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Are there times when you need to quote shipping after an order has been placed? This often happens when you sell bulky or oversized products that require special shipping arrangements, or when you have unique items with weight or dimensions that vary with each order and cannot be shipped using live carrier rates or even a standard rate table. With Intuitive Shipping, you can set up a shipping method that lets the customer complete their order while instructing them to contact you for the final shipping quote.
How It Works
An order can't be fulfilled until the checkout process is completed. But what happens if you can't provide a cost for shipping in real-time? A 'call-for-quote' shipping method lets your customers finish checking out while giving them instructions to contact you to arrange for shipping.
This guide will show you how to restrict shipping based on product tags. Alternatively, you can use a different product condition type, like product name, product type, product SKU, or product collection. When a customer tries to order a product that requires a special shipping quote after the fact, it will be the only shipping method displayed at checkout, regardless of what else is in the cart.
To complete this setup, you’ll need at least two Scenarios: one for your 'call-for quote' shipping method and at least one for standard shipping.
Create A Call-For-Quote Scenario
1. Click Shipping on the sidebar menu, then select Scenarios from the drop-down list.
General Settings
1. Enter a Scenario title like ‘Call For Quote’.
Scenario titles are not visible to customers.
2. If you want the Scenario to be available right away, leave the Scenario status set to 'On'. If you want to test it first before making it public, set it to 'Test'. Remember to set it to 'On' once you've completed testing.
Conditions
1. Select Set restrictions.
2. Leave Condition match set to 'All conditions'.
3. Select the product condition type. For this example, we’re using ‘Product tag’. You can use any product condition that identifies products that can't receive a shipping cost in real time.
4. Leave the condition logic set to equals.
Product tags are managed in your eCommerce platform's product information settings. Tags are not case sensitive.
6. Leave the additional product setting below the condition value set to Any product. As long as at least one item in the cart is tagged with the value entered in Step 5, the call-for-quote shipping method assigned to this Scenario will be displayed at checkout.
Save Your Settings
1. Click the Save button to save your highest priority Scenario.
You must save the Scenario before you can add a shipping method. Each Scenario must have at least one shipping method assigned to at least one zone.
Add A Shipping Method
Customers must still be able to complete their checkout, even if the shipping cost will be quoted afterward. To make this work, you’ll need to set up a free shipping method, but include a clear disclaimer stating that shipping is not actually free and provide instructions for how the customer should contact you to receive their final shipping quote.
1. Click the Create shipping method button.
Select A Free Shipping Service
The 'Select a service type' popup opens with 'Custom services' already expanded and 'Custom shipping rates' option pre-selected.
1. Select Free shipping.
2. Click the Next button at the bottom of the pop-up.
3. Select a Zone. If you have a lot of zones, type the zone name into the search field to narrow the list.
4. Click the Configure shipping button.
General
1. Enter a shipping method title like ‘Special Order - Call For Shipping Quote'.
Shipping method titles are visible to customers at checkout.
2. Set the shipping method status to 'On'.
3. Enter a description like ‘SHIPPING NOT FREE: Please call to arrange special shipping for these items’. We recommend limiting your description to 90 characters or less to ensure it displays properly on the checkout page.
Descriptions are displayed below the shipping method title at checkout.
Additional Display Settings
Additional display settings are available for custom delivery times and service codes.
- Delivery times are displayed at checkout and help manage expectations for customers.
- Service codes are not displayed to customers, but get pushed to your fulfilment service, if applicable) once a checkout is successfully completed.
If you don't require custom delivery times or service codes, skip ahead to Free Shipping Threshold.
To edit delivery times and service codes:
1. Click Show additional display settings then adjust the display settings as needed.
Free Order Threshold
A free shipping method applies to any order that meets the parent Scenario’s conditions. Additionally, you can limit when free shipping is available by setting a threshold. However, since this shipping method is not actually free, you can skip free shipping threshold.
Optional Settings
Optional settings for custom shipping blending and rate blending give you further control of your custom shipping rates at checkout. These settings are not required for this setup.
Save Your Settings
1. Click the Save button to save your call-for-quote shipping method.
Exclude Specialty Items From Other Shipping Methods
Now that you have a shipping method that only displays when at least one product in the cart requires a shipping quote, you’ll need to ensure that all other shipping methods are set to display only when no unique or special shipping products are in the cart.
1. Click Shipping on the sidebar menu, then select Scenarios from the drop-down list.
2. Click Edit beside your general Scenario.
3. Select set restrictions. If your general Scenario already has conditions, this is already set correctly.
4. Leave Condition match set to All conditions.
5. Select the product condition type. For this example, we’re using ‘Product tag’. You can use any product condition that identifies products that can't receive a shipping cost in real time.
6. Change the condition logic to does not equal.
7. Enter the product identifier you assigned to your controlled products as the condition value. For this example, we’re using the product tag ‘controlled’.
Product tags are managed in your eCommerce platform's product information settings. Tags are not case sensitive.
8. Change the additional product setting to All products. This means there can be no products in the cart tagged with the value entered in Step 7.
Save Your Settings
1. Click the Save button to update your general Scenario.
You don’t need to edit the shipping methods assigned to your general Scenario. They will continue to display as usual as long as there are no specialy 'call for quote' items in the cart.
2. Repeat all the steps above for any additional Scenarios you want hidden when a specialy product is ordered.