The Shipping Settings page controls global shipping behavior for your store. These settings define how Miva handles situations where shipping methods are unavailable, how fallback shipping behaves, how subscriptions are handled, how handling charges are applied, and how packages are constructed for rate calculations.
Path: Settings > Shipping Settings > Settings
What’s Covered in This Document
This document describes the settings available on the Shipping Settings page and how they are used to configure shipping behavior in your store. The sections below cover:
1. Shipping Rules, including: Fallback Shipping options
2. Importing Shipping Method Rules via Data Management
3. Subscription Shipping Rules
4. Handling Charges, including: Handling Charges and Sales Tax
5. Packaging Rules, including: Box packing options, Fallback Package Dimensions (Needed for USPS Module)
Shipping Rules
When No Shipping Methods Are Available
These settings control how checkout behaves when live shipping rates cannot be retrieved or when no valid shipping methods are available.
1. Select a webpage from the drop-down for the Display an error message and redirect the shopper to page.
- Examples from the drop-down are: Checkout: Customer Information, Checkout: Shipping/Payment Selection, Checkout: Minimum Purchase Required
2. (Optional) Enable: Skip Shipping/Payment Selection for Free Orders
This situation may occur when:
Carrier servers are unavailable
No shipping modules or methods are enabled
Enabled shipping methods are not valid for the order
Fallback Shipping Options
Fallback Shipping defines how checkout continues when shipping methods cannot be determined. Without fallback shipping, checkout would stop with an error when no valid shipping methods are available.
Enabling a Fallback Shipping Method allows customers to complete their purchase even when live carrier rates or valid shipping methods are temporarily unavailable by presenting a fallback shipping option during checkout.
- Use Fallback Shipping Method: When enabled, Miva presents a fallback shipping option if no valid shipping methods are available.
- Disallow Fallback Shipping Method to P.O. Boxes: Prevents fallback shipping from being used for P.O. Box addresses.
Fallback Shipping Method Description
The text shown to customers during checkout when fallback shipping is used (for example, Estimated Shipping).
Fallback Shipping Method Price
Defines the cost of fallback shipping. Can be a fixed amount or a percentage
Note: Fallback shipping is commonly used alongside live carrier modules to prevent checkout errors when real-time rates fail.
Address Validation
Controls how customer addresses are validated during checkout.
Validate Addresses at Checkout
Validate Customer Addresses
These settings may interact with enabled carrier modules that support address validation.
Importing Shipping Method Rules
Shipping Method Rules can be imported using the Product Import feature in your Miva Admin..
How to Import Shipping Method Rules
Go to PATH: Settings > Shipping Settings > Shipping Method Rules.
Click the Show/Hide Columns menu and enable the Identifier column.
Go to Data Management > Export Products to Flat File and export your products.
Use the exported file to update Shipping Method Rules and import it using the Product Import feature.
The Identifier column contains the required shipping method code format and must be included in the export for Shipping Method Rules to import correctly.
For details on importing and exporting data in the Miva Admin, see the Data Import/ Export Documentation.
Subscription Shipping Rules
These settings control how shipping is handled for subscription products when shipping methods change or become invalid.
1. Ignore Shipping Method Restrictions: Allows subscriptions to bypass shipping method restrictions.
2. Invalid Shipping Method Handling
Choose how Miva responds when a subscription’s original shipping method is no longer available:
Show an error
Use the highest-priority available shipping method
Use the lowest-priced available shipping method
Force a specific shipping method (i.e. USPS Ground, USPS Priority)
Use the fallback shipping method
3. Automatically Update Subscription with Replacement Method: When enabled, Miva updates the subscription to use the replacement shipping method automatically when the original method is invalid.
Handling Charges
Handling Charges add an additional fee to orders based on configurable conditions.
Handling charges may be taxed depending on how they are displayed and your State Based Sales Tax configuration.
For details, see How Handling Charges Are Taxed at the end of this document.
Apply Handling Charge:
Never
Always
When order subtotal falls within a defined range
When quantity of items falls within a defined range
When total shipping weight falls within a defined range
Range (Inclusive)
Defines the applicable range for subtotal, quantity, or weight.
Handling Charge Amount
The handling fee amount.
Can be a Fixed value
Percentage of Shipping Amount
Percentage of Order Subtotal
Display
Controls how the handling charge appears during checkout:
Include in Shipping Rate
Separate Line Item
Separate Line Item Description
Text shown to customers if handling is displayed as a separate line item.
Separate Line Item Is Tax Exempt:
If Separate Line Item Is Tax Exempt is unchecked, the handling charge is subject to state sales tax
If checked, the handling charge is not taxed
Packaging Rules
Packaging Rules determine how products are grouped into packages for shipping calculations.
Box Packing:
Controls whether Miva uses defined boxes, Pack by Cubic Volume, Pack by Quantity, Pack by Weight, or Fallback Package Dimensions.
Fallback Package Dimensions
Used when box data is unavailable.
Dimensions are entered as Width × Length × Height
Important for USPS Module:
The USPS module requires valid package dimensions and weight to calculate shipping rates. Package dimensions must be greater than 0 × 0 × 0 inches, and package weight must be greater than 0.
Inventory Variant Handling
Defines how variant weights are calculated when packing:
Use master product weight
Use part weights as-is, ignoring variant weight
Adjust part weights evenly across variant parts
Adjust part weights proportionally across all variant parts
Weight Adjustment Options
Allow or restrict:
Allow Adjustments up
Allow Adjustments down
Allow Negative adjusted weights
Packaging rules directly affect carrier rate calculations and should align with configured boxes and product weights.
Handling Charges and Sales Tax
The following scenarios describe common tax outcomes for shipping and handling based on your Shipping Settings and State Based Sales Tax configuration.
- No state sales tax
- Sales tax just on order
- Sales tax on order and shipping
Tax shipping and handling together:
Shipping and handling are taxed as a single combined amount.
- States must apply sales tax. Go to the PATH: Settings > Store Settings > State Based Sales Tax tab. Make sure that you have states that apply sales tax and that "Tax Shipping" is selected.
- Go back to the PATH: Settings > Shipping Settings > Settings tab > Handling Charge section. Set Display to Include in Shipping Rate
Tax handling separately:
Handling is taxed as its own line item.
States must apply sales tax. Go to the PATH: Settings > Store Settings > State Based Sales Tax tab.
Go to the PATH: Shipping Settings > Handling Charges, set Display to Separate Line Item
Ensure Separate Line Item Is Tax Exempt is unchecked in Shipping Settings Handling Charges section.
Combine shipping and handling, but do not tax either:
Shipping and handling are combined but not taxed.
Disable Tax Shipping in State Based Sales Tax. Go to the PATH: Settings > Store Settings > State Based Sales Tax tab.
Go back to the PATH: Settings > Shipping Settings > Settings tab > Handling Charge section. Set Display to Include in Shipping Rate
Separate shipping and handling. Do not tax handling:
Handling is shown separately and excluded from tax.
States must apply sales tax. Go to the PATH: Settings > Store Settings > State Based Sales Tax tab.
Enable Separate Line Item Is Tax Exempt in Shipping Settings Handling Charges section