What Happens When a Buyer Places an Order
When a B2B buyer clicks Place Order on the Quick Order page, BulklyCart performs a series of carefully orchestrated steps to calculate the correct wholesale pricing, apply volume discounts, determine shipping costs, and submit the order to Shopify. Understanding this process helps you troubleshoot pricing questions and verify that your buyers are getting the correct discounts.
Step-by-Step Order Processing
Here's exactly what happens behind the scenes when an order is placed:
Step 1: Wholesale Pricing Applied
For each line item in the order, BulklyCart evaluates all active wholesale pricing rules that apply to the buyer. The system considers the buyer's customer group, the specific product and variant, and any scheduling constraints. The best applicable wholesale price is selected for each item.
Step 2: Volume Tiers Evaluated
Next, the system checks for active volume pricing rules. Depending on the mix method configured for each rule, quantities are aggregated differently:
- Same Variant: Only quantities of the exact same variant are counted. Buying 5 Red T-Shirts and 5 Blue T-Shirts means each variant is evaluated separately against the tier thresholds.
- Mix Variants: Quantities of all variants of the same product are combined. Those 5 Red and 5 Blue T-Shirts total 10 units, potentially unlocking a higher discount tier.
- Mix Products: Quantities across all qualifying products in the order are combined. If your volume rule covers an entire collection, buying 5 T-Shirts and 5 Hoodies totals 10 units together.
Step 3: Best Combined Discount Applied
BulklyCart compares the wholesale discount and the volume tier discount for each line item and applies the best combined discount — whichever results in the lowest price for the buyer. This ensures your customers always get the best deal based on your configured rules.
Step 4: Shipping Rate Resolved
The system matches the buyer's shipping address country against your configured Shipping Zones. Once a matching zone is found, the appropriate rate is calculated based on the rate type:
- Flat Rate: A fixed shipping charge is applied. If you've set a free shipping threshold and the order meets it, shipping is free.
- Tiered Quantity Rate: The shipping cost is determined by the total item count in the order.
- Weight-Based Rate: The shipping cost is calculated from the total order weight.
Step 5: Order Created in Shopify
Finally, BulklyCart creates a Order in your Shopify store using the Shopify GraphQL Admin API. Perfect for B2B scenarios where invoicing and payment terms are common.
What's Included in the Order
The order sent to Shopify contains all the information needed to process the wholesale transaction:
- Variant IDs and Quantities: Each line item includes the exact Shopify variant identifier and the quantity ordered.
- Per-Line-Item Discounts: Wholesale and volume discounts are applied individually to each line item, ensuring accurate pricing at the line level.
- Customer ID: The draft order is assigned to the buyer's Shopify customer profile, linking it to their account.
- Automatic Tags: Every wholesale order is automatically tagged with
wholesale-orderandbulklycart. These tags make it easy to filter and identify B2B orders in your Shopify admin. - Shipping Address and Method: The buyer's selected shipping address and chosen shipping method are included.
- Payment Method: The selected payment method is recorded with the order.
Order Confirmation Page
After the order is successfully placed, the buyer is shown an Order Confirmation page with a complete summary of their purchase:
What the Confirmation Page Shows
- Line Items Summary: A table listing every product, variant, quantity, unit price, and line total.
- Volume Pricing Savings: When volume discounts were applied, a savings line shows the total amount saved through bulk purchasing.
- Payment Instructions Card: A dedicated card displaying the payment method and any specific instructions (e.g., bank transfer details, payment terms). This information is retrieved from the local order record.
- Shipping Details: The delivery address and selected shipping method with the calculated cost.
Payment Terms
If the buyer's customer group has specific payment terms configured (such as Net 30 or Due on Receipt), those terms are automatically assigned to the draft order. This ensures consistent payment expectations across all orders from that customer group.