Quick Answer
Shopify does not have a built-in way to add extra product fees at checkout, such as eco-fees, credit card surcharges, or bottle deposits. Workarounds exist, but these methods usually lack fee transparency and can lead to customer confusion and non-compliance. The best way to apply product fees efficiently and clearly is by using an app like Magical Product Fees, which automates your fees, ensures compliance, and improves the checkout experience.
Detailed Answer
There are two ways to add product fees to a Shopify store: using an app or relying on Shopify’s limited native options. Apps like Magical Product Fees are the most efficient, flexible, and transparent solution, allowing merchants to manage fees separately from products and automate fee calculations.
Native Shopify workarounds exist but come with significant limitations. Merchants can adjust product prices to account for fees, adjust calculated shipping rates, or even create fee products that customers will add to their cart themselves, but none of these methods are good. They will likely result in customer confusion, manual work, or inaccurate fee applications, leading to a poor customer experience and risking non-compliance.
For most stores, using an app is the best solution because it ensures fees are applied correctly, automatically, and transparently at checkout.
Key Benefits of Using an App to Add Product Fees
- Save time by eliminating manual adjustments. Fees apply automatically based on product type, collection type, customer location, or order totals.
- Set fees in a way that fits your pricing model with options for fixed amounts or percentage-based fees.
- Improve transparency and compliance by listing fees as separate line items, helping customers understand their charges.
- Reduce confusion and ensure a smooth checkout by applying fees automatically without manual price adjustments.
Video Explainer
I made a 30-second video that explains how you can add fees to your store using an app, and why it’s almost always better than any native solutions that exist.
Supporting Answers
How to Add Product Fees Using an App
The best way to add product fees on Shopify is by using an app designed specifically for this purpose. Apps provide the easiest, most flexible, and most efficient way to manage fees, overcoming Shopify’s lack of native support and the limitations of workarounds.
With apps, product fees are handled independently from the products themselves or other areas like shipping rates. Instead of manually adding or adjusting fees product-by-product, businesses can define rules and conditions that automate fee management from a single, centralized location.
Several apps are available to help Shopify merchants add product fees, including:
- Magical Product Fees (Recommended) is the best option for most stores, this app makes it easy to add mandatory fees, deposit fees, handling fees, and more. It provides seamless automation and transparent fee management, ensuring compliance and customer trust.
- Order & Product Fees App allows merchants to add surcharges and order fees to increase sales and average order value (AOV).
- Canteen Product Fees & Deposit App is designed for charging mandatory fees for deposits, recycling, or setup fees.
Of these, Magical Product Fees is the top choice for most Shopify stores due to its ease of use, automation, and ability to handle a variety of fee types efficiently.
How to Add Product Fees Natively in Shopify
Many merchants want to know if there are ways to add fees natively within Shopify. Although options exist, they come with drawbacks:
- You could mark up or discount calculated shipping rates, but this method applies the fee as a flat rate to the entire cart, which doesn’t adapt to the number of items purchased and is insufficient for per-item fees like bottle deposits.
- You could add the fee into the cost of the product, but this approach lacks transparency, as customers won’t see a separate line item for the fee, potentially leading to confusion or mistrust.
- You could add the fee into product variants, but this can complicate inventory management and may confuse customers with multiple product options. This option would work if the product fee differs based on the product or quantity.
- You could add fee products and ask customers to manually add them, but this relies on customers following instructions, leading to inconsistent application of fees and a fragmented shopping experience.
After helping hundreds of stores get set up on Shopify, I’ve seen firsthand how janky setups like those listed above can lead to incorrect fee charges, non-compliance, and customer confusion. It’s best to use an app like Magical Product Fees to accurately charge fees and ensure compliance.
Real-Life Experiences
I’ve worked with hundreds of paint stores on Shopify who needed help setting up eco-fees for their paint products. Store owners always tell me that achieving compliance is an absolute must, as non-compliance can lead to devastating fines.
One store owner told me that they were willing to pay a developer thousands of dollars to build a custom solution, simply because they didn’t know an easier option existed! When I introduced them to Magical Product Fees, they were relieved to learn that an app could handle everything automatically with no custom development required. Adding fees is easy with an app!
-Kyle Godon, Shopify app expert
Key Takeaway
The best way to add product fees on Shopify is by using Magical Product Fees, which automates fee calculations and ensures transparency at checkout. While Shopify’s native features offer limited workarounds, an app provides a clear, automated, and compliant solution.
Make product fees easy and transparent. Try Magical Product Fees today!
Magical Product Fees
The Magical Product Fees app is a fast and easy way to build, customize, and attach fees to products or entire orders.