Understanding Shipping Rates in Different Situations

This article is intended to help sellers on TCGplayer understand how shipping rates are applied to orders in different situations. TCGplayer sellers have the ability to modify their shipping settings on the seller dashboard using the instructions located in the Shipping Settings help file.

Different shipping prices can be set for different product size categories. At TCGplayer, shipping costs are determined by the largest item in the order, rather than the overall order or package size. Please note, only Level 4 sellers can set any of their product size shipping rates to $0. Level 1-3 sellers can adjust their shipping prices, but the prices must fit the range for each product size on the Shipping Settings page.

There are a few situations that will override the shipping settings entered by a seller. For each situation, we will refer to three example sellers with different pricing set for small products on the Shipping Settings page in the seller dashboard:

• Seller A has their small product shipping price set to free ($0).
• Seller B has their small product shipping price set to 99¢.
• Seller C has their small product shipping price set to $1.49.

* Only Level 4 sellers have the option to set shipping to $0.

Please note: The examples provided refer specifically to small product shipping prices on the Shipping Settings page. The same conditions apply to product sizes that are medium or larger. It's crucial to consider both the total product value and the seller's defined shipping cost for the product size.

Situation 1: A customer places an order with products totaling less than $5 for the same seller

When a customer places an order with a product total of less than $5 ($4.99 and below), the shipping price is set based on the minimum shipping price set by TCGplayer unless sellers have their shipping price set higher than our minimum. The minimum shipping price for orders under $5 is $1.27.

If an order is under $5.00 (regardless of product size), then the buyer will be charged whichever is greater: the minimum shipping price or the seller defined shipping fee.

Let’s look at how this impacts the same order for our example sellers:

* Only Level 4 sellers have the option to set shipping to $0.

Situation 2: A customer places an order with products totaling $5 or more from the same seller

When a customer places an order of $5 or more, the shipping price is set based on the seller’s shipping settings for small products. TCGplayer’s minimum shipping price does not apply when customers are purchasing $5 or more in products from the same seller.

Let’s look at how this impacts the same order for our example sellers:

* Only Level 4 sellers have the option to set shipping to $0.

Examples of what a customer sees for shipping prices while shopping on TCGplayer

Please note, shipping prices displayed to customers will be automatically adjusted based on the total price of products they have for a specific seller in their cart.

If a customer’s cart is empty, all products they view that are under $5 will have $1.27 listed as the shipping price unless individual sellers have a small product price set higher than $1.27.

Below is an example of a product under $5 with the minimum $1.27 shipping price set by TCGplayer. This shipping price is displayed because the seller’s small product shipping price is less than $1.27.

Here is an example of a product under $5 with the seller’s small product shipping price displayed (because it is over the $1.27 minimum shipping price for orders under $5 set by TCGplayer).

If a customer has items in their cart from a seller, other products they view from the same seller will have the shipping price listed as “Included.” The final shipping price will be based on the largest product in the order, and for orders under $5 it will be the minimum shipping price or the seller’s small product shipping price, wherever is greater.

An example cart with a small product under $5 with the minimum shipping price of $1.27 applied.

With the above item in the cart, this is how additional products from the same seller are displayed in the marketplace. Shipping is listed as “Included” because the shipping price is already reflected in the cart.

If a customer were to add the item in the example above to their cart, the total in their cart for the selected seller would be over $5. When this happens, the $1.27 shipping minimum for orders under $5 no longer applies. The shipping price in the cart will change to match the price the seller has set for small products in their shipping settings instead, as seen in the example below:

Customers will also see a change in shipping pricing in situations where a seller has special pricing settings applied. An example of this would be “Free Shipping on Orders Over $5” on listings.

Below is an example of a product listing for a seller that offers Free Shipping on Orders Over $5. When the customer adds this product to their cart, they will be charged the minimum small package shipping price for orders under $5 because the seller’s small product shipping price is less than the minimum. However, when they add enough products to meet the $5 threshold, the shipping price will become free.

For example, the customer might add this card to their cart to exceed the $5 in product total for free shipping. The product is listed with Shipping: Included on the product page, but will update to free shipping in the cart based on the product total.

Once the customer has added enough products to equal or exceed $5 for this seller, their shipping price in the cart will be updated to reflect the Free Shipping on orders over $5.