Want to enable worldwide shipping and ensure your customers are covering the cost of postage at checkout? Let us show you how it works.
Expected time to complete: 15 mins.
Be aware that you don't have to mimic Inkthreadables' shipping costs exactly on your BigCartel store, but we recommend it to make sure your customers cover the cost of postage.
Step 1 - Choose Your Preferred Shipping Method for UK Orders 🇬🇧
After linking your BigCartel store with Inkthreadable, you'll have access to new settings at the following link: https://www.inkthreadable.co.uk/bigcartel
Those settings can also be accessed later by heading to Profile > Integrations > BigCartel Settings.
Within the settings, you can choose between our two shipping methods for the UK:
Recorded 24 hours (Royal Mail 24 Tracked, starts at £2.76)
Recorded 48 hours (Royal Mail 48 Tracked, starts at £2.12)
Once you've selected your preferred option, click Update.
In the following example, we've selected "Recorded 24", meaning our UK orders will automatically be shipped with Royal Mail 24 Tracked.
On the settings page, you can also select the brand that will be used for your BigCartel orders.
If you don't have a brand saved already, create a profile now and unlock custom packing slips, printed neck labels, and more!
BigCartel International Shipping Methods 💡
International orders received via your BigCartel integration will automatically be shipped using our default services for each location; they are as follows:
Shipping Location | Shipping Method |
Europe | Europe Tracked (starting from £5.82) |
USA | USPS (starting from £7.08) |
Canada | International Tracked (starting from £7.92) |
Australia | International Tracked (starting from £9.67) |
Rest of the World | Royal Mail Regular (starting from £6.67) |
All orders weighing above 700g / 0.7kg will be received on DPD courier services instead.
How does BigCartel calculate shipping costs? 📦
BigCartel has various ways of calculating shipping costs, and we'll be using one of those methods to set a default shipping profile that will be applied to everything you sell.
It's not currently possible to use weight-based shipping on BigCartel, and the cost will be calculated based on how many products you sell in an order, not how heavy the package is.
Due to this, your shipping costs may vary depending on the product types that you're selling.
We'll provide the shipping cost breakdown for three kinds of products: t-shirts (weight: 100g), hoodies/sweatshirts (weight: 200g), and mugs (weight: 150g).
You should follow the costs for the product type you expect to sell the most of, and this will be correct for the majority of your orders.
This guide covers products shipped from Inkthreadable. If you also sell non-Inkthreadable products, like cards or books you will ship yourself, you can also set up a Product Specific shipping profile to work out the cost of those items separately.
Step 2 - Create a Default Shipping Profile in BigCartel 📦
We need to match the shipping costs in your BigCartel store to make sure your buyers cover the cost of postage.
In BigCartel, click Account, then scroll to 'Shipping profiles beta'.
Click 'Edit your shipping'.
You'll be presented with a few options for shipping profiles.
We recommend you use the shipping profiles beta to enable the most accurate shipping costs. Click the toggle to switch this on:
Then, click 'Set up default shipping rates'.
The next step you follow will be determined by the type of products you're selling.
That's because the additional cost per item will be different depending on the size and weight of the item.
Selling art prints or another product type? Follow the costs for t-shirts/100g products.
Create 100g Shipping Profile (T-shirts)
UK Rates 🇬🇧
The price you apply to UK parcels will depend on whether you selected 24 hours or 48 hours in the BigCartel integration settings in the first step.
From your new BigCartel shipping profile, select 'Country or zone': United Kingdom.
Select the first shipping method 'Standard (with tracking)', then update:
T-shirts with Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Name: Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Description: Approx. delivery 1 - 2 days
First item: £2.76
Each additional item: £1.59
Click 'Done'.
Delete any other shipping methods under the United Kingdom zone, then click "Save".
International Rates 🌍
The next step is to set up your shipping methods for the European Union.
Under Default shipping rates, click 'Set up default shipping rates'.
Select European Union in the Country or zone dropdown.
Then, edit the first shipping method to the following information, and delete the remaining methods.
European Union 🇪🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £5.82
Additional item: £2.95
Once you're done, it should look something like this:
Click Save.
Now, we will follow the same process for the remaining areas of the world.
Add a new shipping method for each area below, making sure to delete any other shipping methods for those zones:
European non-EU
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £5.82
Additional item: £2.95
United States 🇺🇸
Name: USPS Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 3 - 5 business days
First item: £7.08
Additional item: £4.53
Australia 🇦🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £9.67
Additional item: £7.08
Canada 🇨🇦
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £7.92
Additional item: £3.60
Everywhere else 🌍
Name: Royal Mail International
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £6.67
Additional item: £6.53
Once those rates are set up, you're all done and ready to start accepting orders!
If you want to be sure you've set it all up right, test your checkout.
Create 150g Shipping Profile (Mugs)
If you're not selling t-shirts and you're selling mugs instead, follow the costs in this step.
Mugs cost more to ship than t-shirts due to their weight.
UK Rates 🇬🇧
The price you apply to UK parcels will depend on whether you selected 24 hours or 48 hours in the BigCartel integration settings in the first step.
From your new BigCartel shipping profile, select 'Country or zone': United Kingdom.
Select the first shipping method 'Standard (with tracking)', then update:
Mugs with Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Name: Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Description: Approx. delivery 1 - 2 days
First item: £4.35
Each additional item: £0.00 (the "first item" shipping cost already covers orders up to 4 x mugs).
Click 'Done'.
Delete any other shipping methods under the United Kingdom zone, then click "Save".
International Rates 🌍
The next step is to set up your shipping methods for the European Union.
Under Default shipping rates, click 'Set up default shipping rates'.
Select European Union in the Country or zone dropdown.
Then, edit the first shipping method to the following information, and delete the remaining methods.
European Union 🇪🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £8.77
Additional item: £0.00 (the "first item" cost covers up to 2 x mugs. If you anticipate orders for more than this quantity, you can add £1.94 to this field; however, it will overcharge orders of 2 x mugs).
Click Save.
Now, we will follow the same process for the remaining areas of the world.
Add a new shipping method for each area below, making sure to delete any other shipping methods for those zones:
European non-EU
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £8.77
Additional item: (the "first item" cost covers up to 2 x mugs. If you anticipate orders for more than this quantity, you can add £1.94 to this field; however, it will overcharge orders of 2 x mugs).
United States 🇺🇸
Name: USPS Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 3 - 5 business days
First item: £14.89
Additional item: £2.04
Australia 🇦🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £16.75
Additional item: £2.33
Canada 🇨🇦
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £11.52
Additional item: £0.72
Everywhere else 🌍
Name: Royal Mail International
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £13.20
Additional item: £0.00 (the "first item" cost covers up to 2 x mugs, if you anticipate orders for more than this quantity, you can add £2.23 to this field; however, it will overcharge orders of 2 x mugs).
Once those rates are set up, you're all done and ready to start accepting orders!
If you want to be sure you've set it all up right, test your checkout.
Create 200g Shipping Profile (Hoodies/Sweatshirts)
If you're not selling t-shirts and you're selling hoodies or sweatshirts instead, follow the costs in this step.
UK Rates 🇬🇧
The price you apply to UK parcels will depend on whether you selected 24 hours or 48 hours in the BigCartel integration settings in the first step.
From your new BigCartel shipping profile, select 'Country or zone': United Kingdom.
Select the first shipping method, 'Standard (with tracking)', then update:
Hoodies/Sweatshirts with Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Name: Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Description: Approx. delivery 1 - 2 days
First item: £4.35
Each additional item: £0.00 (the "first item" shipping cost already covers orders up to 3 x hoodies/sweatshirts).
Click 'Done'.
Delete any other shipping methods under the United Kingdom zone, then click "Save".
The next step is to set up your shipping methods for the European Union.
Under Default shipping rates, click 'Set up default shipping rates'.
Select European Union in the Country or zone dropdown.
Then, edit the first shipping method to the following information, and delete the remaining methods.
European Union 🇪🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £8.77
Additional item: £3.88
Click Save.
Now, we will follow the same process for the remaining areas of the world.
Add a new shipping method for each area below, making sure to delete any other shipping methods for those zones:
European non-EU
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £8.77
Additional item: £3.88
United States 🇺🇸
Name: USPS Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 3 - 5 business days
First item: £16.14
Additional item: £3.90
Australia 🇦🇺
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £16.75
Additional item: £7.08
Canada 🇨🇦
Name: International Tracked
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £11.52
Additional item: £1.44
Everywhere else 🌍
Name: Royal Mail International
Description: Approx delivery 6 - 21 business days
First item: £13.20
Additional item: £4.46
Once those rates are set up, you're all done and ready to start accepting orders!
If you want to be sure you've set it all up right, test your checkout.
Test out your checkout 🛒
Ready to start selling? Once you've set up and assigned your shipping profiles, it's time to rev up that checkout and take it for a test drive!
Head over to your shop and experience everything from a shopper's perspective. Go ahead, add some items to your cart and start the checkout process.
You'll see the shipping cost add up based on the location and default or overrides that apply to your cart. Easy as pie!
💡Need more help?
Get support from our team of experts, and chat with us during office hours. 👉
Working late? Send us a message, and we'll reply when we're back online.