Product-specific shipping rates on Shopify (and fair rates for mixed carts)
Some products don’t fit your standard shipping rate: a sofa, a 20 kg bag of soil, a fragile mirror, or a product that ships from a different warehouse. If they use the same rate as a T-shirt, you lose money on every order.
Ways to target products
| Target | Example | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Product | “Oak dining table” | One-off exceptions |
| SKU | All SKUs starting with “XL-” | Variants with different sizes |
| Tag | Products tagged oversized |
Groups that change often |
| Collection | “Furniture” collection | Whole categories |
| Metafield | A shipping rate stored on each product | Many products, each with its own price |
Tags and collections are usually the easiest to maintain: tag a new product and it gets the right rate automatically.
What Shopify does on its own: shipping profiles
Shopify’s shipping profiles let you group products and give them their own zones and rates. For a few special products, that works well.
The problem is mixed carts. When a cart has products from more than one profile, Shopify combines the rates from each — typically adding them up. A shopper buying a chair (oversized profile) and a cushion (general profile) can end up paying two shipping charges.
Fair rates for mixed carts: rate blending
Rate blending combines the rates of different products in one cart into the single rate the shopper sees. Instead of “$40 + $6”, the cart gets one sensible rate based on what’s actually shipping.
Set up product rates with ShipEase
- Create a rate rule in ShipEase and choose the products — by product, SKU, tag or collection.
- Set the rate — flat, by weight, per item, or by cart total.
- On Pro, use metafield rates to read a rate stored on each product, and rate blending to handle mixed carts.
- Test on your real checkout with a mixed cart before going live.
What each plan includes:
- Free — product, SKU, tag and collection rules (1 live rate rule).
- Pro ($9.99/mo) — unlimited rate rules, metafield rates, rate blending, per-unit and dimensional rates.
Hide the wrong methods, too
Product rates set the price. You may also want to hide methods for some products — no air shipping for aerosols, no standard post for a 40 kg item. See how to hide, rename or reorder shipping methods.
Tips
- Tag instead of listing products. Lists go out of date; tags stay with the product.
- Check the cart, not just the product. Always test a mixed cart.
- For bulky items, consider size as well as weight — see weight and volumetric rates.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set a different shipping rate for one product on Shopify?
Create a custom shipping profile in Settings → Shipping and delivery, add the product and set its rates. Or use an app like ShipEase to set rates by product, SKU, tag or collection.
What happens with mixed carts in Shopify?
When a cart contains products from more than one shipping profile, Shopify combines the rates from each profile — usually adding them together — so the shopper may pay for shipping more than once.
What is rate blending?
Combining the shipping rates of different products in one cart into a single rate the shopper sees, rather than simply adding them up. ShipEase offers rate blending on Pro and Carrier.
Can I store a shipping rate on each product?
Yes. ShipEase Pro can read a rate from a product metafield, which is useful when many products each need their own price.