How to offer specific shipping option to selective products only

ShippingOptions_3600x1200 You may have some business requirements where you want to offer a specific shipping option or shipping charges to your customers. The situations could be:

You want to charge a different shipping cost if bulky items are added to the cart.
You want to exclude some items from international shipping because you don’t want to sell them outside your country.
You want to include extra shipping costs if a fragile item is added to the cart.

Imagine you're managing an online store that sells various items, including fragile glassware. You want to offer two different shipping options for your products: standard shipping for regular items and a special shipping option for delicate glassware. Here's how you can set it up in Neto:

Implementing Specific Shipping Options

1️⃣ Create a New Shipping Category:

Go to "Settings & Tools" > "Shipping."
Click on "Shipping Categories" and then "Add New."
Enter a name like "Fragile Items" and an optional internal description, then save.

2️⃣ Assign the New Shipping Category to the Product:

Navigate to "Products" > "View Products."
Edit the product that needs special shipping.
Choose the newly created "Fragile Items" category in the Shipping category dropdown under the "Shipping" tab, then save.

3️⃣ Create a New Shipping Option and Link Shipping Categories to the New Shipping Option:

Again in the "Settings & Tools" > "Shipping" section, click on "Shipping Options."
Click "Add New Shipping Option"
Fill in the required details such as Name, Status, Visible to Customer, etc.
Scroll down to the "Shipping Category" section and click the green "Add Shipping Category" button.
Choose the newly created "Fragile Items" category from the dropdown, set its rates,
Click Add Shipping Category button again, add all required shipping categories along with their respective shipping rates one by one and press Save.
Make sure the new shipping category is only linked to new shipping option, not to the any existing shipping option.

4️⃣ Put Both Shipping Options in the Same Routing Group:

Navigate to "Settings & Tools" > "Shipping"
Open both shipping options (Newly created and old one).
Enter the same Routing Group number or name (e.g., "fragile") on both shipping options and click save.

5️⃣ Assign Sort Orders to Both Shipping Options:

Give a smaller sort order (e.g., 1) to the old shipping option and a bigger sort order (e.g., 2) to the newly created shipping option.

⚠️ Note: The newly created shipping category should be linked to a different rate table under the new shipping options. This way, a different shipping cost can be offered for specific products.

By following these steps, your online store will now offer two shipping options: standard shipping for regular items and special shipping for fragile glassware, ensuring that delicate products reach your customers safely.

The same can be tailored as per your business requirements, as highlighted in the beginning of this article.

Here are a few more possibilities where you may customize shipping options:

Expedited Shipping for Urgent Orders
Free Shipping for Orders Over a Certain Amount
Regional Shipping Rates
Weight-Based Shipping Costs
Subscription-Based Shipping Discounts

By considering these possibilities and customizing your shipping options accordingly, you can provide efficient shipping experience for your customers while also managing your shipping costs effectively.

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Erik Merkley

This is a great summary of how to achieve a tricky setup.

In your steps, you set up an entirely new shipping option for each shipping category. When is it better to list two different shipping categories under a single shipping option?

I also find the two settings on this page "This option only applies to products in the categories defined above" and "Option only available when order contains a product from each of the above defined shipping categories" very confusing and ambiguously worded. I've never really understood this section at all.

It's pretty simple when there's products from only one shipping category. But how does Neto work out the shipping when there are products from multiple shipping categories? How do those settings change the logic? What are some example setups where you'd use each setting?

Would it be possible to get clarification and proper documentation for these settings?

Deactivated Member

Hi Erik. Thanks for the feedback.

As you said, "In your steps, you set up an entirely new shipping option for each shipping category." I think there's some confusion in understanding step 3, which is completely understandable so I have rewrote that step to clarify your point more easily. Let me know if you get it right or I'll do my best to make it more simpler for you.

For the two settings, I'll get back to you as soon as I can with more clarity once I have the information from the team.

I'll also ask the team to create a help documentation explaining the options. Thanks for pointing it out, much appreciated!

Deactivated Member

Hi Erik. I have made sure to clear up your doubts regarding the two check boxes you mentioned.

Check Box 1: This option only applies to products in the categories defined above.

Explanation: This check box describes the rule that the said shipping option should appear for any of the shipping categories added.

Imagine you have two shipping categories: "Default" and "Dangerous Goods." Let's say you have a special shipping option called "Express Delivery" that should only be available for items in these categories.

If the tick box "This option only applies to products in the categories defined above" is ticked. The respective shipping option should appear for any of the below combination:

Combination 1: If a customer adds only a "Default" item to their cart, they should see the "Express Delivery" option.
Combination 2: If a customer adds only a "Dangerous Goods" item to their cart, they should also see the "Express Delivery" option.
Combination 3: If a customer adds both "Default" and "Dangerous Goods" items to their cart, they should still see the "Express Delivery" option.

In essence, with this checkbox checked, the "Express Delivery" option will appear as long as the customer's cart contains items from any of the specified categories.

PS: This checkbox should always be ticked, unless business has some specific requirements.

Check Box 2: Option only available when order contains a product from each of the above defined shipping categories.

Explanation: This check box describes the rule that the said shipping option should only appear if all linked shipping category items are added to cart.

Now, let's consider a different scenario. You have another special shipping option called "Special Handling" that should only be available if the customer's order contains items from both the "Default" and "Dangerous Goods" categories.

If the tick box "Option only available when order contains a product from each of the above defined shipping categories." is ticked. The respective shipping option should appear for only one combination:

Combination 1: If a customer adds both a "Default" and a "Dangerous Goods" item to their cart, they should see the "Special Handling" option.
Combination 2: If a customer adds only a "Default" item to their cart, they should not see the "Special Handling" option.
Combination 3: Similarly, if a customer adds only a "Dangerous Goods" item to their cart, they also should not see the "Special Handling" option.

This means, if cart contains only Default or only Dangerous Goods items, the respective shipping option isn't meant to appear.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

Erik Merkley

Thanks Pranay, I appreciate the detailed response. This should definitely help anyone setting up freight options in future. I hope you'll be adding it to the docs if you haven't already.

Deactivated Member

You're welcome. Thanks to you for pointing it out.

Also, the team has been informed and they're working on updating the relevant help article.