EZOZMost Shopify stores in Australia lose money on shipping in small, quiet ways: a guessed flat rate, a missing product weight, a box one size too big. These 12 tactics show you where the money leaks out and how to keep it, whether you send ten parcels a week or several hundred a day.
Your Shopify shipping costs in Australia come down to what you pay Australia Post and what you charge customers. If you're setting up shipping from scratch, start with our complete guide to Shopify shipping in Australia.
1. Move to an eParcel contract when your volume qualifies
Australia Post has two business options worth comparing here. MyPost Business is free, has no minimum volume and gives discounts in savings bands based on what you spend, which suits smaller senders. An eParcel contract is a contract account with negotiated rates. Australia Post says it's for businesses that send more than 2,000 domestic parcels a year, and it needs approval: you apply through Australia Post or your account manager.
Why it saves money: on a contract, your rates are negotiated around your business instead of coming from a spend band. Once you're past the volume threshold, get a quote and compare it with what you pay now, parcel for parcel.
Tip: contract rates are reviewed periodically. Before a review, pull a year of numbers from Shopify: parcels sent, typical weights and box sizes, where they go, and how many go by Express Post. Our guide to shipping with Australia Post eParcel on Shopify covers applying and connecting your account.
2. Charge what postage really costs, plus a markup
A single flat rate is easy to set up, but it's a guess. Customers with light parcels to nearby postcodes overpay and may leave the checkout; customers with heavy parcels to remote areas underpay, and the difference comes out of your margin.
The fix is to price shipping from your own rates. Shopify can show calculated rates at checkout from a carrier or an app ("carrier or app calculated"), so each customer sees a price for their actual parcel and postcode. Add a markup on top to cover packaging and handling: a percentage, a fixed amount, or both.
Why it saves money: you stop subsidising the expensive parcels and stop overcharging on the cheap ones, which costs you sales.
Tip: check your Shopify plan first. As of October 2026, an app's live rates at checkout need the Advanced plan or higher, or the Grow plan (formerly the "Shopify" plan) with yearly billing or with the feature added for a monthly fee. They're not available on Basic or Starter; there, build weight-based rates from your own rate card. EZOZ quotes live rates from your own eParcel contract, plus the markup you set. See how to show live Australia Post rates at Shopify checkout.
3. Get every product weight right in Shopify
Weight-based and calculated rates both work from the weights on your products. A product with no weight is treated as weighing nothing, so the customer gets a postage quote that's too low, and you pay the gap when you label it.
Why it saves money: correct weights mean the price at checkout matches the parcel you send. It's an easy leak to miss, because nothing looks wrong at checkout.
Tip: export your products (or open them in the bulk editor in your Shopify admin) and look for any with no weight. Fix those first, then weigh your best sellers as they're packed. Decide whether your weights include packaging and stick to it; if they don't, let your markup cover the box and filler. Check new products as they go live.
4. Right-size your boxes
A box that's bigger than the item costs more to buy, needs more filler and takes more room on the shelf and in the van. If your contract prices bulky parcels by size as well as weight (ask Australia Post how yours works), an oversized box can lift the postage on every parcel too.
Why it saves money: smaller packaging is cheaper packaging, and a small, light item that fits a prepaid satchel may not need a box at all (see tactic 5).
Tip: settle on a short list of standard box sizes (for example: small, medium, large and extra large) and give each product a size, so whoever packs reaches for the right box without thinking. Keep each product's size with the product, in a tag for instance, so the label gets the right box too.
5. Use prepaid satchels for small, light items
Australia Post prepaid satchels are bought ahead in set sizes and cost one price for anywhere in Australia. They take items up to 5 kg that fit the satchel, and each satchel has its own tracking barcode.
Why it saves money: a satchel's price doesn't change with distance, so a light item going to a remote postcode costs you the same as one going across town. Postage on small, light products becomes predictable and easy to price.
Tip: compare the satchel price with your contract price for the same item to a few typical destinations; the answer can differ by destination, so you may use both. Fulfil satchel orders in Shopify with the satchel's barcode as the tracking number, so Shopify sends the customer their tracking link. Our guide to prepaid satchels vs eParcel walks through the choice.
6. Merge orders going to the same address
When a customer places a second order before the first has shipped (they forgot something, or someone else in the house ordered too), shipping them separately means paying postage twice for one doorstep.
Why it saves money: one parcel means one label, one postage charge and one box instead of two.
Tip: label at set times each day rather than the moment each order lands, so a second order has a chance to join the first. Keep the combined parcel within the 22 kg limit for a single domestic parcel. In EZOZ, orders going to the same address can be merged into one parcel before you label.
7. Ask for a signature only when the order value calls for it
On eParcel, Parcel Post and Express Post can both be sent with or without signature on delivery. Without one, the parcel can be left safely under Authority to Leave. A signature needs someone there to sign, which is worth it on an expensive order and a hassle on a cheap one.
Why it saves money: on high-value orders, a signature gives you a record of delivery if the parcel is reported missing, so you're less likely to refund or re-send an order that did arrive. On low-value orders, leaving the parcel keeps delivery simple, and if your rate card prices signature differently, you stop paying for it where it isn't needed.
Tip: choose one order value above which a signature is required, and apply it every time rather than deciding parcel by parcel. EZOZ requires a signature automatically on orders above the value you set.
8. Set a free-shipping threshold that protects your margin
Customers like free shipping, but it's never free for you. In Shopify, free shipping is one of the rate types you can set and rates can depend on order price, so the threshold is a simple setting. Choosing the number is the real work.
Work it out from your own numbers. Here's an example with made-up figures:
- Say your average postage cost per order is $12 and your gross margin is 40%.
- An $80 order earns $32 in margin. Free shipping takes $12 of that, leaving $20.
- A $50 order earns $20. Free shipping takes more than half of it, leaving $8.
In this example, a threshold of $80 or more leaves a healthy share of margin on every qualifying order, while a $50 threshold gives away most of the margin on small orders. Use your real postage costs (tactic 12 shows where to find them) and your real margins.
Tip: check your heaviest products against the threshold. A threshold based on order value can still lose money on a heavy, low-priced item going a long way.
9. Keep checkout options few and clear
A long list of shipping options slows customers down and invites the wrong choice. Two domestic options usually cover it: a standard one and a fast one, which on Australia Post means Parcel Post and Express Post.
Why it saves money: every option you show is one you have to price correctly and ship as promised. Fewer options mean fewer "which one did I pick?" emails, fewer mismatched labels and less to review when rates change.
Tip: name services in words customers understand, such as "Standard delivery (Parcel Post)" and "Express delivery (Express Post)". Leave delivery promises out of the name unless you're sure you can keep them. If your rates come from an app, check that it lets you rename services.
10. Avoid paying twice: label once, manifest once
Every extra label is a chance to pay for a parcel twice, or at the wrong price. The usual causes are a wrong weight caught after printing, a label printed twice, or an order labelled and then cancelled.
Why it saves money: the weight and box size you enter when you label are what the parcel is declared at. Declare too much and you can pay for weight you didn't send; declare too little and the charge may be adjusted later (ask Australia Post how your contract handles that). A duplicate label that goes into a manifest can end up on your bill too.
Tip: check the weight and box before you print, not after. If a label is wrong, make sure it's cancelled and doesn't go into the day's manifest alongside its replacement. Then lodge one manifest a day: it lodges the day's labelled parcels, you print its summary for the driver or the counter, and you get one clean list to check against your bill.
11. Reduce failed deliveries and return costs
A parcel that can't be delivered costs you more than once: the first postage, the cost of sending it again, and the customer's patience.
Why it saves money: complete addresses and contact details mean fewer parcels come back and fewer need re-sending.
Tip: before labelling, look over addresses that seem incomplete, such as a street with no number or an apartment block with no unit, and email the customer when something's missing. Collect a phone number or email at checkout (check your checkout settings in your Shopify admin) and put it on the label where your setup allows, so there's a way to reach the customer if delivery runs into trouble.
Returns
A return label can be created on your Australia Post account and given to the customer. Issue one only after you've agreed to the return, rather than putting a label in every box, and attach it to the return in Shopify so the return, its label and the refund sit together and nobody gets two labels for one return. Check with Australia Post how return labels are charged on your contract.
12. Check your postage bill against what customers paid
Once a month, compare what Australia Post charged you with what customers paid for shipping on the same orders. It's how you find out whether the other 11 tactics are working.
Why it saves money: these leaks are hard to spot one order at a time. A month side by side shows the pattern: a wrong weight, an area you under-charge, free-shipping orders that cost more than expected.
Tip: fulfil every order with its tracking number, so the tracking number becomes your key for matching parcels on the bill to Shopify orders. A simple spreadsheet will do:
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Order number and tracking number | The link between Shopify and your bill |
| Shipping charged at checkout | What the customer paid |
| Postage on your bill | What you paid |
| Difference | Orders where you paid more than you charged |
| Products, weight and postcode | Why, so you can fix the setting behind it |
Sort by the difference and fix the causes at the top of the list. A few corrected weights or a small change to your markup can pay for the hour it takes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reduce shipping costs on Shopify?
Start with the settings that affect every parcel: correct product weights, rates based on what postage really costs plus a markup, and boxes that fit your products. Then close the smaller leaks, such as separate parcels to the same address and duplicate labels. A monthly check of your postage bill against what customers paid shows which fixes matter most.
Is eParcel cheaper than MyPost Business?
It depends on your volume and the rates you negotiate. MyPost Business is free, with no minimum volume and discounts in savings bands based on spend; eParcel is a contract with negotiated rates, which Australia Post says is for businesses sending more than 2,000 domestic parcels a year. If you're near that point, ask Australia Post for a quote and compare it with your current costs on your real parcel mix.
Should I offer free shipping in Australia?
Only where your margins can carry it. Free shipping above an order value, rather than on every order, lets you choose which orders absorb the postage. Work out your average postage cost and margin, set the threshold where qualifying orders still make money, and check your heaviest products against it.
Can an app show live Australia Post rates at checkout on the Basic plan?
No. As of October 2026, an app's live rates at checkout need the Advanced plan or higher, or the Grow plan with yearly billing or with the feature added for a monthly fee through Shopify Support. On Basic or Starter, use flat or weight-based rates built from your own rate card.