hello, i’m new to shopify and trying to set everything up and migrate from my big cartel store. right now i’m having difficulty setting up my shipping rates. i want to do a couple things:
set up shipping that increments with weight (like 0-14 g is a basic price and each additional 14 g or part thereof is an increase in price by the same amount)
set up shipping that varies by product type. for my stickers, i’d like to have an untracked option as the default, with the option of getting tracking, while other items have only tracked options
have different packaging for different order combinations. if an order contains only stickers, i’d like to use a regular envelope, while an order that contains any number of enamel pins should use a padded mailer.
any idea how to accomplish these things?
i don’t think shopify shipping is what i need, because i use my local postal service and they don’t offer buying labels online, and even if they did, i doubt it would be available on shopify. i would rather not use an app, and if i do i would prefer it to be free or at least very cheap.
“Shopify can handle weight-based rates and separate profiles (like stickers vs. other items), but it can’t do automatic packaging rules without an app. If you want to avoid apps, you’ll need to set weight brackets and create profiles for different product types, then handle packaging manually when fulfilling orders.”
Welcome to Shopify! Migrating from Big Cartel can feel like a lot at first, but you’re on the right track asking these questions. Here’s how you can approach each of your shipping needs:
Weight-based rates
You can create multiple shipping rates based on weight ranges in your Shipping and Delivery settings. For example:
0–14g → $X
15–28g → $X+
29–42g → $X++
And so on. Shopify doesn’t allow “auto increment by X every Y grams,” so you’ll need to set up each bracket manually.
Different shipping options by product type
To offer untracked for stickers but tracked for pins, you’ll need to separate them into different shipping profiles. In each profile, you can assign products and set the rates you want (e.g. “Sticker Shipping” with untracked + tracked options, and “Pins Shipping” with tracked only).
Different packaging for different orders
Shopify itself doesn’t choose packaging automatically based on product type—it’s mostly about the rates you set. A common workaround is:
Put stickers in their own profile with untracked rates (like an envelope).
Put pins in a separate profile with only tracked rates (like a padded mailer).
If a customer orders both, Shopify will combine the profiles and charge them for the highest applicable rate (ensuring the padded mailer is covered).
Since you’re not using Shopify Shipping or buying labels through Shopify, this setup is mostly about defining your rates clearly. It won’t auto-pick packaging for you, but you can still fulfill orders with the right envelope/padded mailer when packing.
Unfortunately, without an app there are some limits, but using shipping profiles + weight-based rules should get you very close to what you need without extra cost.
Shopify can support most of what you’re aiming for, but it might take a mix of built-in features and a few compromises if you want to avoid paid apps.
Weight-based shipping increments: You can use Shopify’s weight-based shipping rates inside shipping profiles. For example, set a rate for 0-14g, then another for 15-28g, and so on. You’ll just need to calculate and enter those brackets manually. Here’s Shopify’s official guide on understanding shipping rates that walks you through that setup.
Different shipping options per product type: You can create one profile for stickers (with both tracked and untracked options) and another for enamel pins (tracked only), and assign specific products to each profile. It gives you flexibility on both rates and methods. May check this one: Setting up shipping profiles.
Packaging logic based on order content: Shopify doesn’t automatically switch packaging types based on what’s in the order (unless you use a fulfillment or shipping app that supports that logic). But you can manually configure your default package sizes for different profiles to reflect how you usually ship those types of items.
If your local postal service doesn’t integrate with Shopify and you’re not planning to use Shopify Shipping to buy labels, you might just stick with manual fulfillment and send customers tracking info manually (if you offer it). No worries there, it’s more setup-heavy but still works.
Hope that helps get things clearer!
If it did, feel free to mark this as a solution so others can find it too
To set up shipping based on weight, you can do that by adjusting the shipping profile here: [screenshot]. This will allow you to set different shipping rates depending on the weight increments (e.g., 0-14g is a base price, with each additional 14g or part thereof increasing the price by the same amount).
As for setting up shipping based on product type, Shopify doesn’t currently support automatic product-type-based shipping profiles, so you’ll need to manually select the products for which you want to apply the shipping profile.
Please note, the answers provided by the two users above were generated by AI.
Let me know if you need further help with this setup!
