Create a custom shipping profile in Shopify
The general profile charges $8.00 for everything, but the rugs cost far more to ship. This tutorial creates an Oversized profile for the two rugs, with its own $15.00 rate and its own zones, while every other product stays in the general profile.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| New profile | Oversized |
| Products moved | 2: Wool Rug, Cotton Rug |
| Oversized rate | $15.00 flat |
| General profile rate | $8.00 flat |
| Mixed cart, rug + tee | $23.00 combined |
Download the products list: shipping-profile-products.csv (137 bytes).
A products list for the two profiles: 2 products in Oversized and 2 in General. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open Shipping and delivery
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery. The Shipping profiles section lists the general profile and any custom profiles.
2Click Add custom profile
In the Shipping profiles section, click Add custom profile. The profile form opens.
3Name the profile
In the Profile name field, enter Oversized. The name is for your team, not for customers, so make it plain.
4Add the products
In the Products section, click the arrow icon, select the Wool Rug and the Cotton Rug, and click Done. A product can sit in only one profile at a time, so the two rugs leave the general profile as soon as they join this one.
5Set the fulfilment locations
In the Fulfilment locations section, check the locations that ship the rugs: the Toronto warehouse here. The profile only ships from the locations you check.
6Add a zone and a rate
In the Shipping zones section, click Add zone, name it Canada, select Canada, and click Done. For the zone, click Add shipping option, set a $15.00 flat rate, and click Done.
7Click Save
Click Save. The rugs now ship at $15.00, and everything else still ships at $8.00 from the general profile.
The arithmetic
A mixed cart shows how the two profiles combine.
| Cart | General rate | Oversized rate | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tee only | $8.00 | — | $8.00 |
| Rug only | — | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| Rug + tee | $8.00 | $15.00 | $23.00 |
| Doc example: $55 order, two $5.00 rates | $5.00 | $5.00 | $10.00 |
$8.00 + $15.00 = $23.00 for the mixed cart, and the doc's own example is $5.00 + $5.00 = $10.00 on a $55.00 order with products from two profiles. Shopify adds the rates from each profile into one shipping price at checkout.
Held at the counter
A product can sit in only one profile. Adding the rugs to Oversized removes them from the general profile automatically. If a rug disappears from the general profile's rates, that is why, and it is meant to happen.
Mixed carts combine the rates. A cart with products from two profiles shows the sum of the two rates at checkout. A customer buying a rug and a tee sees $23.00, not $15.00, so the product page should say shipping is combined.
Staff need two permissions to touch profiles. A staff member or collaborator needs the Products and Manage settings permissions to work on shipping profiles. Without them, the profile settings do not open.
Sources
- Setting up and managing shipping profiles — Shopify's help pages: the add-a-custom-profile steps, the one-profile-per-product rule, the combined-rates warning, and the staff permissions note.
- Setting up shipping zones and rates — Shopify's help pages: the $5.00 plus $5.00 combined-rates example on a $55.00 order.