat Rate” to your desired flat rate (e.g. 5.99)
  6. Select “Shipping Group” under “And Apply This Rate To…”, then assign the group you wish this flat rate to apply to.
  7. Under “For These Shipping Methods…” select Add Methods and choose the method you want to override with flat rate. For our example, we’ll select UPS Ground.
  8. Save your rule.

After you save this rule, and once there is a product assigned to the shipping group, the products will always override their live UPS cost to $5.99 per the assigned shipping method(s) in the rule.

Steps: Apply Flat Rate to Entire Cart

  1. Create a Shipping Group. For this setup example, we’ll call it PERISHABLE.
  2. In the lefthand Navigation, go to Shipping Rules > add a new Rule.
  3. In the Basic tab of the rule, name it. For example, we’ll name ours “$5.99 on UPS ground when Perishable is in cart”.
  4. Under the “I want to…”, set “choose an action*” to “Override rates”.
  5. Set “By a Flat Rate” to your desired amount to override (e.g. 5.99)
  6. Select “The Cart” under “And Apply This Rate To…” (or leave this field as the default option).
  7. Under “For These Shipping Methods…” select Add Methods and choose the method you want to override with flat rate. For our example, we’ll select UPS Ground.
  8. Scrolling down to “Perform The Action When….“, under “Shipping Groups Include One or More” assign your Shipping Group that you wish to trigger the rule.
  9. Save your rule.

This rule will now override the selected method for the entire cart when your assigned group is present.

Note: Please keep in mind that you have the option of setting the rate by each item in the shipping group, the entire cart, origin  or per each box the PERISHABLE items have packed into from the drop-down of Apply Shipping Rate/Percentage drop down.

Test Your Rates

Verify that your carriers and rules are working and see how they will display in your checkout right from the ShipperHQ dashboard.

Learn More

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