On Airgoods, you ship your own orders and choose how you charge for shipping. This article covers how retailers are charged, how you are paid, and which shipping rate option to choose.
How retailers are charged for shipping
Shown before checkout. Retailers see a shipping price before they place the order, and it is charged together with the order.
Locked once the order is placed. The price shown at checkout is the price the retailer pays. It isn't adjusted to the actual shipping cost after the order ships, even on Added after shipped. The only exception: if you enter a shipping cost of $0 and the retailer was charged for shipping, Airgoods removes that charge from the retailer's invoice.
Rate changes only affect new orders. You can change your rates at any time. Orders already placed keep the rates that applied when the retailer bought.
How you are paid for shipping
Your shipping payout is based on your own shipping rate and is included in your order payout.
Your rate type | What you receive for shipping |
Free shipping | $0. You cover the shipping cost. |
Order meets your free shipping threshold | $0. You cover the shipping cost for that order. |
Fixed rate per order | The fixed amount you set per order. |
Fixed rate per case | The amount you set, multiplied by the number of cases in the order. |
Percentage of subtotal | Your percentage of the order subtotal. |
Added after shipped | The actual shipping cost you enter when you mark the order as shipped. |
Shipping labels
Label bought through Airgoods: Airgoods pays the carrier up front, and the label cost is deducted from your payout.
Your own carrier or account (UPS, FedEx, Shopify, ShipStation, etc.): you pay the carrier directly and are paid the shipping amount from the table above.
Entering the shipping cost (Added after shipped)
Enter the actual cost when you add tracking and mark the order as Shipped. If you skip it, you won't be reimbursed for shipping on that order.
Leave carrier sales tax out of the amount.
You can't edit the cost once the order is marked shipped. Contact Airgoods support if it needs correcting.
On the Shopify integration, enter tracking and shipping cost in Airgoods yourself. They don't sync automatically.
Local delivery
Orders marked Local Delivery can't have a shipping cost, so no shipping is paid out for them.
Shipping rate options
Airgoods offers five ways to charge for shipping. We strongly recommend setting your rates upfront: retailers know exactly what they'll pay, can calculate their margin before ordering and reorder faster. Brands with upfront shipping rates get about 2x more orders.
Free shipping (most recommended): you cover shipping by absorbing it or building it into your wholesale prices. Free-shipping products get their own section on Airgoods, which usually gets the most retailer traffic.
Fixed rate per case: a fixed amount for every case in the cart. To stay competitive, aim for about 8–13% of product cost, or 10–15% of order value.
Fixed rate per order: one amount per order, however many cases. Works well when your orders are usually a similar size.
Percentage of subtotal: shipping scales up and down with order size.
Added after shipped (least recommended): the retailer sees an estimate at checkout, and you enter the actual cost after you ship.
How Added after shipped estimates work: the estimate retailers see is based mostly on the shipping costs you entered on past orders you fulfilled. If you enter costs above average, your estimates go up and retailers see higher shipping on your products, which means fewer orders. High shipping charges don't stay on one order. They follow your brand into every future estimate, so keep the costs you enter accurate and competitive.
Free shipping threshold
A free shipping threshold gives retailers free shipping once their order reaches a minimum subtotal. Below it, your normal rate applies. Retailers add more to the cart to unlock free shipping, so they get a better deal and you get larger orders.
Tip: set your threshold about $100 above your average order value. For example, if your typical order is $250, set free shipping at $350.
Where your rates apply
You can set a different rate option and amount:
By region: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest
By state: using a custom zone
By product: for items that cost more or less to ship
Make sure every state you sell to has a rate. If a state doesn't have one, retailers there can't see an upfront shipping price for your products.
Each zone uses one rate option at one amount, plus an optional free shipping threshold. Tiered rates such as "$5 under $100, $10 from $100–200" aren't supported. Use Percentage of subtotal to scale shipping with order value.
Related articles
SEO: how shipping works, shipping rates, shipping payout, shipping reimbursement, who pays shipping, free shipping, free shipping threshold, fixed rate per case, percentage of subtotal, added after shipped, shipping estimate, shipping labels, local delivery