Shipping Guide
(V1… subject to change)
On the new GearSource Marketplace platform, sellers will have the opportunity to select from 5 (initially 4) unique methods for providing shipping cost information on orders. Depending on the method chosen, it may affect the seller fees you pay when the listing sells.
Free Shipping:
Offering Free Shipping means you will “include” shipping in your listing price, into whatever zones you choose. Zones can include various parts of USA, Canada, USA, Mexico, S America, Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. As an example, if you ONLY select the Zone Western USA, and include Free Shipping, this offer will not be available in other zones. However…you could have other shipping options available for those zones.
Zoned Shipping / Flat Rate:
The most interesting or unique of all (paid) shipping methods, once setup, is Zoned shipping. Zones allows the Seller to provide a flat rate shipping cost for each listing, within each zone, while also utilizing Classes for lowest costs. As an example, some of the Classes include: ”small box”, “large box”, “moving light case”, “medium pallet”, “standard pallet”, etc.
You can select the Class, and assign a Flat Rate cost for each of the zones you wish to ship into. As an example, let’s say you are based in Italy and select a Moving Light Cases, Projectors, Motors – full. Your shipper might already know that is around $250 to ship within Western Europe, or $350 into Eastern Europe. When a customer orders that item from Ukraine, they will automatically be charged $350 for shipping – per 2 lights in cases. When you receive the order, you will ship and will collect that Flat Rate you have already quoted. If the shipping is less, he made a profit. If it’s more, he obviously under-priced that Flat Rate item, and will need to adjust it for the future.
Selecting the right class is important. Freight companies will re-class something if it is classed incorrectly, and may bill you additional freight charges. Chances are, you’ll generally come close based on our simple descriptions.
Request Quote
The buyer creates an order and clicks “Request Shipping Quote” during the checkout process. The Seller will receive all Shipping Quote Requests both by email alert and in your Seller Dashboard, and you will simply fill in a shipping total and submit it. The buyer will be alerted and will proceed to complete and pay for the order, based on your quote. You will be responsible for shipping the item(s) and will be paid whatever amount you provided in the quote process. If it’s less, you win. If it’s more, you lose.
Automated (not available at launch)
Soon after our initial launch, our team will complete our automated shipping process. Here, you will add weight and dim’s to your listings. At the time an order is placed, our automated shipping plug-in will calculate a freight cost based on weight and dims plus, any add-ons or expediting the buyer has selected.
Concierge Logistics
GearSource Logistics team will handle all buyer inquiries, freight quotes, logistics, etc on behalf of the seller. This service will incur a higher seller fee, and will typically be used by folks who are unable to do shipping and logistics on their own, often end-users.