Setting Up Your Shipping Options | Launching Your Yahoo! Business

During the checkout process, your customers will be asked to enter their shipping address and select their shipping method. The Yahoo! store order form will calculate the shipping rates and display them based on the shipping rates you set. This will also allow your customers to see their total order amount immediately. This is important because a cardinal rule of eCommerce is "never surprise your customers." In this case, provide them with the TOTAL amount of their order before you request their credit card numbers.

Shipping Manager

The Shipping Manger provides a set of tools to help you set up your shipping options. They are

Shipping Methods: Add shipping methods that will be offered during the checkout process. You may add, edit, delete, or change the order of the shipping methods.
Shipping Rates: Configure shipping rules based on geographic location, flat fee, and percentage or rate table.
Settings: Configure general shipping calculations and UPS tools and UPS shipping settings.
Shipping and Order Status: Configure and preview order status email and order confirmation emails.
Shipping and Tax Test: Test shipping rules with sample data based on tax tables before publishing to the live store.

To access the Shipping Manager

1.	From the Manage My Services control panel, click on Store Manager.
2.	In Store Manager, click on Shipping Manager under the Order Settings column.

Setting Your Shipping Methods

Once you decide which shipping methods to offer, you will need to add those options to the shipping methods form. You can add general default shipping options such as Downloadable, Ground, Air, Federal Express, and First Class Mail as provided by Merchant Solutions or add your own custom method.

During the checkout process, a drop-down menu will display all of the shipping options you provide, as seen in Figure 10.1.

To add shipping methods

1.	From the Manage My Services control panel, click on Store Manager.
2.	In Store Manager, click on Shipping Manager under the Order Settings column.
3.	In Shipping Manager, click on Shipping Methods.
4.	Once you are on the Shipping Methods page, click on the Edit Methods button to add shipping methods.

Tip:

If you are charging a flat fee for shipping, you may want to consider adding the shipping cost as part of your shipping option title. Your customers will want to know how much each shipping method costs. This will reduce phone calls, tech support emails, and customer hesitation when ordering.

Once you have finished adding your shipping methods, you will need to configure your shipping rates. To view a free online video of how to add shipping methods, go to www.MyEcommerceSuccess.com.

Figure 10.1. Shipping options are displayed in a drop-down menu during the checkout process.

Configuring Shipping Rates

To set shipping rates, you will need to create shipping rules. You can charge a flat fee, charge a percentage of the order amount, or use a rate table that is based on weight, order amount, or number of items sold. You may also include an additional fee to cover handling cost. For example, if the shipping cost for a Tshirt is $3.95 for USPS priority mail, you may want to add $1.05 for handling and charge a flat $5 for shipping.

Also, keep in mind that shipping companies such as UPS determine shipping rates based on zones. For example, it will cost more to send a package from California to New York than from New York to Boston. If you are planning on using UPS, UPS has an online tool that will allow you customers to view realtime shipping rates during the checkout process.

Once you select your shipping methods, you can create shipping rate rules. There are five sequential steps to create each rule.

1.	Select Location: You can specify which country, state, and ZIP codes this rule will apply to, as shown in Figure 10.2.
2.	Select Method(s): Which shipping method(s) this rule will apply to.
3.	Rule Type: Whether the shipping charge be based on a flat rate, a percentage of order amount, or a rate table.
4.	Rate Details: The details and exact amount of for each rule type.
5.	Override Setting: The Override setting allows you to apply only one rule even though an order matches other existing rules. For example, you may have a flat shipping fee for all of the United States, but offer free shipping for all orders from California.

Figure 10.2. You can specify geographical locations by country, state, or ZIP code when adding shipping methods.

To add shipping rates

1.	From the Manage My Services control panel, click on Store Manager.
2.	In Store Manager, click on Shipping Manager under the Order Settings column.
3.	In Shipping Manager, click on Shipping Rates.
4.	Once you are on the Shipping Rates page, click on the Add Rule button to add shipping rates.
5.	Follow the five steps as described earlier to add your shipping rates.

Using UPS Shipping Tools

Planning on using UPS (United Parcel Service)? UPS Online Tools is integrated with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions at no extra charge. With UPS Online Tools, you can process shipments, autoinsert tracking numbers into orders, receive realtime rates and auto-populate shipping labels without leaving the Store Manager. Using UPS Online Tools will help streamline your shipping process and save you time. Your customers will also be able to track their orders anytime via the UPS website. This will reduce emails and phone calls asking, "When will I receive my order?" and improve customer service.

In order to use the UPS shipping tools, you must apply for a UPS account. To register for an account, go to the Shipping Manager in Store Manager and click the Register to Use UPS Online Tools link. This will take you through the registration process.