Getting your website migrated to Shopify is just one part of the overall process to make sure your business process is retained. One of the essential elements is to be sure your Shipping carriers are accurately displaying the calculated rates that you're currently showing your customers at checkout. Shopify has a few of its connections that simply display "Retail Rates" to your customer at checkout. Now, don't confuse the rate on the checkout page that the customer pays with the actual price you pay for shipping when creating a label. Those are two very different numbers in most cases.
Adding Your Own Carrier To Shopify
If you want to add your own discounted rates or offer FedEx (a carrier Shopify does not provide calculated shipping through Shopify's direct relationship), then you will want to activate the custom carriers area inside your Shopify account. To do this, you have a few options, and some are a hidden secret, but they are not displayed publicly on Shopify's pricing page.
Here are the options available by Shopify for activating the carrier calculated shipping using your account:
- The obvious option is to upgrade your plan to the "Advanced" Shopify plan. If you were not already considering this option, then it may not make financial sense to upgrade just for this one option.
- You can contact Shopify and ask them to activate this option a-la-carte for a flat $20/month fee.
- If you pay for any Shopify plan annually, then you get this option for FREE.
Calculated Shipping Carriers Available
Shopify has its built-in label printing and shipping ability right inside the admin. This is an easy way to use a single admin to manage all of your website's orders. The rate discounts you receive on shipping is based on the plan you're on. See Shopify pricing for exact discount options by plan. The current options built into Shopify (using their account and rates) are UPS, DHL, and USPS. However, if you want to use your account and or FedEx (something Shopify does not offer using their rates), then you can use your own FedEx, UPS, and USPS by connecting the credentials found inside your carrier account to Shopify. This is something Pelican Commerce can take care of for you.
Info Needed To Connect
Once you select "Connect account," you will be prompted for some information from FedEx, UPS, or USPS. See below for the information requested to connect your existing carrier account.
If you have any questions about getting your own calculated shipping carrier rates connected to your Shopify account, then reach out to us anytime.
