How Abode Haven scaled to A$200K months with ShipX

Abode Haven went from $10-20K AUD months to $200K AUD months, with ~99% of orders in its biggest months priced by ShipX. Abode Haven charges for every order by postcode and weight, so a heavy buffet going interstate and a light set of chairs going across town each get the right shipping rate at checkout.

The challenge

Native Shopify shipping priced Abode Haven’s orders by state, not by postcode, and that put the wrong price on bulky freight. The team ran native rates before switching, and for furniture, they didn’t hold up.

• Distance inside a state wasn’t priced in. Shopify’s shipping zones go down to the state or territory. A delivery across Sydney and a delivery to regional NSW got the same rate, even though the freight cost is very different.
• Each product’s weight mattered at each destination. Native rates can tier by the order’s total weight. Abode Haven needed a 20 kg stack of chairs and a 120 kg buffet to carry their own rates, and those rates had to change again by region. Across a large catalogue, that wasn’t workable with native zones and profiles.
• Every wrong price costs money. Overcharged customers didn’t buy. Undercharged orders ate the margin. The team kept refunding orders and handing out discounts to fix shipping mistakes.

“If we were to try and use Shopify’s native shipping, we would be overcharging constantly, over- and undercharging. We just couldn’t sell.”
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven

The solution

ShipX was one of the first shipping apps James tried. The ShipX team offered a call to walk him through the setup, and Abode Haven has run on ShipX ever since.

“ShipX was immediately like, 'We can hop on a call; we can show you how it works.' Once I saw that, I just didn’t look back.”
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven 

Abode Haven now runs 50+ rules in ShipX. Together they work on three levels:

1. Rates by postcode. Different regions and towns across Australia get different prices based on their postcode, so long-distance orders pay what they actually cost to ship.
2. Rates by product and weight. Product tags, product weight, and order total set the rate for each item, so a light chair set and a heavy buffet are priced on their own terms.
3. One total at checkout. When a cart matches more than one rule, ShipX combines the rates and shows the customer a single shipping price.

“It gave us the granularity to be able to do that, and also by weight. It means I can charge on a 20 kilo stack of chairs a certain amount, and then on a 120 kilo buffet charge a different amount for the same postcode."
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven 

Support that does the work with you

James rates ShipX support as the biggest win. Over three years, he has worked with several team members on calls, and they have often made setup changes for him directly.

“The biggest thing that I’ve found with ShipX that has always been great has been the support. The support team has done stuff for me and just been like, yeah, I can sort this out for you. It saves me so much time.”
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven

The results

Abode Haven grew from $10-20K AUD months to $200K AUD months on ShipX, and the shipping setup held at 10x the volume.

• $10–20K AUD months, before ShipX and in its early months on the app.
• Two to three $200K AUD months since, with ~99% of those orders priced by ShipX rates at checkout.
• No more refunds and discounts to fix wrong shipping charges.

"We've had two or three 200 grand months, with the vast majority of that, like 99% of those orders, run through ShipX. We couldn't scale to that level without the ShipX app."
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven

For James, ShipX is part of the core of the business, not an add-on.

"It's essentially an essential part of our entire business. All our revenue has to run through ShipX at some point."
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven

James’s advice: Do you need a shipping app?

If you sell a few small products, native Shopify shipping may be enough. If you sell bulky items or have a large catalogue, you need a third-party shipping app.

• Bulky or heavy products: a must, especially in Australia
• Large catalogues: many products with very different shipping costs
• Precise pricing: you want to charge by postcode, area, or weight

"If you have any bulky freight or large catalogues, it's a must. ShipX is the best one I've ever come across. I downloaded it once and never looked back."
~ James Murphy, MD, Abode Haven

Before you install: what you’ll need

ShipX shows its rates at checkout through Shopify’s third-party calculated shipping.

Check if your Shopify plan includes it first:

• Advanced or Plus: Included.
• Grow plan: Add it for a monthly fee, or switch to yearly billing
• Basic or Starter: Not available; you can still hide, show, and rename Shopify native shipping rates

Not sure which you’re on? Book a call, and we’ll check it with you before you set anything up.