Questions about default packaging size and shipping rates?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

Merchants need accurate shipping based on box size and item count, but Shopify only allows a single default package at checkout, causing undercharges for medium/large boxes. Users want automatic box selection (e.g., 1–4 items box A, 5–7 box B) and per‑product packaging.

Shopify support suggested two workarounds: use a paid app (e.g., Boxify) or set default package weight to 0 and add packaging weight to products via the bulk editor. Support says the feature request is logged but provides no ETA.

Third‑party apps (not free) like PluginHive’s Multi Carrier Shipping Label can auto-pack by weight/dimensions, print labels, and track; trials (14–15 days) are mentioned, with prices cited by users around $9–$30/month. One user ships USPS Priority.

Other workarounds: create shipping profiles with added fees based on test rates to distant zones, inflate product weights to approximate dimensional charges, or use ShipStation (some report malfunctions).

Requested features include:

  • Per‑product package dimensions and weight
  • If/then rules (e.g., add packaging by product type)
  • Auto box selection and multi-box splitting for mixed carts

Status: Ongoing, no native solution as of 2023; several merchants consider switching platforms.

Summarized with AI on December 13. AI used: gpt-5.
105

It’s 2024 and this is still an issue 4 years later! It is ridiculous that you need an app to do this. Shopify provides a calculator to get the cost of shipping with dimensions and weight with Sendle. I was told by support that the calculator isn’t 100% accurate. Well it is a lot closer than the $20 dollar discrepancy on shipping for large and bulky items which was calculated with the default small box at checkout!
If I could just add a tag on a product for a shipping profile that automatically adds the product with the correct tag. Then I could just charge flat rates for different brackets of parcel sizes, but I can’t even do that. This functionality already exists in shopify collections, why can’t you just have collections for the shipping profiles?
If Sendle is Shopify’s preferred shipping partner, than support it correctly.

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