Merchant Center Shipping
Shipping policy requirements
The time you print is the time you can keep.
The shipping policy tells shoppers what they will pay and when the order leaves. Merchant Center has its own shipping settings. Google compares them. A product page that says “2-day shipping” while the account says 15 to 25 days is a mismatch, whether or not you call it dropshipping.
Write the policy from the settings
- Countries you ship to, matching the countries in Merchant Center.
- Cost, including free-shipping thresholds, with the same numbers in the settings.
- Handling time plus transit time, as a range you can defend.
- Carriers, if you name them.
- What happens with split shipments.
Then open a product page and the cart. The figure the shopper sees before paying has to be possible under that policy. Surprises at the last step are a misrepresentation problem, not a copywriting problem.
Questions people ask
Should shipping be in the feed or in the account?
It can be either, or both. They must not contradict each other or the website.
Can handling time be zero?
Only if you ship the same day. A printed zero on a supplier that ships next week is a false promise.
Where do taxes fit?
Tax in the feed, the checkout and the account should describe the same charge. A price mismatch is sometimes a tax mismatch.
Google’s own pages