Support/Accepting Payments

How Automatic Shipping Calculation Works

4 min read · Updated June 2026

Don’t want to type a shipping charge on every order? Turn on automatic shipping calculation and Thryft Ship adds the right shipping cost for you, based on rules you set once.

TL;DR
  • You set the item and its price; Thryft Ship calculates the shipping charge.
  • Turn it on in Settings → Accept Payments → Payment Settings.
  • Choose flat rate, tiered, caps, domestic/international, or a free-shipping threshold.
  • Local pickup is automatically excluded — no shipping is ever added.
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Want it all handled for you?Let the Sales Assistant do the whole thing — it creates the order with the item and price, sends the customer their checkout link, and calculates the shipping automatically. Set up the Sales Assistant →

What automatic shipping does

It splits the work between you and Thryft Ship:

You handle

The product

You add the item(s) and set the item price(s) on the order.

Thryft Ship handles

The shipping

Thryft Ship adds the shipping charge automatically, following the rules you set.

How to turn on automatic shipping

  1. Open your payment settings

    Go to Settings, select Accept Payments, then open Payment Settings.

  2. Find the toggle and switch it on

    Scroll to Automatically calculate shipping and toggle it ON.

    The Automatically calculate shipping setting on the Thryft Ship Accept Payments page
  3. Set your rules

    Choose how shipping should be calculated — flat rate, tiered, a maximum cap, separate domestic/international rules, or a free-shipping threshold (all covered below).

Your rule options

Flat rate shipping

One set shipping price on every order — simple and predictable.

Tiered shipping (per item)

A base price plus a bit more for each additional item. For example, $6 base + $2 per additional item:

  • 1 item → $6 shipping
  • 2 items → $8 shipping
  • 3 items → $10 shipping

Maximum shipping cap

Set a ceiling so shipping never climbs past a number you choose — handy with tiered pricing on large orders.

Domestic vs. international

Set different rules for domestic and international orders, so each is charged appropriately.

Free shipping threshold

Offer free shipping once an order’s total passes an amount you set. It’s evaluated per checkout, not across separate orders:

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Free-shipping examples (threshold = $100) A single $100 checkout → free shipping triggers. But a $60 checkout, or two separate $50 checkouts, → free shipping does not trigger. The total has to clear the threshold in one checkout.
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Local pickup is automatically excluded For local pickup orders, no automatic shipping rules apply: no flat or tiered amount is calculated, the free-shipping threshold isn’t evaluated, and no shipping line item is added. Local pickup is never charged shipping.

Prefer to set shipping yourself?

You can always charge shipping manually instead — create an order, add your product(s) and price, and enter the shipping amount yourself. See How to Charge for Shipping and How the Shipping Line Item Works.

Common questions

Does automatic shipping charge local pickup orders?

No — local pickup is automatically skipped. No shipping rule runs and no shipping line item is added.

Can I still change shipping on a single order?

Yes — automatic shipping fills it in, but you can override the amount on any individual order before checkout.

Does the free-shipping threshold combine separate orders?

No. It’s checked per checkout, so two separate orders under the threshold won’t qualify even if they add up.

Want the full payments picture? See the complete Thryft Ship Payments guide.