# Cheaper shipping for light orders in Shopify

To charge less for light orders, add the condition **Cart weight Is at most 500 g** and set your Standard rate to **Fixed Price** 4. Carts of 500 g or less pay $4 for Standard, and heavier carts pay your normal rates. Shopify's own [free shipping discount](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/free-shipping) has no weight condition and can only make shipping free, not set a price. [RM: Advanced Free Shipping](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping) checks the cart weight in g, kg, oz or lb at checkout and discounts the rates you already have, flat or carrier-calculated. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days, with a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

## What the customer gets

In this example the store sells socks at $12.50 a pair, each weighing 100 g. The rates are Standard $8.90 and Express $24.90.

- **Two pairs ($25, 200 g):** under 500 g, so the cart qualifies. Standard drops from $8.90 to $4. The customer pays $25 + $4 = $29. Express stays $24.90.
- **Five pairs ($62.50, 500 g):** exactly 500 g still qualifies, because the operator is **Is at most**. The customer pays $62.50 + $4 = $66.50.
- **A 1.2 kg hoodie order ($60):** over 500 g, so nothing changes. With Standard, the customer pays $60 + $8.90 = $68.90.

The weight is each product's weight in Shopify, times the quantity.

## Set it up

1. In the app, click **Create Shipping Discount**.
2. Under **Discount method**, choose **Automatic discount**. New discounts start on **Discount code**, and the method can't be changed later. Enter a **Title** such as "$4 shipping on small orders". Customers see it at checkout.
3. In **Conditions**, click **Add condition** and choose **Cart weight**. Set the operator to **Is at most**.
4. Leave the unit on **g** (grams), the default, and enter `500`.
5. In **Discount setup**, set **Delivery type** to **Shipping** and **Which rates** to **Choose specific rates**. Select Standard from the list.
6. Set **Discount value** to **Fixed Price** and enter `4`.
7. Click **Create discount**.

![Discount setup with Delivery type Shipping, Which rates set to Choose specific rates, the Standard rate selected, and Discount value Free](/images/specific-rates.png)

The screenshot shows **Free**. Choose **Fixed Price** in step 6 to set a price instead.

## How Fixed Price works

**Fixed Price** sets the rate to exactly the amount you enter, and only ever lowers it. In this example:

- Standard at $8.90 becomes $4.
- A carrier rate that comes back at $3.60 for a tiny parcel stays $3.60. Fixed Price never raises a rate.

With live [carrier-calculated rates](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/setup/shipping-rates/third-party-carrier-calculated-shipping), the price changes with weight and distance, so a $4 cap gives light orders a predictable price.

## Variations

- **Free shipping on light orders:** set **Discount value** to **Free**. Two pairs of socks cost $25 in total.
- **US units:** choose **lb** and enter `1` (about 454 g). Products weighed in grams or kilograms are converted to the unit you pick.
- **Light orders over $20 only:** add **Cart total Is at least 20** in the same rule group. Both must pass.
- **The cheapest rate instead of Standard by name:** set **Which rates** to **Cheapest shipping rate**. This works well with carrier rates whose names vary.
- **Light orders, or any cart over $100 free:** create a second discount with **Cart total Is at least 100** and **Free**. If a cart qualifies for both, Shopify gives the customer the one that saves the most.
- **$2 off instead of a set price:** use **Fixed Amount Off** `2`. Standard becomes $6.90.

## Good to know

- **To count every product, give every product a weight in Shopify.** Products with no weight count as 0, so a cart of unweighed items passes "Is at most 500 g".
- **To get the unit right,** pick it before you type the number. 500 g and 500 kg are very different carts.
- **To keep this in one country,** add **Shipping country Is one of** in the same rule group.
- **To make the cheapest rate work,** remove any $0 rate from **Settings → Shipping and delivery**. A $0 rate counts as the cheapest.
- **To test it,** turn on **Test mode** and check out with the shipping first name `ABC123`, with a cart just under and just over 500 g.

## Related

- [Free shipping by weight](/guides/free-shipping-by-weight.md)
- [Flat rate shipping over an amount](/guides/flat-rate-shipping-over-amount.md)
- [Cap the shipping cost](/guides/cap-shipping-cost.md)
- [Shipping discount types](/shipping-discount-types.md)

[Install RM: Advanced Free Shipping from the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping).