This is the screen where you configure the shipping type. Some settings are global to all shipping types, and then each type will have its own additional screens to further configure the shipping type. First, you will need to select the type of shipping to configure, the options are:
 

1. Amount Added by Total Price – Uses a shipping table you set up yourself where the shipping cost is determined by the total price of the order. For instance, orders between $10-100 getting charged $7 shipping.
2. Amount Added by Total Weight – Uses a shipping table you set up where the shipping cost is determined by the total weight of the order. For instance, an order between 1 and 5 pounds will be charged $5 shipping.
3. Amount Added per Item – The shipping cost is determined by the number of items in the order. The shipping cost you configure is used to calculate the shipping, which you can configure as the specific cost, or the amount to add for each item. For instance, an order between 10 and 20 items being charged $1 per item. You can also configure this type of rate to be cumulative…for instance $5 for the first item, $2 for each additional item.
4. Percentage Added by Total Price – Uses a shipping table you set up where the shipping cost is determined as a percentage of the total price of the order. For instance, an order of $50 configured with a $3 charge would incur a shipping cost of $1.50.
5. Percentage Added by Total Weight – Uses a shipping table you set up where the percentage used is determined by the total weight of the order, and the shipping cost is that percentage of the total order amount . For instance, an order between 1 and 5 pounds is configured for 5% shipping. If the order total was $100, the shipping amount is $5.
6. Automated UPS Shipping Rates – Uses the UPS shipping rates API to calculate the shipping charges. Requires registration with UPS, be sure to see the additional information on setting up and configuring UPS rates..
7. Automated USPS Shipping Rates – Calculates US Postal Service rates using their API. Only available to US merchants, be sure to see the additional information on setting up and configuring USPS rates.
8. Automated FedEx Shipping Rates – Uses the FedEx shipping rates API to calculate the shipping charges. Requires registration with FedEx, be sure to see the additional information on setting up and configuring FedEx rates.
9. Multiple Shippers using Intershipper– Uses the Intershipper service to offer multiple shippers and shipping methods. Additional service fees charged by Intershipper, but these allow for the greatest flexibility and reliability of shipping rates. Be sure to set up your Intershipper settings and methods as well.

 
Now enter the rest of the global shipping settings:
 

1. Offer In-Store Pickup? – This will give your customer the additional option during checkout to select in-store pickup with no shipping charges. If using multiple shipping types, you only need to enable this on one of them.
2. Show Estimator – This will put a shipping estimator form in the shopping cart so your customer can estimate their shipping costs prior to checkout. The fields used will be determined by the type of shipping used. If you are using multiple shipping types, the estimator will include all of them.
3. Use Drop-Shippers? – This option is only available if you are using one of the API methods. Turning this on will allow you to split an order according to the drop-shippers on it and calculate the shipping for each separately (giving the total amount to the customer). Be sure to enter valid addresses for all your drop-shippers (under the User Accounts section) when using this feature! Also note that this may often result in several API calls to external servers needing to be made which can really slow down your checkout processes, so be careful of splitting your orders to lots of different drop-shippers. Be particularly careful of using this setting turned on along with the previous one for the shipping estimator, as that one will also be making regular API calls as well.
4. Base Amount – This is an amount you can append to the shipping rate for any of the methods. A merchant might use this, for instance, to cover the additional cost of packaging materials for each shipment.
5. Handling Percentage – You can also charge a handling percentage on orders which is also added to the shipping charge. The handling percentage is charged on the order total before shipping and tax.
6. Allow No Shipping – This determines if you will allow orders to be placed when the shipping cannot be calculated. This generally occurs with international orders, particularly if you are using custom shipping methods and don’t have rates set up for some locations. If allowed, you generally will contact the customer with their shipping amount and then modify the order with that amount. Please note that most credit card gateways do not support increasing the charge on the card over what was authorized, so take that into consideration and make sure you are able to handle this situation in-house if need be.
7. Admin Message – Enter the text you wish to display for orders when  shipping cannot be calculated. The message ‘No Shipping’ is used for orders with no/free shipping charges so a different message than that would be suggested.
8. Customer Message – This is the text the store will display to the customer when the shipping is not calculated. Include your policy for such orders and any further instructions for the customer.

 
Click Save Changes to save your settings before proceeding. In particular, if you change the shipping method you are using, be sure to save your changes before continuing with the Rate Calculation section! Click Back to List to return to the list of all shipping types for the store.
 
 Custom Shipping Rates
 
All of the custom shipping types, by price, weight or number of items, have basically the same settings, with a few extra settings for Shipping by Item. In addition to configuring the global settings, all custom shipping types MUST have at least one entry in the shipping table and one shipping method set up (even if these are configured for $0). You will also need to set up a country rate which enables shipping to whatever countries you are able to ship to. If any of these 3 pieces are not set up, the the store will not be able to calculate a shipping rate and will display an error message.
 
Your first step is to configure these basic settings which determine how your shipping will work in the store:
 

1. Show Shipping Table – This will display a table of your rates below the shopping cart in the store. This works best with price and weight methods, depending on other settings.
2. Calculate Per Item – This option is only displayed for Shipping by Item. This determines if the amount you enter in the shipping table for ranges of items will be multiplied by the number of items. For example, if you have a amount of $5 for 2-3 items, and the customer orders 2 items, if this is turned on the shipping amount will be $10, otherwise it will be $5.
3. Cumulative Amounts – Another option only for Shipping by Item. This option allows you to set if the shipping table amounts are cumulative as you go from one level to the next with the number of items. For instance, if you have an amount of $5 for 1 item and $3 for 2-5 items and this setting (and the previous one) are turned on, the shipping amount if 2 items is ordered will be $8 ($5 + $3) and would be $11 for 3 items ($5 + $3 + $3). If it is turned off (previous setting still turned on), shipping would be $6 for 2 items and $9 for 3.
4. Methods Multiply Shipping – If turned on, the amounts entered in the Shipping Methods section will multiply the shipping amount from the shipping table. If turned off, the amount will just be added to the base shipping cost. This setting is only useful if you are using anything other than $0 for the shipping method.
5. Debug – This will display the shipping arrays and structures during checkout, useful if you are debugging your shipping calculations. This should be turned off on live sites.