How to Get Free Shipping at Zulily (What Actually Works in 2026)

Zulily no longer has a free shipping threshold, but there are still ways around it. Learn the daily unlock trick, the Friday-to-Sunday method, and how to find active promo codes before you shop.

Shipping fees are behind more than half of all online cart abandonments, according to one 2025 analysis. At Zulily, that frustration can feel even sharper because the shipping costs appear right before you complete checkout. But there are definitely ways to get around them. We track Zulily promo codes and deal patterns on our platform, so we know which methods actually work.

But first: yes, Zulily is still in business.

Is Zulily Still in Business?

Zulily shut down in December 2023 under its original ownership. If you searched for it back then and hit a dead end, that’s why. The brand relaunched in 2024 under new ownership and is currently operating from St. Paul, Minnesota. The site is live, orders are shipping, and the product catalog is back.

That’s important because a lot of the information floating around about Zulily shipping is outdated. Some guides still reference a $49.99 or $89 free shipping threshold. Both of those policies are gone. Zulily’s current shipping model is completely different, and we’ll walk you through it.

Zulily Shipping Policy: What Has Changed

Zulily no longer has a standard free shipping threshold. As of the current policy, shipping starts at $5.99 for a first item, with per-item fees added for additional items. The exact cost varies by item size, weight, and destination.

Standard delivery runs 3-14 business days. That’s a wide window, and it surprises a lot of first-time shoppers. Here’s why it happens: Zulily runs a flash-sale model. When you place an order during an event, Zulily waits until the sale closes, then places a bulk order with the brand. That bulk shipment comes into Zulily’s warehouse, gets processed, and then ships out to you. The process takes time, and 3-14 days is an honest estimate.

So why does anyone put up with it? Because Zulily’s prices on clothing, kids’ gear, and home goods are often well below what you’d find elsewhere. Shoppers in the know plan their purchases around items that aren’t urgent.

How to Get Free Shipping at Zulily

There isn’t an automatic free shipping threshold anymore, but you’ve got several reliable ways to avoid the fee.

The Daily Unlock: Best Free Shipping Method

Here’s how it works: place one order on any given day and pay the shipping fee on that order. Every additional order you place for the rest of that day ships free, until 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

This is the main free shipping strategy at Zulily right now. It rewards shoppers who browse multiple events in a single session. If you see three items you want from three different sales, add the least expensive one to a first order, pay shipping once, and then place two more orders the same day with no additional shipping charges.

What most guides miss is that this trick works especially well if you shop at Zulily on a day you already plan to buy multiple items. We’ve seen shoppers who use this to cover separate orders for kids’ clothing and home goods on the same afternoon. One shipping fee, multiple deliveries.

The Friday Trick: Free Shipping All Weekend

If you place an order on a Friday, that single paid shipment unlocks free shipping on all your additional orders through Sunday at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. It’s a two-and-a-half-day window rather than one day.

This is worth knowing before you casually shop mid-week. If you’re browsing Zulily on a Wednesday and you’re not in a rush, save your cart for Friday. You’ll get the entire weekend to shop with no shipping costs after your first order.

Use a Zulily Free Shipping Promo Code

Zulily occasionally puts out promo codes that cover shipping or offer a percentage off. These aren’t always available, but they pop up more often than people expect, particularly around major holidays and Zulily’s own promotional events.

The real challenge is knowing whether a code you found online is still valid. Most coupon aggregators don’t update their Zulily listings in real time, which means you can waste several minutes entering codes that are already expired. Our team tracks Zulily promo codes and marks them as active or expired as we verify them. It’s worth checking before you start adding items, so you know upfront whether a free shipping code is currently live.

Based on what we track across our deal database, Zulily free shipping codes are most common in the weeks around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Zulily’s birthday sale events.

Refer a Friend for $15 Credit

Zulily has a referral program that pays out $15 in credit after the person you referred places their first order. That credit can cover shipping fees on a future order. It’s a one-time perk per referral rather than an ongoing benefit, but if you have friends who might like Zulily’s flash-sale format, it’s an easy way to offset costs.

Zulily Shipping Costs at a Glance

Why Zulily Shipping Takes So Long

This comes up constantly in Zulily reviews, and it’s worth addressing directly. The 3-14 business day window isn’t slow logistics on Zulily’s part. It’s the business model.

Zulily runs time-limited sales events, often 72 hours or less. During the event, shoppers place orders. After the event closes, Zulily aggregates all the orders and places a single bulk purchase with the brand or supplier. That supplier then ships the full order to Zulily’s warehouse. Once received, Zulily picks and packs individual orders and ships them to customers.

That multi-step process is what causes the longer delivery window. The upside is that this bulk-buying approach lets Zulily negotiate lower prices than you’d find at a standard retailer. The trade-off is time. If you can plan ahead, the savings are real. If you need something in two days, Zulily isn’t the right store for that particular purchase.

How to Track Your Zulily Order

After placing an order, you’ll get a confirmation email with your order number. Log into your Zulily account and check “My Orders” to track shipment status. Zulily sends a shipping notification with tracking details once your package leaves their warehouse.

One practical note: for the first part of your delivery window, the order may show “processing” rather than a tracking number. That’s normal. It means Zulily is still in the supplier aggregation stage. Tracking typically activates once the item reaches Zulily’s warehouse and gets assigned to a carrier.

Other Ways to Save at Zulily

Shipping costs are just one part of saving money at Zulily. For a broader look at how free shipping works across retailers, our guide covers the main patterns. A few other approaches worth knowing:

Stack the daily unlock with a promo code. If you have an active discount code and you’re planning to place multiple orders the same day, apply the code to your first order and use the daily unlock for the rest. You get both the code discount and free shipping on subsequent orders.

Watch for flash sale timing. Zulily’s best deals tend to appear in the morning when new events launch, usually around 9 AM Pacific. Deals in popular categories like kids’ clothing and name-brand kitchenware sell out fast. Browsing early in the day gives you first access.

Compare with other flash-sale retailers. Zulily isn’t the only site running this model. If a specific item isn’t available or the deal isn’t compelling, sites like Wayfair run sales on overlapping home goods categories, and Target regularly offers free shipping on orders over $35. Our team regularly tests the deals mentioned here and we see Zulily’s discounts are deepest on branded apparel and children’s clothing specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Zulily still offer free shipping?

Not automatically. Zulily eliminated its free shipping threshold in March 2023. The current approach is to pay shipping on your first order of the day, which then unlocks free shipping on all additional orders until 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Orders placed on Fridays extend free shipping through Sunday.

What is the Zulily shipping trick?

The main trick is the daily unlock: place one order and pay shipping once, and every order you add the same day ships free. The Friday version extends this to the full weekend.

Is Zulily still in business?

Yes. Zulily shut down in December 2023, then relaunched in 2024 under new ownership. It is currently operating.

How long does Zulily take to ship?

Standard shipping is 3-14 business days. Expedited options are available at extra cost and can reduce this to 1-4 business days. The longer window is because Zulily aggregates orders from flash-sale events before placing a bulk purchase with suppliers.

Where does Zulily ship from?

Orders ship from Zulily’s US warehouse facility. The longer delivery times reflect the time needed for Zulily to receive your items from the supplier after the sale event closes.

Why is Zulily shipping so expensive?

Zulily’s $5.99+ base shipping is on the higher end for a retail site, which is why the free shipping strategies above matter. The company offsets shipping costs through lower product prices from its bulk-order model.

Sources

1. SellersCommerce: Shopping Cart Abandonment Statistics: Data on shipping-driven cart abandonment rates (2025)
2. RedStagFulfillment: Free Shipping Statistics: Consumer expectations for free shipping in online retail (2025)

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