There are two different ways to set up your shipping cost in the Shopify. You can opt to set up your Shipping Rates Manually in Shopify for free, or you can opt to connect and use Lulu's Live Shipping Rates for a cost. 


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Manually Setting Up Shipping Rates

By default, all orders are automatically shipped via the least expensive trackable shipping method, and there are no settings you need to change on Lulu. If you want to see how much shipping will cost, we recommend using our Pricing Calculator. After you configure your product specifications, quantity, and shipping location, the Pricing Calculator will provide you with the shipping cost.

If you are manually setting up your own rates, the shipping rates are determined by the store owner using Shopify’s shipping settings. The Lulu Direct Shopify App will apply a shipping method based on those shipping settings. Additionally, shipping rates will not affect what we charge you for shipping. If you set the rate for shipping to $5 and it costs us $6 to ship, you will pay the difference.


All of our shipping rates can be found by using our pricing calculator. First configure your product within the pricing calculator, then select the quantity and shipping location. This will display all of our available shipping methods and rates.


Product Creation and Product Weight

To manually set up your shipping rates, the first step is to create the product within Shopify and connect the product to a Lulu Direct project. When you create the product in Shopify we recommend setting the weight of the product to 1 lb. Since we handle the shipping, the weight of your product in your Shopify store will not matter. This is an important step for later when setting up shipping for different quantities.


Create a Shipping Profile

The next step is to create a shipping profile within your Shopify Settings with all of your Lulu Direct products. This is done by navigating to Settings > Shipping and Delivery. On the Shipping and Delivery settings page click Create New Profile. We recommend that you name your profile something easily identifiable, like “Lulu Direct Products.” Click Add Products and select all of your Lulu Direct products.


If you need more help with creating a Shipping Profile, you can find more information on Shopify’s support page here.


Create Shipping Zones

Determine which countries and regions you wish to service with your store. The more zones you create, the more control over the shipping price you will have. Please note, however, that the more zones you have, the more work it will take to configure your shipping rates. We recommend creating zones based on the countries and regions your main customer base will be in.


For example, if you believe your main customer base will be in the US, but you also believe you will have some customers in Canada and the UK, then you will set up a shipping zone for the US, Canada, and the UK. Finally, you can create a “Rest of the World” zone to cover all the other countries and regions you wish to service.


When naming your zones, we recommend adding an identifier to each zone. For example, “United States - Lulu.” In a later step this will make mapping your shipping methods within the Lulu Direct App easier.


Note: The Shipping From address does not matter. Shipping rates will be manually entered, so the location within Shopify does not affect the shipping rates. If you wish to use Lulu’s mailing address, you are welcome to do so.


If you need more help with creating Shipping zones, you can find more information on Shopify’s support page here.


Lulu Direct Shipping Rates

All of our shipping rates can be found on our Pricing Calculator here. We recommend opening this page in a new browser window or tab for easy access. First configure your product within the calculator, then enter the number of copies and select a country. It will then list all available methods and their shipping rate.


Determine how much you are going to charge for shipping based on the rates provided to you through the Pricing Calculator.


Tip: The Pricing Calculator on the Lulu Direct website will also show which shipping methods are trackable. 


Shipping Rates

For each shipping zone you created, you will need to add at least 1 rate. These are the rates your customers will see during checkout. For each shipping zone you created, you will need to add at least 1 rate. These are the rates your customers will see during checkout. By default, all orders are automatically shipped via the least expensive trackable shipping method. So you will need to create rates based on that lowest tracked option.


Click Add Rate to begin.


Select Use Flat Rate.


Use the dropdown menu for Shipping Rate and select Custom.


Enter in the Custom Rate Name. For example, “Mail.”


Enter the Price you wish to charge your customers. Refer back to the Lulu Pricing Calculator if you plan on using our exact rates.


Note: If you don’t want to set up shipping based on quantity - just a single price no matter how many products are ordered - skip these next steps and click Done.


Click Add Conditional Pricing.


Select Based on item weight.


Enter in Minimum and Maximum weight based on the number of items this shipping rate is for. For example, if a rate is for 1 product, the minimum will be 1 lb and maximum will be 1 lb.


Pro Tip: We recommend setting up rates based on quantity groups, as it can be very tedious to set up rates for each quantity. For example, set up rates for 1 copy, 2 to 5 copies, 6 to 10 copies, 11 to 20 copies, and so on. That means for 2 to 5 copies set the Minimum Weight to 2 lbs and Maximum Weight to 5 lbs.


Click Done.


Example:



Repeat


Add rates for each zone, shipping method, and quantity.


Be sure to click Save when you are finished.


Note: This process can take a while so it is best to do it when you have time to research prices.




Using Lulu's Live Shipping Rates

With Shopify, there is an option to use Lulu's Live Shipping Rates. If you choose to use Lulu's Live Shipping Rates, this will display our calculated shipping rates to your customers upon checkout. We do not charge to use our Live Shipping Rates. However, you are required by Shopify to have the correct Shopify Plan in order to use 3rd Party Calculated Rates. Shopify charges an additional fee to enable the ability to show calculated shipping rates by third-party apps at checkout.


If you have any questions about what kind of plan you need or what fee you need to pay to enable this feature, we recommend reaching out to Shopify. 


To enable Lulu’s Live Shipping rates do the following:


1. Login to your Lulu Account.

2. Navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard. It can be found by clicking on My Stores from the Top-Menu.



3. On the Lulu Direct Dashboard, locate your store and click it to open it.


4. Next, click on Store Settings.



5. Scroll down to the Live Rates section, and click the Use Live Shipping Rates button to enable live rates.



6. Next, you will have the option to use Live Rates with only trackable shipping methods, or all shipping methods.



After you have enabled Live Rates in your Lulu Direct Store Settings, you need to set up a corresponding shipping profile in your Shopify Store. To do this, navigate to Settings > Shipping and Delivery. On the Shipping and Delivery settings page, click Create New Profile. We recommend you name your profile something easily identifiable, like “Lulu Direct Products.” Click Add Products and select all of your Lulu Direct products.


Next, you will need to add Shipping Zones for all the locations you wish to ship to. Click Create Shipping Zone. Name the Shipping Zone, select the countries,  then click Done. After the Shipping Zone has been created, click Add Rate. Select Use Carrier or App to Calculate rates and then make sure Live Lulu Shipping is selected in the dropdown menu. Click Done to finish, and repeat this step for each Shipping Zone you created.


PLEASE NOTE: If you have any custom shipping rates set up in the Lulu Direct shipping profile, they will display in the cart upon checkout even if you are using our Live Rates. 


If you need more help with creating a Shipping Profile, you can find more information on Shopify’s support page here.


PRO-TIP: if you have multiple shipping profiles for different products, when naming shipping rates, use non-specific titles (such as Mail) to prevent any confusion for your customers during checkout.