What Are Order-Based Rates?
Order-based rates are shipping prices calculated from the products in a customer’s cart, the parcel they ship in, and the destination. Instead of flat-rate or weight-only pricing, each order gets a rate based on what was actually ordered and where it’s going. SimpliSent calculates these rates using USPS pricing across all your parcel sizes, USPS zones, and weight tiers, then syncs them to your Shopify checkout. This works on any Shopify plan.How It Works
You Define Your Parcels
Tell SimpliSent what box sizes you ship with and which products go in each box.
SimpliSent Calculates Rates
SimpliSent determines the USPS zone for every US destination and calculates the exact shipping cost for every parcel-zone-weight combination.
Rates Sync to Shopify
With one click, rates are pushed to your Shopify store as a delivery profile.
What Customers See
At checkout, customers see a shipping option like:Standard Shipping (3-5 business days) - $8.45The price is based on:
- Which parcel their items fit in (from your product-to-parcel mapping)
- Their location (USPS zone from their ZIP code)
- The package weight (from the products in the cart)
Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| USPS Zones | USPS divides the country into zones (1-9) based on distance from your origin ZIP. Nearby zones cost less than cross-country zones. SimpliSent discovers zones automatically. |
| Parcel Sizes | The box sizes you ship with. Each parcel’s dimensions affect the rate. |
| Shipping Categories | Groups of products that ship in the same parcel size. You assign products to categories during setup. |
| Weight Classes | SimpliSent calculates rates across 41 weight tiers (0-4 oz up to 65-70 lbs) to cover any product combination. |
Getting Started
Setup Guide
Walk through the 3-step setup wizard.
Add to Shopify
Sync rates to your Shopify checkout.
Manage Rates
Regenerate, review, or remove rates.
Advanced Options
Fallback rates, price caps, and more.
Order-based rates require a connected Shopify store with products imported. See Shopify Integration.