How do you set delivery fees for an online store in Algeria?
On Woven you set a delivery price for each wilaya: the customer sees their wilaya's price on the product page and in the cart, it's added once per store and copied onto the order. Start from your carrier's real rate, add the average cost of a return plus packaging, then decide whether to show it, absorb it into your prices, or both.
Updated
How Woven calculates the fee
Each store has its own delivery price for each of the 69 wilayas; a wilaya without a price is delivered free. At checkout, the price for the customer's wilaya is added to the item total, once per store whatever the number of items, and stored on the order: even if you change your prices tomorrow, past orders keep the amount from the day they were placed.
That amount is also what the courier collects on top of the items. Which is why it has to correspond to something real: it isn't a marketing argument, it's money changing hands in front of your customer.
Start from the right number
- Ask for the real rateFrom your carrier, for a parcel of your typical weight, to the door and to a pickup point if both exist.
- Add the cost of a returnDivide the return rate by how many parcels you deliver per refused one. If one in ten comes back, add a tenth of the return rate to every order.
- Add packagingBox, bag, tape, label. Small per parcel, visible over a month.
- Round upTo a round, readable figure. An odd number looks like an improvised calculation.
Three strategies, three outcomes
| Strategy | How it works | What it gets you | The risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee shown separately | Product price on one side, delivery added in the cart | Your product prices stay competitive and your margin is protected | The customer discovers the total late and drops out |
| Fee absorbed | Delivery set to zero, cost spread across prices | A clear pitch ("free delivery") and a cart that's easy to read | Item by item, your prices look dearer than the next seller's |
| Split | Part of the cost in the prices, the rest shown as delivery | A readable compromise that softens both downsides | Needs recalculating whenever the carrier's rate moves |
The classic mistake: "free" delivery that costs a fortune
Announcing free delivery without spreading its cost into your prices means selling at a loss on every small order. Do the maths before the announcement, never after: on a small basket the fee can exceed your entire margin.
Your fee changes your refusal rate
A customer who discovers an unexpected delivery amount refuses the parcel at the door far more easily. State the total from the first conversation, repeat it during the confirmation call, and you remove most of that refusal motive. The remaining causes are detailed in the returned-parcels guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge a different delivery price per wilaya?
Yes. In the Delivery section each wilaya has its own price; the customer sees their wilaya's price before ordering, and it's added once per store. A wilaya without a price is delivered free.
What happens if the customer orders from two sellers?
The delivery fee is counted once per store, since each seller ships their own parcel. So the customer sees as many delivery amounts as there are stores in their basket.
Should I set my fee to zero to sell more?
Only if you've spread the real cost into your product prices. Zero delivery is a pricing decision, not a gift: if the cost isn't funded somewhere, every order makes you poorer.
If I change my fee, do past orders change?
No. The amount is copied onto the order at the moment it's placed. Orders in flight keep the rate the customer was shown, which prevents any argument at delivery.