Shipping FAQ

Shipping can be a very complex undertaking with many possible solutions for success. This FAQ aims to help answer some of the common questions about how Recharge deals with shipping and shipping-related tasks. For general information on shipping, refer to Configuring shipping settings for the Recharge Checkout if you're using the Recharge Checkout on Shopify or BigCommerce, or Setting up shipping for the Shopify Checkout Integration.  

Questions

• Can I create a free shipping discount? 
• How do shipping zones work with Recharge?
• How do I offer free domestic shipping while charging international orders?
• How does Recharge handle shipping for pre-paid orders?
• I only sell digital products. How can I remove shipping?
• Can I set up shipping where a customer receives free shipping when ordering more than one subscription?
• Can I keep shipping to a specific country for existing customers, but prevent new customers located in that country from checking out?
• Does Recharge allow shipping integrations with third-party apps?
• Is there a way to restrict shipping to PO boxes?
• How do I set up weight-based shipping rates?
• I updated the weight of the original product in Shopify, but the wrong shipping rate is being calculated at the checkout?
• Can I offer free shipping for subscription products but charge shipping for one-time products?
• I switched fulfillment centers - why are my orders listing my old fulfillment center?
• Unavailable Countries with BigCommerce and Shopify
• Why is the wrong shipping rate being applied when the weight of the product matches the rate configured?

Can I create a free shipping discount? 

Yes. Shipping discount codes in Recharge will discount the entire shipping amount and cannot be limited to one use per customer. For more information, visit Recharge's guide on creating discount codes. Note that free shipping discounts cannot be applied to specific products or collections.

Merchants should create discount codes in both Recharge and their eCommerce platform to prevent any issues for their customers. These discount code settings configured in Recharge must match the settings in your eCommerce platform. Refer to Shopify's guide on creating a free shipping discount or BigCommerce's guide on setting up free shipping with a coupon promotion. 

How do shipping zones work with Recharge?

Shipping zones dictate where you can ship your products and what rates to offer your customers. Depending on your shipping settings, they may be stored on your eCommerce platform or on Recharge. Read more about shipping zones in Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates.

How do I offer free domestic shipping while charging international orders?

Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates allows you to set up different rates per location. For example, create one zone for domestic orders with a free shipping rate, and create additional zones for international orders with specific rates configured to charge international shipping. This can be done without affecting the shipping rates for your one-time orders.

Recharge Checkout on Shopify

Alternatively, if you are a Shopify merchant using the Recharge Checkout on Shopify with basic shipping settings, you can adjust your settings in both Shopify and Recharge.

1. Set the weight of your subscription products to 0 in Shopify.
2. Create a weight-based shipping rate in Shopify for domestic orders, setting the minimum and maximum weight to 0. Select the free shipping option as the rate. Note that the sample package weight in Shopify may have a positive weight, so you will need to also set the weight to 0.
   
3. Make sure that the rest of your non-subscription products have a weight different than 0. This is so that your one-time products are not provided the free shipping rate at checkout.
   
4. Add a new shipping zone in Shopify and add international countries.
   
5. Set a weight-based rate for the international shipping zones. You would set the minimum and maximum weight to 0 and enter the rate to ship your international subscriptions. 

How does Recharge handle shipping for pre-paid orders?

Shipping charges will not be applied to pre-paid shipment orders. To collect shipping, we recommend creating a weight-based rate that will be applied to the initial charge that covers the cost of shipments. For information on setting up shipping for pre-paid subscriptions, visit Setting up pre-paid subscriptions.

I only sell digital products. How can I remove shipping?

This varies based on your store's Recharge checkout platform.

Recharge Checkout on Shopify or Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce 

A shipping address is required when submitting orders. A recommendation is to change the verbiage on this page so it does not say "Shipping Address." This can be done in the Translations section of Recharge. 

You can also use CSS to hide the Different billing address than shipping address option on the second page of checkout.

Shopify Checkout Integration

You can set up digital products through the Shopify Checkout Integration. During checkout, if there is a non-physical subscription product, the shipping address fields do not display.

Can I set up shipping where a customer receives free shipping when ordering more than one subscription?

If you are using Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates, you can add conditions so that a free shipping rate is applied to an order, provided the order matches a certain weight or price. 

Recharge Checkout on Shopify

If you are a Shopify merchant using the Recharge Checkout on Shopify and basic shipping rates, you can set up a weight-based shipping rate in Shopify and Recharge will use the available shipping rate. For example, you can set the auto-renew product to be 1lbs and create a free shipping rate that recognizes when an order is over 2lbs. For more information, visit Setting up weight-based shipping. 

Can I keep shipping to a specific country for existing customers, but prevent new customers located in that country from checking out?

You can either update your Recharge shipping settings or use custom code to keep shipping to existing customers, but prevent new customers from checking out. 

1. To update your Recharge shipping settings, click Settings in your merchant portal and select Shipping. 
2. Under Shipping zones click Manage zones and select Add shipping zone. Add the countries that you currently ship to.
3. Click back to your Shipping settings. In the Advanced Settings – Errors section, set your preferences to Display an error if no matching shipping is found. This ensures the customer checking out requires an applicable shipping rate.
4. Remove the country from your shipping zones in Recharge and/or your eCommerce platform, depending on where your rates are configured.
5. To prevent any order errors, manually set the shipping rate for existing customers located in this country. The Recharge support team is available to assist with updating customers in bulk if you have more than 50 customers located in this country.

Alternatively, you can hide shipping countries from the checkout using custom CSS/JavaScript. This is not supported by Recharge as outlined in our design and integration policy. You may wish to work with a Recharge Partner to build this customization.

Does Recharge allow shipping integrations with third-party apps?

Yes. We have many available integrations for third-party shipping apps. You can find a list of all compatible and non-compatible integrations by visiting the following guides, depending on your Recharge platform:

• Apps and integrations for the Recharge Checkout on Shopify
• Apps and integrations for the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce
• Apps and integrations for the Shopify Checkout Integration

Is there a way to restrict shipping to PO boxes?

No - there isn't a built-in feature for restricting PO boxes. Other merchants have updated fields in the checkout to include the statement "No PO boxes." For more information on changing the text at the checkout visit Language translations.

How do I set up weight-based shipping rates?

Weight-based shipping rates using Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates

You can create weight-based shipping rate conditions using Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates.

1. Click Settings in your merchant portal and select Shipping.
2. Ensure Recharge zones, rates, and integrations (Advanced) is selected under Shipping setup. 
3. Click Manage zones to access your shipping zones.
4. Select Add rate and click Set up your own rates.
5. Enter a Rate name and price. 
6. Click Add conditions and select Based on item weight. Enter the weight conditions and click Save.

Weight-based shipping rates using Basic shipping rates for the Recharge Checkout on Shopify

If you are using basic shipping rates (Get all rates from Shopify) in your Shipping setup in Recharge, the shipping rates you have configured in Shopify will be used to charge shipping on subscription orders. Recharge sends a request to Shopify each time an order is created and they provide the shipping rate to charge on each order.

Step 1 - Configure weight-based shipping in Shopify

Follow Shopify's instructions to set a flat shipping rate with weight-based conditions. Ensure that you check the weight of the default package as set by Shopify. This can also interfere with your shipping rules. We recommend setting the default package rate to 0. You must also configure the weight of your products to match the rates configured. 

Note: Shopify views products in pounds but the actual weight in the cart token as grams. Shopify does the conversion which can result in minor rounding errors if your weight range is too narrow.

Step 2 - Set Recharge to Charge Shipping

After setting up your shipping rates and weights in Shopify, you will need to go into your Recharge shipping settings to ensure the correct options are selected.

1. Click Settings in your merchant portal and select Shipping.
2. Select Charge shipping and ensure Get all rates from Shopify is selected under Shipping setup. 
3. Click Save.

I updated the weight of the original product in Shopify, but the wrong shipping rate is being calculated at the checkout

Updating the weight of the original product will not change the weight of the auto-renew product. You will need to manually update the weight of the auto-renew product to ensure that the shipping rate is calculated correctly.

Recharge does not automatically sync weight changes to the auto-renew product, as merchants will sometimes want to maintain separate SKUs/weights on hidden products versus original products.

Can I offer free shipping for subscription products but charge shipping for one-time products?

Yes. To set up free shipping for subscription products, you will need to set the weight to 0lbs in Shopify. If your product is offered as both a subscription product and a one-time product, then you would need to set the weight of the auto-renew product to 0lbs. All one-time products and original products should be given a rate of 0.1lbs. 

Within your Shopify shipping rates, you would set up a weight-based rate for 0lbs-0lbs that is set to free shipping. You would then need to create an additional rate that is set from 0.1lbs and above that includes the rate you charge for shipping. 

When only subscription products are in the cart, then the customer will be provided free shipping. If there are one-time products or a mixed cart of items, then the customer will be provided shipping rates with a charge amount.

I switched fulfillment centers - why are my orders listing my old fulfillment center?

Orders that have been queued prior to the switch will still list the previous fulfillment center in the JSON information Recharge sends to Shopify. Reach out to Recharge support and our team will regenerate your queued orders so they have the correct fulfillment center information. 

Unavailable Countries with BigCommerce and Shopify

Countries and locations subject to sanctions or restrictions by the United States, Canada, or the European Union are unavailable for billing or shipping options through BigCommerce and Shopify. This includes countries such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

Also, check with your preferred shipping carrier for any additional location restrictions and their International Service status. Alert pages and service lists for USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx provide up-to-date information on shipping availability.

Why is the wrong shipping rate being applied when the weight of the product matches the rate configured?

Shopify allows merchants to specify the size and weight of the default package being used. If you are using weight-based or carrier-calculated rates the weight of the package can impact the available rates shown. If a product should be displaying a certain shipping rate in the cart but a different rate is showing, check to see if there is a weight present for the package.