Choose or create shipping profiles Choose or create shipping profiles
  1. Whatnot Help Center
  2. Selling
  3. Listing

Choose or create shipping profiles

Whatnot Support Whatnot Support

When you list a product on Whatnot, you’ll choose a shipping profile. 

A shipping profile tells Whatnot how your item should ship. The most important detail is the item’s packed weight.

Shipping profiles help: 

  • Calculate shipping costs at checkout

  • Determine eligible shipping services

  • Generate the correct shipping label

  • Group items into shipments using Smart Bundling™

For most items, you can use a suggested shipping profile. If you need more control or special handling, you can create a custom profile.

In this article: 

Suggested vs. custom shipping profiles

To choose the right option, start with this question:

Does this item need special control over how it ships or bundles?

If no → Use a suggested shipping profile

Most sellers use suggested profiles. They’re the right choice if:

  • The item can safely ship with other items

  • You don’t need to limit bundle quantities

  • You’re shipping standard items

Suggested profiles:

  • Use your item’s packed weight

  • Automatically apply Smart Bundling™

  • Require no additional setup

For most listings, this is the simplest and best option.

If yes → Create a custom shipping profile

Use a custom profile when you need more control over how an item ships or bundles.

Common reasons to choose a custom profile: 

  • The item is bulky or heavy

  • It must ship alone

  • It’s pre-packaged in a specific box

  • You need to limit bundle quantities

  • You want to set a different incremental weight for additional bundled items

How bundling works with shipping profiles

By default, Whatnot uses Smart Bundling™ to group items into the most cost-effective shipments based on total weight and size.

For most sellers, no extra setup is needed.

When bundling changes:

Bundling behavior only changes if:

If a max bundle size is set:

  • Items only bundle with other items using the exact same shipping profile

  • Bundling stops once the max number is reached

Example: If you set a max bundle size of 3 for an item and a buyer orders 4 → 3 ship together, 1 ships separately.

If no max bundle size is set, Smart Bundling™ continues automatically across listings — even when different profiles are used — unless another item includes a max bundle limit.

Choose a shipping profile when listing

You’ll select a shipping profile anytime you create or edit a product listing.

To choose a shipping profile:

  1. From the app or whatnot.com, open Seller Hub.
  2. (On web) Go to your Inventory.
  3. Select Create a Product.
  4. Under Shipping Profile or Weight, choose a suggested or custom profile. 

Tip: Always enter the true packed weight. Underestimating weight can lead to postage due. Overestimating can overcharge buyers at checkout and affect bundling.

You can update the shipping profile for active listings at any time.

Create a custom shipping profile 

Once created, a custom shipping profile can be reused for new or existing listings.

Create a custom profile in the app
  1. Tap Seller Hub at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap the menu (≡) in the top right.
  3. Scroll down and select Shipping.
  4. Tap Shipping Profiles.
  5. Tap the + icon.
  6. Fill out the profile details.
  7. Tap Save.
Create a custom profile on web
  1. Open Seller Hub.
  2. In the left menu, click the ▼ icon next to Shipments.
  3. Select Shipping Profiles.
  4. Click Create Shipping Profile.
  5. Fill out the profile details.
  6. Click Publish.

To edit or delete a custom profile, follow the same steps and select the profile you want to update.

Custom shipping profile fields

When creating a custom profile, you’ll complete:

Field What it means Example
Name (required)

Choose something you’ll recognize easily.

Label by item type, weight, or size.

“Skateboard deck,” “Heavy gowns,” “4-inch Funko”
Weight and scale (required) Enter the total weight of one item including packaging, and choose the unit of measurement. 20 ounces
Bundling options – Set max number of items in one package (optional)*

Limits how many of this item can ship together.

Useful for fragile, bulky, or boxed items.

You can also:

  • Enter custom box dimensions (optional), or
  • Select a Flat-Rate box (US sellers only)
 Set max bundle size to 1 for a fragile vase so it never bundles
Bundling options – Set a fixed weight for additional items (optional)* If the first item includes packaging and additional items won’t when bundled, enter a lower, incremental weight for each additional item. First item = 20 oz (includes packaging), each additional = 15 oz (just the item)
Update active listings (only appears when editing)

When editing a profile, you can apply changes to active listings that use it.

Sold listings aren’t affected.

 ✅ = updates listings in your shop

*Note: Bundling options aren’t supported in Germany, the UK, or the Netherlands.

When to set a max bundle size

Set a max bundle size if you’re shipping:

  • Fragile items that shouldn’t combine

  • Heavy or bulky items that don’t fit together

  • Pre-packaged or boxed items you don’t want combined

Leave it off for small or lightweight items. Smart Bundling™ usually handles these best and helps avoid splitting orders into unnecessary shipments, which keeps shipping costs lower.

Related articles

Was this article helpful?

680 out of 1558 found this helpful

Articles in this section