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How do I calculate shipping?

Selling physical shop items or commissions? You can choose any courier service that fits your needs and set shipping costs for wherever you're selling. Set a straightforward shipping fee for a single item, and if needed, specify a different fee for when that item is bundled with others in a basket.

  Note

To learn more about setting up your shop and simple shipping options, have a look at our guides on Ko-fi Shop and Commissions.

When you add a Shop item or Commission, you’ll see an option to add shipping rates. You can customize these rates for different locations.

shippin-image.png

 

How much should I charge for shipping?

The best way to calculate shipping is to measure each item’s dimensions and weight and then grab the prices from your chosen courier for all the destinations you want to ship to.

  • Destination: Decide if you're shipping locally, to certain countries or continents, or worldwide.
  • Dimensions: Measure the height, weight, and width of your item.
  • Choose a service: Pick a postal service that fits your needs, like USPS if you’re in the U.S. and likely to be receiving most of your orders from within the U.S.

Most shipping providers will help you figure out the costs using your shipping location and item dimensions. You can look at services like DHL, Correos, and Royal Mail in Europe; UPS in the Americas; Fastway in Australia; and FedEx for worldwide delivery.

usps-example.png

  Note

If you are sending to multiple specific destinations, you'll need to set a different shipping price for each country or continent.

Once you've got these details, you can set the right shipping price for your item.

 

How does shipping multiple items work?

Ko-fi calculates shipping for a basket of items by adding the item with the highest shipping price plus the "Price with others" rate for all other items in the basket.

shipping-example.png

 

How do I calculate shipping for multiple items?

To figure out what you should charge if you have multiple items, you should follow the same steps as a single item. Decide your item’s destination, measure its size and weight and find the price from the courier service you’ve chosen.

Measure a couple of your items that are most likely to be purchased together and you will get a range of total costs.

Here is a sample of items in a shop and different combinations in a cart with their shipping totals.

 

Example 1: Multiple items in a supporter’s cart

multiple-shipping-example-1.png

If these two items are added together:

Framed Portrait (£20) + Stickers (£1)

= Total Shipping will be £21

  Note

Ko-fi will take the item with the highest shipping price and add the ‘Price with others’ for any additional items added to the cart.

 

Example 2: Multiple items in a cart and more examples

multiple-examples-2.png

Cart A Cart B Cart C Cart D Cart E
Framed Portrait (£20) + Poster (£3)

= Total Shipping will be £23

We're here if you need us. Feel free to submit a request our way. 💌

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ko-fi take a fee on shipping?
No, Ko-fi doesn't charge you for shipping. Usually, payment processors also do not take a fee from shipping.
Can I combine shipping with other items?
Yes, you can, use the "Price with others" option. This would only apply to one transaction when the buyer adds items in the same cart from the same creator. Currently, you will be unable to combine shipping items that have been bought on separate occasions.
Do discounts apply to shipping?
Discounts do not apply to shipping. The discount is applied to the purchase price of the item or commission only.
Does Ko-fi print my shipping labels for me?
Ko-fi doesn't have a shipping label printing option, however you can use your CSV located in your Payment History to make the process of collating your shipping addresses easier.
Does Ko-fi plan to integrate shipping partners?
We have received a lot of feedback on this and hopefully, we can provide this in the future. 
Can I offer a pick-up option?
Currently, we do not have a feature that offers a pickup option.
Can I offer express shipping?
You are limited to only offering 1 shipping price, if you offer express, it will be express for that item listing.
Can I refund shipping costs only?
Currently, you cannot refund shipping costs on Ko-fi without refunding the whole transaction. You could offer partial refunds through the payment method the buyer chose e.g. PayPal or Stripe.
How do I know the buyer has received an item I have sent?
To be sure, use tracked shipping when sending items. Pick a courier which offers tracking. Be sure to add your tracking links to orders to keep your buyers informed. To learn more click here.