Rate Shopper: Automate Selecting the Lowest Rate

For merchants in the US, Canada, Australia. and New Zealand, ShipStation can select the lowest-cost shipping service for your shipments with our Rate Shopper feature. With Rate Shopper, you pre-define which services you'd like ShipStation to compare, as well as define any delivery time or service requirements. When you select that Rate Shopper rule for a shipment (or group of shipments), ShipStation automatically applies the service with the lowest rate that fits your requirements.

You can use Rate Shopper manually on an order-by-order basis, or you can set up automation rules where every time an order imports, Rate Shopper will find you the best rate.

Some examples of different service rules you could create with Rate Shopper include:

  • Compare different carrier services that estimate delivery within 2 days

  • Compare different overnight or 1-day services

  • Compare different economy services

Once you've defined which services belong in each strategy, you either select the Rate Shopper rule when you configure a shipment manually or create an Automation Rule to do it for you. Once Rate Shopper is applied to a shipment, ShipStation compares the rates of each service defined in the rule, then assigns to the selected shipments the service with the lowest cost that meets your requirements.

To start using Rate Shopper, you'll first create a Rate Shopper rule (or multiple rules) in your ShipStation Shipping settings. You can then select the rule from the Service menu when configuring a shipment or create an Automation Rule to do it for you. Review the sections below to learn how to create and use Rate Shopper.

Requirements

  • 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 A US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand-based account. Rate Shopper is not yet available for accounts in other countries.

  • Rate Shopper is included with High Volume plans. For accounts on any other plan type, you must get Rate Shopper as an Add-on.

Create a Rate Shopper Rule

To create a lowest-cost-service rule for Rate Shopper:

  1. Go to Shipping and select Rate Shopper.

    Settings sidebar with Shipping section open and Rate Shopper section highlighted.
  2. Click the Create New button.

    This action will open the Rate Shopper pop-up.

    Box highlights Create New button on Rate Shopper page.
  3. Name the rule.

    This name will be what appears in the Services menu when you configure a shipment.

  4. Click Services to Compare to add services to your rule.

    New Rate Shopper popup. Box highlights Name field, Service to Compare dropdown.

    The Rate Shopper pop-up includes a "story" view to help you visualize your new rule as you build it.

  5. Edit the selection of services from the Services to Compare drop-down menu or by checking or unchecking the individual services you wish to add or remove.

    SET_Rate-Shopper-Services-to-Compare-select_MRK_.png
  6. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 For Australia and New Zealand-based accounts: Select your package type.

    SET_ShippingStratPU_Packagedropdown_MRK.png
  7. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 For Australia and New Zealand-based accounts: Select a confirmation type, if applicable to your selected service.

    SET_ShippingStratPU_confirmationdropdown_MRK.png
  8. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 For Australia and New Zealand-based accounts: Click Add another service to include more services in the comparison.

    SETTINGS__ShippingStrat__addanotherservice__PU.png

    The services you define here are the set of services ShipStation compares when you select this rule for a shipment.

  9. Optional: Set a Delivery Time.

    SET_Rate-Shopper_Delivery-Time_MRK.png

    When set, we only consider services that respond with an estimated delivery date. Some international services do not offer this estimate.

  10. Optional: Set your Preferences.

    Use the toggle to open the Preference section, then click Use this Service.

    SET_Rate-Shopper_Prefrences_MRK.png

    Within Rate Shopper, you can set up a preference that will override the otherwise selected rate IF your preferred service is more expensive by only a certain amount.

  11. Click Publish to complete setting up your Rate Shopper rule.

    SET_Rate-Shopper_Publish_MRK.png

Create as many different rules as you need. Be sure to give them descriptive names so you and your staff can easily identify which ruleto select for a shipment.

Edit a Rate Shopper Rule

Once you have published your rate shopper rule, you can click Edit to change the services and other details of the rule.

SET_Rate-Shopper_Edit_BTN_MRK.png

Custom and Standard Package Types in Rate Shopper

You can include a Custom Package type when you set up Rate Shopper automation rules. The following scenarios are possible with rates competing rates between Custom Packages and Standard Packages.

Custom Package-based rate wins in the Rate Shopper:

  • If a custom package-based rate wins, we will automatically use the dimensions from the Custom Package.

Standard Package-based rate wins in the Rate Shopper:.

  • If the Standard Package-based rate beats the custom package-based rate, we will use the dimensions that were entered in the Configure Shipment widget.

However, if you do not enter ANY dimensions in the Configure Shipment widget, by default, the winning rate will be the Custom Package-based rate. This rate wins because it has dimensions, and there are no dimensions to get a rate for the Standard Package type.

Using Rate Shopper

Once you have created a Rate Shopper rule, it will appear at the top of the Services menu drop-down. When you select a rule, ShipStation will compare the services you defined for that rule and apply the lowest rate to the shipment. The "winning" service will appear in the rate section of the shipment widget.

Boxes highlight Default service in configure shipment widget and the service rate.

You can manually apply a rule to any shipment either individually or in bulk. You can also automate this selection with an Automation Rule.

Manually Apply a Rate Shopper Rule

You apply a Rate Shopper rule the same way you apply a service. Select an order and click the Service drop-down menu. The rules appear at the top of the list and the rest of the available services below. Choose your desired rule.

Configure Shipment widget shows Rate shopper menu with rules you can manually set.

Apply Rate Shopper Rule in Bulk

To apply the same Rate Shopper rule to multiple shipments, select the desired orders and choose a rule from the Configure Shipment Widget or the Bulk Actions menu.

Bulk Update service selection menus, shows Rate Shopper rules

ShipStation will apply the chosen rule to all selected orders.

Automate Your Rate Shopper Rule Selection

Use Rate Shopper with Automation Rules

Rate Shopper rules can also be applied via Automation Rules. When you create an automation rule, select Set Rate Shopper from the Action Type drop-down menu, then select the Rate Shopper rule you want the Automation Rule to apply.

Delivery Time for Rate Shopper

The Delivery Time restricts eligible services to those that have a carrier delivery estimate within the specified time.

  • If the carrier gives us a range of delivery dates, ShipStation uses the later date to be conservative and give your package the best chance of getting to your customer on time.

  • If the carrier does not provide an estimate for delivery dates, then we do not include them as an eligible service for the shipment

How Rate Shopper Calculates the Delivery Time

Rate Shopper shipments use this formula to calculate the time for delivery to your end customer:

Delivery Time = Time in transit from the business day after the ship date.

The delivery time starts counting on the business day after the ship date.

  • By default, the ship date is set to be today. This means tomorrow will be day 1 when Rate Shopper runs on any order unless you have adjusted this ship date.

  • The delivery calculation includes business days only. Weekends are not included.

    For example, if you have a 2-business-day delivery window, and your ship date is on a Monday, we will choose the lowest-cost service that can estimate delivery before the end of the day on Wednesday.

Saturday Delivery Services

If you have included a service that can deliver on a Saturday in your shipping strategy, and have also enabled a delivery time, the Saturday service will simply be included with the services that can deliver by Monday because the delivery time is based on business days.

For example, if you have a 2-day delivery time, and your ship date is on a Thursday, we will choose the lowest cost service that can estimate delivery between Friday-Monday.

Defaults for Rate Shopper

ShipStation's Rate Shopper defaults conveniently include the most-used services from ShipStation Carriers.

You cannot edit or delete these defaults. However, you are not required to use them. Instead, you can duplicate a default as a starting point and then include other services.

You can hide a Rate Shopper default from the service drop-down menus across ShipStation by setting the Available toggle found on the top corner of each Rate Shopper rule on the Rate Shopper settings page to the inactive state.

SET_Rate-Shopper_Available_BTN_MRK.png

Rate Shopper Service Preference

Within Rate Shopper, you can set up a Service Preference that will override the otherwise selected rate IF your preferred service is only a certain amount more expensive.

  • Service Preference is a "less-than" calculation. It does not include the exact price set. It will only include prices that are at least 1 penny cheaper.

    For example, if you have set your service preference to choose UPS Ground if the rate is within 1 dollar of the cheapest, it would select UPS Ground® if it were up to $0.99 more expensive than the cheapest rate.

  • The Rate Shopper pop-up will show the configuration as well as a "story" visualization of the preference.

Notes about Rate Shopper

  • Rate Shopper is currently only available to US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand-based accounts. It is included for accounts on a High Volume plan or as an add-on for accounts on any other plan.

    Merchants in other countries will be able to use this feature soon!

  • Rate Shopper is not available in the ShipStation Legacy layout.

  • Rate Shopper only compares services. It does not compare different package types.

  • You can view the Rate Shopper strategy, carrier, and service selected for a shipment in the Orders grid. Make sure you have enabled those columns in your Orders grid view.

    Orders grid showing the Rate Shopper, Carrier, and Services columns
  • Bulk updates to package type and confirmation type will not apply to orders with Rate Shopper.