How do I add item dimensions?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A merchant is trying to ship products in multiple box sizes (4 different dimensions) but cannot find where to enter item-specific dimensions in Shopify’s shipping settings.

Current Limitation:

  • Shopify’s native shipping only supports one default package size for the entire store
  • Shipping rates at checkout calculate based on weight only, not individual item dimensions

Suggested Workarounds:

  • Adjust product weights using volumetric weight (whichever is higher between actual and volumetric) to approximate more accurate rates
  • Use a third-party app like Multi Carrier Shipping Label to select appropriate box sizes when printing labels and adjust dimensions/weight for accurate costs

Status: The issue remains unresolved within Shopify’s native features—assigning different box dimensions to individual products requires a paid app subscription.

Summarized with AI on November 9. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

On the shipping settings page, it says “Rates shown at checkout are based on your customer’s address and the order’s weight and dimensions”, but I see nowhere to enter my item’s dimensions. How do I ship items of different dimensions with Shopify without using an app with a monthly fee?

The displayed shipping cost at checkout only calculates based on weight, not size.

1 Like
2

Hi, @pokupoku !

Thanks for posting in the Shopify Community. I’m happy to provide more context here!

Shipping rates are calculated based on the weight of the product (you can find the steps to edit a product’s weight here) as well as the package dimensions. You can select a store default package that will be used to calculate shipping rates at checkout, when using weight-based or carrier-calculated rates.

I recommend checking out this help document which goes into further detail about packages and shipment weights.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

3

I sell more than one product. Shipping costs need to be calculated by package size of each item. The idea that most businesses just have 1 box size they ship out all their products with is insane. I have 4 boxes sizes, and I need to be able to assign the box sizes to each of the items so the shipping is correctly calculated.

1 Like
4

Hello @pokupoku ,

Shopify Shipping supports only one box. Therefore, you may adjust the product weight based on the actual weight or volumetric weight, whichever is higher. This way, you can get approximate rates at checkout that are closer to the accurate rates. When you print the label, adjust the weight and dimensions for accurate shipping costs.

If this doesn’t work, and you would like to choose the best boxes from the four available, then you need an app like the PH Multi Carrier Shipping Label app.