Shipping, Tax & International Markets

Overview

Getting orders to customers — and charging the right tax — depends on solid shipping and tax setup. StretchShop lets you define shipping zones and rates, delivery methods, packages, and pickup locations; configure tax rates, regions, and overrides; and sell into multiple markets with country-based pricing. This guide covers each.

Shipping zones and rates

Zones are the geographies you ship to; rates are what you charge within them.

1. Open Shipping > Zones and click New zone; name it and list the countries (two-letter codes) and, if needed, regions it covers.
2. Open the zone and add rates. A rate can be a flat rate (cents), can require a minimum subtotal (for free-shipping-over-X), and can add a per-item amount.
3. Save. At checkout, StretchShop matches the buyer's address to a zone and offers that zone's applicable rates.

Delivery methods, packages, and pickup

• Delivery methods distinguish options like standard vs. express so buyers can choose a speed.
• Packages describe the boxes/envelopes you ship in, which supports accurate rate and label workflows.
• Pickup locations let buyers collect orders in person instead of shipping.
• Use Calculate rates to preview what a given address and cart would be charged before checkout.

Tax

StretchShop computes tax at checkout based on your configuration.

1. Open Tax > Rates and add a rate: the country (and region if applicable), the rate in basis points (rate_bps — for example 1300 = 13%), a name, and flags for whether it's inclusive and whether it applies to shipping.
2. Use Tax regions to organize where rates apply.
3. Use Tax overrides for exceptions — products or categories taxed differently from the default (for example zero-rated goods).

At checkout, StretchShop applies the matching tax to the order; if no jurisdiction matches, the order reflects that no tax was applied.

International markets

Markets let you sell across countries with appropriate pricing.

1. Open Markets and create a market for a country or group of countries.
2. Use Resolve to see which market a given country maps to.
3. Use Market price to get the price a variant should show for a market/country, so international buyers see suitable pricing.

A realistic example

You ship across Canada and to the US. You create a Canada zone with a Standard $8.00 rate and free shipping over 10000 ($100.00), and a US zone with a $15.00 rate. You add a 13% tax rate for Ontario (rate_bps 1300, applies to shipping) and a tax override zero-rating a specific product. You add a US market so American buyers see USD-appropriate pricing. A Toronto buyer spending $120 gets free shipping and 13% tax; a New York buyer gets the $15 US rate and no Canadian tax.

Tips

• Use minimum subtotal on a rate to offer "free shipping over $X" without a separate discount.
• Enter tax as basis points (1300 = 13%) — double-check the scale so you don't charge 0.13% or 1300%.
• Decide inclusive vs. exclusive tax up front to match your market's expectations.
• Use Calculate rates to sanity-check shipping before customers ever see it.

Troubleshooting

• "Shipping rate not applicable" — the selected rate's zone doesn't include the buyer's address; refetch rates for that address.
• No rates offered — the address falls outside every zone; add a zone covering that country/region.
• Tax looks wrong — check the rate's basis points, region match, and the applies-to-shipping flag; look for a tax override on the product.
• International price looks off — confirm the country resolves to the intended market and that market pricing is set.