Choose shipping profiles for your products Choose shipping profiles for your products
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Choose shipping profiles for your products

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

A shipping profile tells Whatnot how your item ships, most importantly, how much an item weighs. That information helps calculate shipping costs at checkout and generate the correct shipping label for your package. 

For most items, Whatnot will suggest shipping profiles based on the item’s weight. This guide will help you understand how shipping profiles work, when to use a suggested profile, and when it’s worth creating a custom one.

On this page: 

How shipping profiles works

What a shipping profile does

A shipping profile provides item-level shipping details that Whatnot uses at checkout and during fulfillment.

Every shipping profile includes:

  • Packed weight: This should include the item and its packaging.

Custom shipping profiles can also include:

  • Item weight and incremental weight (when bundled) 
  • Bundling rules (like limiting how many items ship together)
  • Package dimensions 

Suggested vs. custom shipping profiles

When listing an item, you’ll choose either a suggested shipping profile or a custom one.

Suggested shipping profiles 

Suggested shipping profiles are the simplest option and work well for most items.

Suggested profiles: 

  • Use the item’s packed weight
  • Rely on Smart Bundling™ to group items automatically
  • Require no extra setup
  • May vary based on the item’s category

If you’re new to selling or shipping fairly standard items, start with the suggested profiles. 

Custom shipping profiles (optional)

Custom shipping profiles give you more control. They’re helpful when you sell the same type of item often or when an item you sell requires special handling during shipping. 

For example, you might use a custom profile if you sell:

  • Fragile items (like glass, ceramics, or plants)
  • Bulky or heavy items that don’t pack together easily 
  • Pre-packaged or boxed items
  • The same item type repeatedly and want to save time

Custom profiles let you:

  • Save specific weights and record incremental weight 
  • Limit how many items can bundle together
  • Reuse the same setup across multiple listings

Watch a video about custom profiles: 

How bundling works with shipping profiles

By default, Whatnot uses Smart Bundling™ to automatically 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 both of the following are true:

  • You’re using a custom shipping profile, and 
  • You’ve set a maximum bundle size

If you’ve set a max bundle size: 

  • Items only bundle with other items using the same shipping profile
  • Bundling stops once the max number of items is reached

Example: A max bundle size of 3 is set for an item, and a buyer orders 4 of that item → 3 of the items ship together, 1 ships separately.

If no max bundle size is set: 

  • Smart Bundling™ still applies
  • Items bundle automatically based on weight and size, even across different profiles
  • They won’t bundle with items that have a max bundle size set

How to select a shipping profile when listing

You’ll select a shipping profile while creating or editing a product listing.

Tip: The shipping profile should reflect the item’s true packed weight. Underestimating weight can result in extra fees or postage due at delivery. Overestimating weight can overcharge buyers at checkout and affect bundling.

When creating a listing: 

  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

You can also update the shipping profile for any active listings in your inventory if needed.

How to create a custom shipping profile 

Once created, a custom shipping profile can be reused for any new or active 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 explained

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

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 Ounce
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 = 20oz (includes packaging),  each additional = 15oz (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

Tip: Use a max bundle size if you’re shipping:

  • Fragile items like glass or ceramics
  • 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 more shipments than needed, which can keep shipping costs lower.

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