What the Threshold Is Meant to Do
A free-shipping threshold serves two purposes at once. It is a delivery subsidy: once an order reaches the threshold, your store absorbs the eligible shipping cost instead of charging the customer. It is also a basket-building incentive: a shopper close to the threshold may add a battery, propeller set or other useful item rather than pay a shipping fee. The threshold should therefore be judged by the profit of the resulting delivered order, not by average order value alone.
The threshold is one way to price delivery. Each policy gives the customer a different incentive and gives you a different margin-control problem.
| Policy | Primary purpose | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Free shipping threshold | Subsidize delivery only above a basket target and encourage additions | Shipping cost is manageable for qualifying baskets and complementary items can lift order value |
| Flat-rate shipping | Offer one predictable customer charge | Orders have reasonably consistent shipping costs and simplicity matters more than basket growth |
| Calculated-rate shipping | Pass the estimated carrier cost to the customer by order details | Package size, destination or service level varies enough that one rate creates margin risk |
| Product-specific shipping | Match delivery pricing to an item's size, weight or handling needs | Drones, batteries or oversized bundles have materially different fulfilment costs |
Finding the Lowest Safe Threshold
Start with the contribution available from an order before free shipping. Use the merchandise subtotal, excluding GST/HST and other tax you remit. The calculation is: order value − product cost − payment fee − packaging cost − expected delivery cost. A threshold is safe only when the result meets your minimum acceptable contribution, not merely when it reaches zero.
For a store with product costs at 60% of order value, payment fees at 3%, packaging of $8, expected delivery of $28, and a required contribution of $100, solve the equation: order value × (1 − 0.60 − 0.03) − $8 − $28 = $100. That gives order value × 0.37 = $136, so the mathematical minimum is $367.57. Set the customer-facing threshold at $369 or $399, depending on your pricing structure and how much buffer you want.
Run the calculation using a weighted delivery cost, not the cheapest destination or service. If remote-region orders cost more, either include that mix in the expected cost or set a separate eligibility rule. Recalculate the threshold when product costs, carrier rates, payment fees or packaging change. The free product pricing calculator can help test the arithmetic, while product-level profitability reporting can show whether the threshold is being reached by orders that actually leave enough contribution.
- Lowest safe threshold = (expected delivery cost + packaging cost + required contribution) ÷ (1 − product-cost rate − payment-fee rate).
- Use a required contribution of $0 only to find break-even. Add the amount needed to cover overhead, returns risk or profit when setting the customer-facing threshold.
Worked example with sample numbers
This example is illustrative. It uses sample numbers for a drones store selling in Canada. They are made up to show the method, they are not a benchmark, and your own figures will differ.
Formula: Lowest safe basket = (delivery + packing + fixed fee) / (gross margin rate - percentage fee - minimum margin you will accept).
| Basket without tax | Margin before delivery | After absorbing delivery | Share of basket |
|---|---|---|---|
| C$149.99 | C$61.27 | C$52.01 | 34.7% |
| C$199.99 | C$81.82 | C$72.56 | 36.3% |
| C$299.99 | C$122.93 | C$113.67 | 37.9% |
| C$399.98 | C$164.04 | C$154.78 | 38.7% |
Run the same sum with your own numbers in the free calculator, or browse guides for sellers in Canada and more drones guides.
General information only: tax, duty and import rules change and depend on your situation, so check with an accountant or the official source before acting.
Eligible Shopify stores can see these numbers for their own store through the Founding 10,000 offer.
How to Read the Worked Threshold Example
Read the worked example as a set of assumptions, not as a universal Canadian threshold. First check the order value used: it should be the merchandise subtotal on which the offer is triggered, with remitted GST/HST kept separate. Then identify every cost deducted before the shipping decision, such as product cost, payment processing, packaging, pick-and-pack labour, advertising and the carrier charge. If a cost is omitted, the apparent contribution is overstated. If the calculation uses an average shipping cost, confirm that it reflects the provinces, parcel sizes and service levels your drone store actually serves.
The break-even point is the order value at which the contribution available before delivery equals the cost of providing free shipping. At that point, the order does not lose money under the stated assumptions, but it has no room for delivery-cost variation, discounts, refunds or other leakage. It is therefore a reference point, not the threshold to publish automatically.
Apply a margin buffer above break-even before testing the result in your store. The buffer should cover the uncertainty in freight quotes, oversized batteries or bundles, remote-area surcharges and the difference between estimated and realized costs. Recalculate using delivered orders and your own product costs, then test the threshold against product- and collection-level profitability. You can check the arithmetic with ORVX’s free pricing calculator, but the final threshold should reflect your actual order mix and shipping policy.
Items That Lift the Basket
Do not treat every add-on as equally useful for reaching the threshold. Measure incremental contribution: selling price minus product cost, payment fees, and the extra shipping or handling cost caused by adding the item. For illustration only, a $40 memory card with $18 product cost, $2 fees and $1 additional shipping contributes $19 before the order-level shipping subsidy.
Use the add-on that improves the basket without creating a larger fulfilment problem. A $60 case may add meaningful gross profit but increase parcel size; a spare battery may add value while increasing weight or handling requirements. A service add-on can have no parcel impact, but include labour or provider cost before counting its margin. Calculate each SKU with the free pricing calculator, then compare the result against the shipping cost it triggers.
| Add-on | Incremental margin focus | Shipping impact | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessories | Contribution after product cost and fees | Usually modest, SKU-dependent | The item solves a clear ownership need |
| Spare batteries | Higher selling value does not guarantee higher contribution | Check weight and handling cost | Customers need longer operating time |
| Propellers | Often useful only if unit margin remains positive | Typically low volume impact | Replacement or maintenance is relevant |
| Cases | Include bulky-packaging and dimensional costs | Can materially increase parcel cost | Protection justifies the added spend |
| Memory cards | Check low price against actual dollar contribution | Usually limited impact | Storage is compatible and useful |
| Service add-ons | Subtract labour or supplier cost | No parcel impact, but operational cost remains | The service can be delivered reliably |
What a threshold is meant to do
A free-shipping threshold is a merchandising control, not just a carrier-policy setting. Its job is to change which carts qualify without making every order more expensive to serve. That means the threshold should sit above the order value many customers would have reached anyway, but below a realistic next purchase for the products you sell. For a drone store, the next purchase might be spare batteries, propellers, filters or a carrying case, not an unrelated low-margin item added only to trigger free delivery.
Measure the policy against incremental behaviour, not average order value alone. If customers who previously paid for shipping now add a $35 accessory to qualify, compare the accessory's contribution with the shipping cost you absorb. If customers who already exceeded the threshold receive free shipping, that order may create no incremental basket benefit; it is simply a cost of the offer. Also separate new customers from repeat customers. A threshold that increases first-order baskets may still reduce repeat purchase frequency if shoppers delay smaller replenishment orders.
The right review window includes delivered revenue, returns and product-level margin. ORVX can show profitability by product and collection, contribution after advertising, and customer repeat behaviour, so you can see whether the threshold is moving profitable demand or merely shifting order timing. Use the free pricing calculator to test the unit economics before changing the offer.
Sources
- GST/HST provincial rates table (Canada Revenue Agency, checked 26 October 2026).
How this page was made: drafted with AI from a brief, then checked by automated rules for arithmetic, sources and duplication. The sample numbers were calculated, not reported.