Default shipping profiles give product variants a shipping profile when none is saved on the variant. This means buyers see delivery options at checkout even when a seller leaves the shipping profile field blank. Operators set a marketplace default shipping profile, and sellers can set their own seller default shipping profile to override it.
They don't apply until the operator turns them on, and the operator can turn them off at any time without losing any settings.
Key terms
- Marketplace default shipping profile: The shipping profile the operator nominates for the whole marketplace.
- Seller default shipping profile: The shipping profile a seller nominates for their own products, overriding the marketplace default.
- The profile that applies: The shipping profile a variant uses, based on the precedence order below.
Precedence
When default shipping profiles are turned on, each variant uses the first of these that exists:
- The shipping profile saved on the variant
- The seller default shipping profile
- The marketplace default shipping profile
A shipping profile saved on a variant always takes priority over any default. A seller default always takes priority over the marketplace default.
Quick comparison
| Marketplace default | Seller default | |
| Who sets it | Operators only | The seller, or an operator on their behalf |
| Where | Operator Portal: CONFIGURATION > Shipping Settings > Shipping Profiles | Seller Portal: Shipping > Shipping Rules > Shipping Profiles tab, or Operator Portal: Edit Seller Account > Account Features |
| Operator permission | Manage shipping setup | Create and manage sellers, or Login as retailer from the Seller Portal |
| Applies to | Variants with no saved profile whose seller has no default | That seller's variants with no saved profile |
Where the default shipping profile appears
When a variant has no shipping profile saved, the default that applies displays in:
- Checkout: Buyers see delivery options from the shipping rules that reference the default.
- Seller product form: The variant's Shipping profile field shows the default, with (Default) added to the profile name. New products and new variants start with the default already selected.
- Product vetting: The variant details in the Operator Portal show the default.
- Bulk product management spreadsheet export: The Shipping Profile column on each product tab shows the default.
- GraphQL and REST APIs: The shipping profile returned for a variant is the default, with no changes needed to existing integrations.
The product form, vetting, export, and APIs don't show whether the marketplace default or a seller default is applying. Sellers can check their Shipping Profiles tab, which shows Following the marketplace default: [profile name] when they haven't set their own. The (Default) label also appears when the same profile is saved on the variant, so it doesn't show whether a profile is saved or inherited.
Timing of changes
Changes to a default apply immediately. Every variant that inherits the default uses the new profile the next time it's viewed, exported, or read over the API.
When a product is saved, either in the product form or through a spreadsheet import, the shipping profile that applies is saved onto its variants. This happens even if the Shipping profile field isn't changed, because the field is already filled in with the default. Those variants then keep that profile, even if the default changes or is turned off.
Turning default shipping profiles on and off
The operator turns default shipping profiles on by selecting a checkbox and choosing a marketplace default. See Set a default shipping profile for your marketplace (operator).
When the operator turns default shipping profiles off:
- The marketplace default is cleared.
- Defaults stop applying, and each variant uses only the shipping profile saved on it, including any default saved when its product was saved.
- Seller defaults are kept but not used.
Seller defaults apply again when the operator turns default shipping profiles back on, without sellers needing to re-enter them.
Shipping rule requirement
A default shipping profile only produces delivery options at checkout if a shipping rule references it.
Catalog rules and product vetting
If a catalog rule requires a shipping profile, a default shipping profile doesn't release products that the rule is holding. A held product is released when it's saved. To release many products at once, export them in bulk and then import the same spreadsheet. The import saves the default that applies onto each of those variants, so they keep that profile even if the default changes later.
Note: If the operator's advert vetting settings re-vet products when the variant Shipping profile changes, saving or importing products sends them back to vetting. To check, in the Operator Portal, go to CONFIGURATION > Product Settings > Advert Settings.
Changing, clearing, editing, and deleting profiles
- Changing the marketplace default: Every variant that inherits the marketplace default uses the new profile immediately.
- Clearing a seller default: The seller's products return to following the marketplace default.
- Editing a shipping profile: The change applies to every variant using the profile, whether saved on the variant or inherited as a default.
- Deleting a shipping profile: You can't delete a profile that a shipping rule uses or that is set as the marketplace default. If you delete a profile set as a seller's default, the seller's default is cleared, and variants that inherited it use the marketplace default.
Limitations
- A marketplace has one marketplace default shipping profile.
- A seller has one seller default shipping profile.
- You can't set a default per category or per product type.
- Sellers can't set the marketplace default.
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