If you are planning to use Kickstarter’s Pledge Manager to coordinate the fulfillment of your project, we recommend waiting to charge shipping in your pledge manager. We make this easy by providing an option in the project editor to show a shipping cost estimate during your live campaign. You can then configure the final shipping amount through the pledge manager closer to fulfillment. This helps to ensure that the shipping cost is more accurate based on the final number of orders, as well as allow for any potential price changes from shipping providers.
The shipping cost estimate backers will see at checkout will be calculated based on the estimates associated with each reward in their pledge. For example: If a reward tier has an estimate of $10-20, and the backer adds 2 x add-ons with an estimate of $5-10 each, the total shipping cost estimate for that pledge will be $20-40.
No shipping fee will be collected from backers at the time of their initial pledge, nor included in their final pledge amount paid to you, and shipping costs won’t count towards your project’s goal.
For more information about the shipping options available when building your rewards, as well as which countries are included in the European Union shipping option, take a look at this article.
What options do I have to charge shipping in the pledge manager?
While your backers were shown an estimated shipping range at the time of their initial pledge, they will be charged the final shipping cost - set by you - when they complete your project’s pledge manager.
Using Kickstarter’s Pledge Manager, you will be prompted to provide the finalized shipping costs for each country, for every reward tier, and for each add-on. On the ‘Finalize shipping costs’ tab of the pledge manager, you can select from one of the two options for the shipping rule, these are:
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Weight-based shipping
- For this option, you’ll start by choosing which unit of measurement you plan to use. This can be either ‘Kilograms (kg)’ or ‘Ounces (oz)’
- Next, you’ll add your shipping zones and set the shipping rates for each. You can include as many weight ranges as needed for each shipping zone.
- For example, for France, you may decide that shipping rewards weighing between 1-2kg will cost $10, but if a reward weighs between 2-3kg, this will be $20.
- To allow for all possible order weights, we recommend leaving the upper weight limit blank on your highest range. For example:
- Range 1 = 1-2kg ($10)
- Range 2 = 2-3kg ($20)
- Range 3 = 3kg and up ($30)
- Note: Each range is for orders up to the higher weight. As such, using this example, a backer with an order that weighs 2kg will be charged $20.
- You then need to set a weight for each of your reward items. The set weight can have no more than 2 decimal places. Every item included in your pledge manager must either have a set weight or be checked as excluded.
- An excluded item might be a bonus item that you included within a reward tier, but that shouldn’t be factored into the total weight of a backer’s order.
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Flat rate shipping
- For this option, you’ll simply add the actual cost to ship to each of your shipping zones, for each of your reward tiers and add-ons.
- Shipping costs can easily be duplicated from other reward tiers and add-ons to save you from re-entering the same costs multiple times.
- You will also have the option to add new shipping destinations.
- For this option, you’ll simply add the actual cost to ship to each of your shipping zones, for each of your reward tiers and add-ons.
Make sure to create a shipping plan for your project, and think about how you will charge shipping on your rewards.
Tip: As you build out your rewards and set shipping cost estimates, note that an estimated shipping range for a precise country will always trump the cost of a region. For instance, if you offer a shipping rate estimate of $15-20 for the European Union, but only $10-15 for shipping to France, a backer based in France will be shown the $10-15 shipping rate estimate.