If you sell print on demand products, Printful and Printify keep their own delivery profiles in your store. After you move to market based shipping, their rates show alongside the shipping options you create, and each market has a toggle for them. Check every market so customers are not charged twice or left without a rate.

Why These Apps Behave Differently

Print on demand apps create their own delivery profile in Shopify. This profile belongs to the app. It is not something the upgrade created, and it is not something you built by hand.

You will see it in Settings, Shipping and delivery, where profiles are listed. Do not delete a profile that belongs to an app unless you plan to stop using the app.

What You Will See After The Upgrade

Once your store uses market based shipping, the app rates show alongside the rates you create in each market. Each market also has a toggle that decides whether those app rates are included.

This gives you control, and it also gives you a job to do. You now decide, market by market, whether customers see the app rates, your own rates, or both. 

The POD (Print on Demand) apps will add their shipping rates automatically to your Shopify shipping options.

Three Setups To Choose From

1. App rates only. Best when every product in the market is print-on-demand. The app calculates shipping per item and customers pay what it costs.
2. Your rates only. Best when you want one simple price. You set it yourself and absorb any difference.
3. A mix. Needed when the market sells print-on-demand products and products you ship yourself. This is the setup where double charges happen.

How To Avoid Double Shipping Charges

Rates from separate shipping options can still add together at checkout. If you leave the app rates on and also add a flat rate that applies to the same products, a customer may pay both.

1. Open Markets and click your market.
2. Click Shipping and read every option listed, including any from the app.
3. Use Applies to on your own options, so they cover only the products you ship yourself.
4. Place a test order with one print-on-demand product, one product you ship yourself, and one of each together.

Check Every Market, Not Just The First

If you sell in several countries, each market has its own toggle. A market you set up last month will not necessarily match the one you set up today. Walk through every market and confirm the toggle and the options.

When To Ask The App Support Team

If a rate is missing for a destination, the cause is usually on the app side, such as a product not available for that country or a missing fulfillment provider. Contact Printful or Printify support with the product and destination. Note that their rates and fulfillment locations change over time, so I do not list any here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Printful rates still show after I moved to Markets shipping?

The app owns its delivery profile, so its rates continue to appear. Each market has a toggle that controls whether they show.

Should I delete the Printful or Printify delivery profile?

No, not while you use the app. The profile belongs to the app, and removing it can stop its rates from working.

Why is my customer being charged shipping twice?

Rates from separate shipping options can add together. Limit your own option to products you ship yourself, and test a mixed cart.

Can I charge a flat shipping rate on print-on-demand products?

Yes. Turn off the app rates for that market and create your own option, then price it high enough to cover what the app charges you.

Do I need to check every market?

Yes. Each market has its own settings, so confirm each one.

Carrier-calculated shipping shows customers a live rate from a carrier such as USPS, UPS, or DHL, based on the parcel weight and the delivery address. In the new Shopify system, you add it as a shipping option inside a market by choosing the type Carrier or app-calculated. Each carrier-calculated option holds one rate.

When Live Carrier Rates Make Sense

A flat rate is simple, and many stores should stay with it. Live carrier rates earn their place when your parcels vary a lot in weight, size, or destination, because a single flat price will overcharge some customers and undercharge others.

Use live rates when:

• Your products differ widely in weight or size.
• You ship to many destinations at very different costs.
• You sell larger items where a wrong guess costs real money.

Stay with flat or weight-based rates when your parcels are similar. Simple pricing is easier for customers to trust, and it is easier for you to explain.

What You Need Before You Start

1. Accurate product weights. Every product variant needs a weight. If a weight is missing, the carrier cannot calculate a correct rate.
2. Package sizes. Add the boxes you actually use in Settings, Shipping and delivery, under Packages. See the guide on packages, labels and carrier accounts.
3. A carrier or an app. Live rates come through Shopify's built-in carriers, which were DHL Express, FedEx, UPS, and USPS on the store I tested, or through a third-party shipping app. Which one you can use depends on your Shopify plan and your region. Carrier-calculated shipping availability depends on your plan, and the Basic Shopify plan does not include this unless you have been grandfathered into the system. This can change in the future.
4. A shipping origin. The rate depends on where the parcel leaves from, so your store location must be correct.

How To Add A Carrier Or App Calculated Option

1. Click Markets in your admin, then click your market.
2. Click Shipping, then click Add shipping option.
3. Open the Type dropdown and choose Carrier or app calculated.

4. The Rate section now shows Shipping services. Use the search box to find a carrier or an app. The carriers listed on this store are DHL Express, FedEx, UPS, and USPS.
5. Open Select services and tick the services you want to offer.
6. Add a handling fee if you need one.
7. Turn on Offer free shipping if you want a free shipping threshold on this option.
8. Save your changes.

An option of this type has one rate. If you want to offer two services from the same carrier, such as a ground service and an express service, add them as two separate shipping options.

Handling Fees

Click + Handling fee under Shipping services to add a fee on top of the live rate. This is only for Carrier and app calculation. 

Here you can add either a flat rate or a percentage, which will be calculated on the overall shipping costs.

Think carefully before you use it. Customers compare your shipping price against your product price, and a hidden handling fee that looks like extra shipping can cost you a sale.

Check The Rates Customers Actually See

Do this before you tell anyone the setup is finished.

1. Add a heavy product and a light product to separate carts.
2. Enter a nearby address and a faraway address.
3. Compare the checkout rates to the carrier's own calculator.
4. If a rate looks wrong, check the product weight and the package size first.

Most rate problems come from missing or wrong weights, not from the carrier connection.

Know The Limits

Do not confuse this with Select preferred carriers in Shipping labels. Those choices recommend services when you buy labels and do not affect the rates customers see at checkout.

Carrier-calculated rates depend on the carrier's service being available for that route. If a service is not offered to a destination, no rate will show. Always keep a fallback, such as a flat rate option, in the same market so a customer is never left without a shipping choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I show live carrier rates at Shopify checkout?

Open Markets, click your market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option, and choose Carrier or app calculated as the type. Select the carrier service and save.

Why are my carrier rates wrong or missing?

Check the product weights first, then your package sizes, then your store location. Missing weights are the most common cause.

Can I offer two services from the same carrier?

Yes, as two separate shipping options, because each carrier-calculated option holds one rate.

Do I need a paid Shopify plan for carrier-calculated shipping?

It depends on your plan and region. Check your own plan details in Shopify before you build around it.

Is it better to use flat rates or live rates?

Flat rates are simpler and work well when parcels are similar. Live rates are more accurate when weights, sizes or destinations vary a lot.

To offer free shipping in Shopify Markets, open Markets, click your market, click Shipping, and edit or add a shipping option. Either set the Price to 0 for always free shipping, or turn on the Offer free shipping toggle and enter a Minimum order amount. Set the threshold from your own margins, not from what competitors advertise.

Two Ways To Offer Free Shipping

The new system gives you two clean choices inside a shipping option.

1. Always free. Set the Price to 0. Every order that matches the option ships free.
2. Free over a minimum. Turn on the Offer free shipping toggle at the bottom of the option and type a Minimum order amount. Orders below it pay the normal rate. Orders at or above it ship free.

In the example from my own admin, the Standard option costs $8.00 and becomes free at $70.00. That is the second method, and for most stores it is the better one.

Why A Threshold Usually Beats Always Free

Always free shipping means you absorb the cost on every order, including your smallest. A threshold does a second job. It nudges the customer to add one more item so the order qualifies, which lifts your average order value.

How To Set A Free Shipping Threshold

1. Click Markets in your admin, then click your market.
2. Click Shipping, then click the option you want to edit, for example Standard.
3. Scroll down to Offer free shipping, below the Rate section, and turn the toggle on.
4. Type the Minimum order amount in the field that opens.
5. Save your changes.

The toggle sits below the Rate section, so it is easy to miss. Until you turn it on, the Minimum order amount field is greyed out.

How To Work Out The Right Number

Do not guess. Use three numbers from your own store.

• Average order value. Find it in your Shopify analytics.
• Average shipping cost. What you actually pay your carrier for a typical parcel.
• Gross margin per order. What is left after product cost.

A good starting point is a threshold a little above your current average order value. That gives customers a reason to add something, without giving away shipping on most of your existing orders. Then review it after thirty days.

The Free Shipping Calculator Prompt

Paste this into your favorite AI assistant, fill in the brackets, and read the answer with a critical eye. The tool does the arithmetic. You make the decision.

You are a careful e-commerce analyst. I run a Shopify store.

My numbers:
- Average order value: [AMOUNT]
- Average product cost per order: [AMOUNT]
- Average shipping cost I pay per order: [AMOUNT]
- Orders per month: [NUMBER]
- Share of orders currently above [CANDIDATE THRESHOLD]: [PERCENT]

Please do the following:
1. Show my gross margin per order before shipping.
2. Show what free shipping would cost me per month at a threshold of [CANDIDATE THRESHOLD] if every qualifying order ships free.
3. Show how many orders would need to move up to the threshold for the extra revenue to cover that cost.
4. Suggest two other thresholds to test, and explain the trade-off for each in plain English.
5. List the assumptions you made so I can check them.

Do not invent data. If something is missing, ask me.

Check the answer against your real reports. If an assumption does not match your store, correct it and run the prompt again.

Watch Out For These Problems

• Discounts change the math. If order amount is calculated on the discounted total, a customer using a discount code may drop below your threshold. Test it with a real code.
• Heavy items break flat thresholds. If you sell bulky goods, free shipping over an amount can cost you far more than you planned. Consider a weight based option for those products.
• Different regions need different thresholds. Shipping to another country costs more. Use a separate market or a separate option, and set a higher number there.
• Rates add across options. Rates inside one option do not add together, but rates from separate options can. Place a mixed cart in your test order.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I set free shipping over a certain amount in Shopify?

Open Markets, click your market, click Shipping and edit the option. Scroll to Offer free shipping, turn the toggle on, enter the Minimum order amount and save.

What is a good free shipping threshold?

There is no universal number. Start slightly above your average order value, make sure your margin covers the shipping cost, and review the results after thirty days.

Can I offer free shipping in only one country?

Yes. Put that country in its own market, or create a shipping option that applies only to that market, and set the free shipping rule there.

Does a discount code affect my free shipping threshold?

It can. If the order amount is measured after discounts, a code can push the order below the minimum. Place a test order with a code to confirm.

Should I offer free shipping on every order?

Only if your margins can carry it. Many stores do better with a threshold that encourages a larger basket.

To add a shipping option in Shopify, open Markets, click your market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option. Name the option, choose a type of Flat, Carrier or app calculated, Order amount or Package weight, set the price, and save. Customers see the name, price and transit time at checkout, so choose names they already recognize.

What A Shipping Option Is

A shipping option is a delivery choice a customer selects at checkout, such as Standard or Express. Each option holds one or more rates, and those rates can vary by product and by location.

The new system replaces the old shipping rate. Where you once added several rates to a zone, you now add shipping options to a market. This is how a typical market looks once Standard and Express are set up.

In this example, Standard costs $8.00 and becomes free at $70.00 and up, with a transit time of 3 to 5 business days. Express costs $15.00 with a transit time of 1 to 2 business days. Both apply to all products and ship from the shop location. These numbers are an example only. Research your own carrier costs before you copy anyone's prices.

Before You Start

You need three things in place.

1. A market that includes the region you ship to. See the guide on setting up a market.
2. At least one location that fulfills online orders.
3. Your Markets permission, if you are a staff member rather than the owner.

You do not need your products in place yet. Applies to starts on All products, so you can build a first option now and add product specific options later, once your products and collections exist.

If your market shows Shipping as Not shipping, click Customize first, as shown in the guide on setting up a market.

The Add Shipping Option Screen

The screen reads from top to bottom like this.

• Option name. What the customer sees at checkout.
• Active. A dropdown that lets you pause the option without deleting it.
• Type. Flat is the default. The other choices are Carrier or app calculated, Order amount and Package weight.
• Delivery details. A button that adds a description to the option. This adds information to your Checkout page. See following images.

• Rate. Price, Transit time and Applies to. Applies to starts on All products.
• + Rate. Adds another rate to the same option.
• Offer free shipping. A toggle with a Minimum order amount field. The free shipping guide covers it.

How To Add A Flat Rate Shipping Option

1. Click Markets in your admin, then click your market.
2. Under Shipping, click Add shipping option. If Shipping shows Not shipping, click Customize first.
3. Type an Option name, for example, Standard.
4. Leave Type on Flat.
5. Type the Price.
6. Open the Transit time dropdown and choose the delivery time. The transit time choices in the dropdown are 1 - 2 days, 3 - 5 days, or 5 - 8 days, or custom time - minimum and maximum time.
7. Leave Applies to on All products for your first option.
8. Click + Rate if this option needs a second rate.
9. Save your changes.

How To Add An Order Amount Option

Choose Order amount in the Type dropdown. The Rate section changes so each row has four fields: Minimum, Maximum, Price and Transit time.

1. Follow steps 1 to 3 above, then choose Order amount as the Type.
2. Leave the first Minimum at 0.00.
3. Enter the Maximum for that range, or leave it as No limit if it is your only range.
4. Enter the Price and choose a Transit time.
5. Click + Order amount range to add the next range. Its Minimum should start where the last Maximum ended.
6. Leave the Maximum on your highest range as No limit.

How To Add A Package Weight Option

Choose Package weight in the Type dropdown. It follows the same idea, with ranges based on the weight of the parcel instead of the order total. A package weight option has one rate. Shopify adds the weight of your package to the product weight, so the box alone can push a parcel into the next weight range.

Weight is usually more accurate than order amount, because it reflects what the parcel actually costs to ship. Order amount can mislead you if your products differ in weight, and it is calculated on the discounted total, so a discount code can drop an order into a lower range.

Package weight depends on your packages and product weights, so set those up too. You can also assign a package to each product on its product page. See the guide on packages, labels and carrier accounts.

The Highest Rate Rule

This is the biggest behavior change, so read it twice. When more than one rate inside a single shipping option applies to a cart, only the single highest matching rate applies at checkout. The rates are not added together.

Shopify has said that rates across separate shipping options are still added together, so a cart with items covered by two different options can still produce a combined charge. Test with a mixed cart, one product from each group, and look at what the customer would pay.

Choose Names And Transit Times Customers Trust

The name is the first thing the customer reads before they pay. Use a name tied to a delivery speed they understand, such as Standard or Express, and add transit time under delivery details. Do not hide information. A customer who sees "3 to 5 business days" is far less likely to email you asking where the parcel is.

How To Edit Or Switch Off A Shipping Option

1. Open Markets, click your market, then click Shipping.
2. Find the option and click More actions.
3. Choose Edit, Set as inactive or Delete.

Set as inactive is the safer choice when you only want to pause an option, because you keep the settings.

Check Your Work With A Test Order

Add a product to your cart, enter an address inside the market, and look at the shipping step at checkout. Check the name, the price, the transit time and the free shipping threshold. Then do it again with an address in a different region.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add shipping rates in Shopify Markets?

Open Markets, click the market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option. Enter an option name, choose a type, set the price and transit time, then save.

Why does my customer see a shipping error at checkout?

Usually a range gap. If you use order amount or package weight rates, start at 0 and leave the maximum as No limit on your highest range, or orders outside every range get no rate.

Can I show different shipping rates for different products?

Yes. Use Applies to inside the rate and choose specific products or collections, after they exist in your store. Products covered by that rate get it.

Are weight based rates better than order amount rates?

Weight is generally more accurate because it follows real shipping cost. Order amount is simpler, but it can lose you money when your products have very different weights.

In Shopify's new shipping system, a market decides where you ship. To choose your shipping regions, open Markets in your admin, click your market, click the pencil beside Includes, tick the countries or regions you want, click Done, then save. Shipping options, currency, taxes and policies you set for that market then apply to every region inside it.

What A Market Is And Why It Replaces Shipping Zones

In the older system, you built a shipping zone and listed countries inside it. In the new system, the market does that job. A market is a group of regions that you sell to with its own settings, such as shipping options, currency and taxes.

This matters because there are no shipping zones to edit anymore. To ship to a new region, you add and activate a market that includes it.

Markets now has its own place in the main navigation of your Shopify admin, with Catalogs and Rollouts beneath it. Those two are separate topics. This guide covers the market page itself and the regions inside it.

How To Open Your Market

1. In your Shopify admin, click Markets in the left menu.
2. Click the market you want to work on. This guide uses United States as the example.

At the top of the page you will see the market name with two badges, Region and Active. The More actions menu at the top right gives you three choices: Edit market handle, Delete market and View online store. Be careful with Delete market. Deleting a market removes the regions and settings that depend on it.

How To Read A Market Page

The page has four areas worth knowing.

• Name and status. The name is for your own use. The Active dropdown controls whether the market is live.
• Includes. The countries or regions in this market, with a pencil icon to edit them.
• Customized. Settings you have changed for this market. Shipping appears here once you set it up.
• Inherited. Settings the market takes from your store default. Each row has a plus button that lets you customize it for this market.

The Inherited list includes Currency, Catalogs, Discounts, Online Store, Domain and language, Taxes and duties, Returns and cancellations, and Checkout and accounts. Leave a row alone if the default is right for you. You only customize what needs to be different.

On the right you will see the Parent market, which shows Store default for a top-level market. A child market inherits shipping from its parent until you open Shipping and click Customize.

How To Add Regions To A Market

1. On the market page, click the pencil icon beside Includes.
2. A window called Market conditions opens. The condition type shown is Regions.
3. Type a country in the Search regions box. In this example, typing "united" shows United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.
4. Tick the box beside each country or region you want.
5. Click Done.
6. Click Save at the top of the page.

The counter at the bottom of the window shows how many regions are selected. Check it before you click Done.

How To Start Shipping In A New Market

A market inherits its shipping settings until you change them. In the Inherited list, Shipping reads Not shipping.

1. In the Inherited list, click the plus beside Shipping.
2. A small panel opens. It shows a Shipping toggle that reads Not shipping, and Add shipping option.
3. Click Customize.
4. Shipping now moves up into the Customized section.
5. Click the Not shipping dropdown, then click Add shipping option.

The next guide walks through the Add shipping option screen. Do not worry about products yet. Set up your market and a first option that applies to all products. You can add options for specific products after your products and collections exist.

Add Regions Slowly

Shopify lists every country and territory. It is tempting to tick them all, and I advise against it. Everybody thinks they want to sell to anybody who wants to buy. In practice, you will not sell to other countries unless you have marketed to them or your product is unavailable there.

Every region you add needs shipping that works at checkout. If a customer in a region has no shipping option, they cannot complete an order.

Start with the country you ship from. Expand one market at a time, and place a test order for each new region.

What To Do When Regions Need Different Rates

You have two choices. You can put several regions into one market and give them the same shipping options, or you can create separate markets for regions that need different rates, taxes or currency.

As a rule, keep regions together when their costs are similar, and separate them when the carrier cost, the duties or the delivery times are very different. The steps for creating a new market are in the next section.

Excluding individual US states from a market is not something I can show you yet. Shopify's help text describes expanding the country to untick states, but the United States entry in my admin shows no expand arrow. I have asked Shopify support and will update this guide when I hear back.

How To Create A New Market

Create a separate market when a region needs its own currency, discounts, language or shipping. Work down the page in this order.

1. On the Markets page, click the button to add a new market. A page called New market opens.
2. Type a Name. The name is for your own use.
3. Next to Includes, click Add condition, search for the countries or regions you want, tick them and click Done.
4. Check the status next to the name. Active means the market is live.
5. Work down the Inherited list. Every row starts with your store default, and the plus button on a row lets you customize it for this market. Leave a row alone when the default is right.
6. Save the market.

Here is what each Inherited row means.

• Currency. It starts in your store currency, US Dollar in my example. You can add a different currency for this market here.
• Catalogs. It starts on All products. Use a catalog when you want to give one market its own pricing, which is a good fit for wholesale. A catalog has a Title, the Markets it applies to, a Price adjustment as a percentage increase or decrease, and the products it includes.
• Discounts. It starts on All eligible discounts. Customize it to add a discount for this market.
• Domain and language. Customize it when the market needs its own language or domain.
• Shipping. It starts on Not shipping. Click the plus, choose Customize, then add a shipping option, as shown above and in the next guide.
• Checkout and accounts. This row is for information only. You set up checkout and customer accounts in Settings, under Checkout and customer accounts, not from the market page.

More Settings For Your Market

On the right side of the market page, under More settings, you will see Customer privacy and Policies.

Customer privacy covers your cookie banner and data sharing opt-out. Policies opens your return and cancellation rules and your written policies. Both open the matching pages in Settings, so you will find the full walkthroughs in the chapters on customer privacy and policies.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add a country to my Shopify market?

Open Markets, click your market, click the pencil beside Includes, search for the country in the Market conditions window, tick it, click Done and then Save. Make sure the market has a shipping option that applies to the new country.

What is the difference between Customized and Inherited on a market page?

Customized settings are ones you changed for that market. Inherited settings come from your store default or parent market. Click the plus button on an inherited row to customize it for that market.

Can I delete a Shopify market?

Yes, from More actions at the top right of the market page, but think first. Deleting a market removes the settings that depend on it, so confirm the regions are covered by another market before you delete.

Why can my customer not check out after I added a region?

The most common cause is a region without a shipping option. Open the market, click Shipping, and confirm at least one option applies to that region, then place a test order.

Do I need a different market for every country?

No. Use one market for regions with similar costs and a separate market when rates, taxes, duties or currency need to differ.

Shopify is moving shipping rates out of Settings and into Markets. Under the new system you create shipping options inside each market, instead of building zones and rates inside shipping profiles. Merchant opt-in opened on October 1, 2026, but it is not in every store yet. Every store is scheduled to be on the new system by July 1, 2027. Delivery estimates, labels, packages, carriers and documents stay in Settings.

What Changed In Shopify Shipping

For years, the answer to "where do I set up my shipping rates" was always the same: Settings, then Shipping and delivery, then a shipping profile with zones and rates inside it. That answer is changing.

Under the new system, which Shopify calls shipping options by market, you set up and manage shipping from Markets in your Shopify admin. A shipping option is a delivery choice a customer picks at checkout, such as Standard or Express, and each option holds one or more rates that can vary by product and location. The region part of the old zone is now handled by the market itself. If you want to ship to a new region, you add and activate a market that includes it.

If you have used Shopify for a while, this is a real change in how you think about shipping. The good news is that your shipping rates do not change on their own. Shopify says the upgrade moves where you manage them, not what your customers pay.

How To Tell Which Shipping System Your Store Is On

Before you follow any shipping tutorial, check which system your store is using. Two stores in the same agency can look completely different, and I see this with clients every week.

1. In your Shopify admin, click Settings, then Shipping and delivery.
2. Look at the Shipping section.
3. If you see a notice that reads "Shipping has moved to Markets," with a table listing your markets and their options, your store has been upgraded.
4. If you see a list of shipping profiles with zones and rates attached, your store is still on the older system.

One caution from my own store. A General profile that shows something like "2 of 5 locations," plus a long list of profiles, is the older layout. It does not prove your store has been migrated. Only the Markets notice and a Shipping options section do.

The Timeline You Need To Know

Shopify has said the move happens in phases, with lower-risk stores first. There is no public percentage showing how far along the rollout is. The opt-in is not in every store yet. Shopify's blog says all merchants are eligible, while the Help Center describes early access for certain stores, and in practice some stores have the option and others do not. Your admin is the final word. If you can open a market and see Add shipping option, it is available to you. If you cannot, your store has not been included yet, and the older shipping profile steps still apply to you.

What Moved And What Stayed In Settings

The shipping page was one big page. Now it is split in two. This table is the quickest way to keep it straight.

One more change to know about: order routing is gone and will not return. If an older guide tells you to set up order routing rules, skip that step.

On a market page, anything you have changed for that market sits under Customized, and anything it takes from your store default sits under Inherited. Shipping shows up under Customized once you set it up for that market.

What Happens When You Upgrade

Shopify converts your existing setup automatically. These are the changes that catch merchants off guard.

• Profile product groups become collections. Your old product groupings turn into unpublished collections with a "[Shipping]" prefix, for example "[Shipping] Fragile."
• Location groups become "Ships from" conditions on each rate.
• Zones that mixed regions from several countries become separate markets, and Shopify may create state or province markets.
• Rates that shared an option name are consolidated.
• Split shipping is switched on for every upgraded store, including stores that had turned it off.
• When more than one rate inside a single shipping option applies to a cart, only the single highest matching rate applies. Rates are no longer added together inside one option.

Two more things to plan for. Your staff need the Markets permission, which is not granted automatically and is not part of existing staff roles. And if you installed a shipping app that is not yet compatible, Shopify shows a banner and may upgrade your store later.

The Order To Set Things Up In

Shipping has a chicken and egg problem. You build your market and your shipping options first, but you can only point an option at specific products once those products and collections exist. Follow this order and it stops being a problem.

1. Payments first. Set up your payment provider and turn on Shop Pay. Shop Promise cannot be set up until payments are in place.
2. Your market and regions. Choose where you ship.
3. A first shipping option. Leave Applies to on All products so every customer has a way to check out.
4. Your products and collections. Add them now.
5. Product specific options. Come back and add options or rates that apply only to certain collections, then test a mixed cart.
6. The Settings items. Packages, labels, delivery estimates, local delivery, pickup and Shop Promise.

Should You Switch Now Or Wait

Here is how I advise clients. You do not need to rush, because every store is moving anyway. But waiting until the last month is a mistake, because shipping errors cost you sales quietly.

Switch early if you are about to add a new region, a new market or a new shipping option anyway. Learn the new screens while the stakes are low.

Wait a little if you are heading into a peak sales period, or if you rely on a shipping app you have not confirmed is compatible.

If you switch and want to go back, Shopify offers an opt-out window. Read this carefully before you click anything: switching back permanently removes any shipping changes you made after the upgrade. Shopify does not publish how long that window lasts.

Your Pre-Upgrade Checklist

1. Take screenshots of every shipping profile, zone and rate you have today. This is your rollback record.
2. List the shipping apps you use and check each one is compatible.
3. Give the right staff the Markets permission.
4. Note which products are in which custom profiles, because they will become "[Shipping]" collections.
5. Place a test order after the upgrade in each region you ship to, and confirm the rate at checkout.

The Complete Series

This guide is the overview. Each step has its own walkthrough with screenshots.

1. How To Set Up A Market And Choose Where You Ship
2. How To Add A Shipping Option To A Market
3. How To Offer Free Shipping In Shopify Markets
4. How To Show Carrier Calculated Shipping Rates
5. Printful And Printify Shipping Rates In The New System
6. How To Set Up Estimated Delivery Dates
7. Shop Promise: Do You Qualify
8. Invoices, Packing Slips And Pick Lists
9. Local Delivery And Pickup In Store
10. Packages, Shipping Labels And Carrier Accounts
11. Delivery Customizations And Custom Order Fulfillment

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I set up shipping rates in Shopify now?

If your store has been upgraded, you set up shipping rates in Markets. Open Markets, click your market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option. If your store has not been upgraded yet, you still use Settings, then Shipping and delivery, and shipping profiles.

Is the Shopify shipping change mandatory?

Yes, eventually. Opt-in opened on October 1, 2026, and Shopify has said all stores will be on the new system by July 1, 2027, with no opt-out after that date.

Will my shipping rates change when my store is upgraded?

No. Shopify says your rates stay the same and only the place where you manage them changes. Test a checkout in each region after the upgrade to confirm, especially if you used several rates with the same name.

Are shipping zones gone?

Yes. The new system has no shipping zones. Regions come from markets, so to ship to a new region you add and activate a market that includes it.

Can I switch back to shipping profiles?

Upgraded stores can switch back during an opt-out window, but switching back permanently removes any shipping changes you made after the upgrade. Shopify does not publish the length of the window, so decide quickly and keep screenshots of your old setup.

Why can I not see Add shipping option in my store?

The new system is not in every store yet. Opt-in opened on October 1, 2026, but Shopify is rolling it out in phases. If you do not see it, keep using shipping profiles in Settings and check again later.

Do I need an app for the new shipping system?

No. Shipping options, free shipping and delivery details are built in. Apps are only needed for live carrier rates beyond the built-in carriers, delivery customizations, or print on demand shipping.