How do I configure shipping for BigCommerce?

BigCommerce doesn’t support live shipping rate sync from Printful, so you’ll need to set up your own shipping rates manually. The easiest way to do this is by offering free shipping, or creating weight-based rates that match Printful’s standard shipping charges.

Step 1: Decide how you want to handle shipping

When selling Printful products on BigCommerce, we recommend using either free shipping or weight-based shipping rates.

Option 1: Free shipping

This option works well if most of your customers are located in one primary country (for example, the United States).

With free shipping, you’ll need to increase your product’s retail price to cover Printful’s shipping costs. Even though customers see “Free Shipping” at checkout, you’ll still be charged Printful’s standard shipping fees — those costs are simply built into your product price.

Because shipping rates vary significantly between countries, we recommend enabling free shipping only for specific destinations. If you don’t configure shipping for other regions, customers in those areas won’t be able to complete checkout.

Option 2: Weight-based shipping

Weight-based shipping is recommended only if you’re selling a single product type (for example, only t-shirts).

If you plan to sell a mix of product categories (like apparel, mugs, posters, etc.), free shipping is usually the simpler and more accurate option.

Option 3: Any other setup

BigCommerce also offers different shipping options such as flat rates, but since it's not possible to replicate Printful shipping costs (first + additional) it would result in either the customer overpaying or underpaying for shipping depending on your setup and number of products in cart. For this reason it's not a recommended options.

Step 2: Check Printful’s shipping rates

Go to our Shipping page to find rates for the products you plan to sell. You’ll see pricing based on:

• Product type (e.g., t-shirts, hoodies, mugs)
• Destination
• Quantity (single product cost + additional product cost)

Use this as a reference when creating your BigCommerce shipping rules.

Step 3: Set up shipping origin location

Before configuring shipping rates, you’ll need to define your shipping origin.

1. In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Settings → Shipping.
2. Locate your Shipping Origin settings.
3. Enter the fulfillment location you plan to use.

You can use one of Printful’s fulfillment centers as your shipping origin. You’ll find our fulfillment center addresses on our Contacts page.

Free Shipping Setup

Step 1: Select a country for free shipping

1. In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Settings → Shipping.
2. Add the countries you’d like to ship to using Add shipping zone.
3. Click Configure (or Edit) for the selected zone.

Step 2: Enable free shipping

1. Turn on the Free shipping option.
2. You don’t need to set a minimum order amount unless you want to.
3. Click Submit, then Done to save.

Step 3: Include shipping in your product price

When creating or editing your Printful products, increase the retail price to include:

• Printful product cost
• Printful shipping cost
• Taxes (if applicable)
• Your intended profit

This ensures you’re covering all costs while offering “Free Shipping” at checkout.

Weight-Based Shipping Setup

We recommend this method only if you’re selling one main product type.

Step 1: Select a country for weight-based shipping

1. In Settings → Shipping, click Add shipping zone.
2. Choose the country where you want to apply weight-based rates.
3. Click Configure (or Edit).

Step 2: Set up weight-based rates

Let’s say you’re selling t-shirts to the U.S., Printful’s domestic shipping is:

• $4.75 for the first shirt
• $2.20 for each additional shirt

To reflect this:

1. Enable the Ship by weight option.
2. Create weight ranges that correspond to quantity.
3. Assign a placeholder weight to each product (for example, 0.5 lbs per shirt).

Example setup:

The actual product weight does not matter — it’s simply used to calculate quantity-based shipping.

If you use multiple fulfillment locations, consider using an average shipping rate for your base and additional item costs.

Step 6: Repeat for other shipping zones

Most merchants create at least two zones:

• Domestic (e.g., US)
• Rest of the World

Repeat the same weight-based setup for each region based on Printful’s rates.

Step 7: Update product weights

After configuring weight-based shipping:

1. Go to Products in BigCommerce.
2. Select a product.
3. Under Basic Information, enter the assigned weight (e.g., 0.5 lbs).
4. Scroll to Shipping Details and ensure Free Shipping is unchecked.
5. Save changes.

Repeat this for all applicable products.

Final checks

• Make sure each product in BigCommerce is marked as a Physical product so it qualifies for shipping.
• Review your total product price to ensure it covers:
  • Printful’s product cost
  • Shipping charges
  • Taxes (if applicable)
  • Your intended profit

Still need help? Our Support Team is here for you—reach out anytime through our contact form or start a chat with us.