Shipping Settings is where you tell BlackSpace where your packages ship from, what you add for packing materials, and how long you need before an order ships. You set it once for your whole store, and buyers see the results at checkout.

Before you start

Have these ready:

• The ZIP code you ship from
• How many business days you usually need to get an order out the door
• If you want to offer local pickup: the address where buyers can pick up, and the hours that work for you
• If you want to offer local delivery: how far you'll drive, and what you'll charge

Every product you ship also needs its weight and all three dimensions. Without them, buyers can't have that product shipped. See How to measure and weigh your products for shipping.

How buyers pay for shipping

You don't type in your own shipping prices. At checkout, BlackSpace gets live rates from carriers using your ZIP code, the buyer's address, and the weight and size of what they're buying. The buyer then picks one of these:

• Standard (3–5 business days)
• Expedited (2–3 business days)
• Express (1–2 business days)

The choices a buyer sees depend on where the order is going. BlackSpace shows the lowest-priced service in each speed option, from USPS, UPS, and other carriers. A choice only shows up when a service can deliver within its window and faster than the choice below it, so some buyers see just one or two. Three more choices can show up, depending on your settings:

• Free Shipping takes the place of the three choices above when the buyer's order from your store reaches your free shipping amount (Step 2).
• Local Pickup shows up when the buyer is within 50 miles of your pickup location (Step 3).
• Local Delivery shows up when the buyer is inside your delivery radius (Step 4).

Step 1: Open Shipping Settings

In your Seller Dashboard, click Shipping Settings (1) in the menu on the left.

Everything in this article is on this one page. Nothing is saved until you click Save Shipping Settings at the bottom (Step 6).

Step 2: Set your shipping rates

1. Origin ZIP Code (1): the ZIP code your packages ship from. It's required, because BlackSpace calculates every rate from it.
2. Handling Fee (USD) (2): optional. A flat amount added to every shipping choice to cover boxes and packing materials. The most you can add is $5.00.
3. Free Shipping Threshold (USD) (3): optional. If a buyer's order from your store reaches this amount, shipping is free for them. Leave it blank if you don't want to offer free shipping.

Free shipping is free for the buyer, not for you. You still buy the label, so set your prices with that in mind.

Step 3: Offer local pickup (optional)

Local pickup lets buyers near you skip shipping and get their order from you in person. Check Offer Local Pickup (1), then fill in the rest:

2. Pickup Location Name (2): a friendly name for the spot, like "My Studio."
3. Pickup Street Address (3): the full address. Buyers see it after they place an order.
4. Pickup ZIP Code (4): BlackSpace uses it to decide who is close enough to pick up. It can match your Origin ZIP Code or be a different place.
5. Pickup Hours / Notes (5): when buyers can come, and anything they should know, like where to park.
6. Pickup Fee (USD) (6): optional. Leave it blank or at 0 for free pickup. The most you can charge is $5.00.

Buyers only see Local Pickup at checkout when their address is within 50 miles of your pickup location. A pickup order doesn't need a shipping label.

After the buyer picks up their order, open the order and set its status to Completed. Marking a shipment "Picked up" doesn't complete the order on its own.

Step 4: Offer local delivery (optional)

Local delivery lets you bring orders to buyers near you yourself. Check Offer Local Delivery (1), then fill in the rest:

2. Delivery Fee (USD) (2): what the buyer pays for delivery, once per order from your store. Type 0 to deliver for free. If you leave it blank, Local Delivery stays off.
3. Delivery Radius (miles) (3): how far you'll deliver, from 1 to 50 miles. It's measured in a straight line from your Origin ZIP Code, not by road.
4. Delivery Notes (4): optional. Your delivery days, or anything else the buyer should know. Buyers see this after they place an order.

Buyers only see Local Delivery at checkout when their address is inside your radius. They see your shipping choices too, so they can pick.

A delivery order doesn't need a shipping label. When one comes in:

• Open the order and click Print Packing Slip. The delivery address is on the packing slip.
• Add a Customer note on the order to set a delivery time. The buyer gets it by email.
• The buyer can answer with the support button on their order page. You get an email, and the message shows up under Support Tickets in your Seller Dashboard. Reply there, and the buyer gets an email with a link to your reply.
• A buyer who checked out without an account uses Contact Us instead, and BlackSpace passes the message on to you.
• Deliver the order, then set its status to Completed.

You won't see the buyer's email address, so use the Customer note and Support Tickets to stay in touch.

Keep a delivery record

Local Delivery orders have no carrier and no tracking. Mark an order Complete only after it has been delivered.

For each delivery, keep at least one of these for 180 days: the buyer's written confirmation that they received the order, a photo of the order at the delivery location taken when you delivered it, or a receipt signed by the person who received it. Don't include people or the inside of a home in a photo.

BlackSpace may ask for your delivery record when reviewing an order, and when it does, you have three business days to provide it. Marking an order Complete is not a delivery record, and neither is a note you wrote yourself saying the order was delivered.

If a buyer reports that an order didn't arrive and BlackSpace has no delivery record for it, BlackSpace treats the order as having no record of fulfillment and may refund the buyer. In that case, you aren't paid for that order.

Products you only deliver

Some products shouldn't be shipped at all, like a cake or a large piece of furniture. Turn on Local Delivery here first. Then open the product, check Local delivery only (1) in its Shipping card, and save the product.

• A delivery-only product doesn't need a weight or measurements.
• Its product page tells buyers it's local delivery only, and how far from your ZIP code you deliver.
• Buyers outside your delivery radius can't buy it.
• If a buyer's order from your store includes a delivery-only product, none of that order can be shipped, and Free Shipping won't apply. Local Pickup can still show if you offer it.

Step 5: Set your processing time

Processing time is how long you need after an order comes in before it ships. Buyers see it on your product pages as "Ships by" and a date.

1. Under Default Processing Time, pick a Quick select option (1): 1-3 days, 3-5 days, 5-7 days, 1-2 weeks, or 2-3 weeks.
2. If none of those fit, pick Custom, then type your own Min business days and Max business days (2).

If you leave it blank, BlackSpace uses 3-5 business days.

Here's how buyers' dates work:

• Ships by: the order date plus the longest end of your processing time, counted in business days. Weekends and US federal holidays don't count.
• Est. delivery: shown at checkout, and it changes when the buyer changes their shipping choice. It's the "Ships by" date plus 5 business days for Standard or Free Shipping, 3 for Expedited, and 2 for Express. Local Pickup shows no estimate.

Give one product a different processing time

If one item takes longer, like something you make to order, you can give it its own processing time. Open the product, find Processing time (1), and change it from Use my store default to the time that item needs. The choices run from 1–3 business days to 6–8 weeks.

Leave every other product on Use my store default, so one change in Shipping Settings updates them all.

Step 6: Save your settings

Scroll to the bottom of Shipping Settings and click Save Shipping Settings (3), shown in the picture in Step 5.

When an order comes in: buy your label

BlackSpace doesn't buy shipping labels for you. When a shipped order comes in, you buy the label yourself, from any carrier or label service you like.

If a shipping label costs more than the buyer paid for shipping, you cover the difference.

The Shipping Settings page recommends Pirate Ship for USPS and UPS labels at commercial rates. It's a good place to start, and the choice is always yours.

Whichever you use, buy a service that delivers within the window the buyer chose. If they chose Expedited (2–3 business days), buy a service that delivers in 3 business days or fewer.

When you open the order, it shows the shipping choice the buyer made, plus the carrier and service their shipping price came from. You can buy that same service, or any other service that delivers within the buyer's window.

Then add the tracking number to the order in your Seller Dashboard. Buyers see it on their order page.

Common questions

Why can't a buyer get shipping on one of my products?

The product is missing its weight or one of its dimensions. Without all four, carriers can't quote a rate, and buyers outside your pickup range can't buy it. Open the product, fill in Weight (lbs), Length (in), Width (in), and Height (in), and update it.

If the product is set to Local delivery only, it can't be shipped by design. Only buyers inside your delivery radius can buy it.

Does my store address change my shipping?

No. Shipping rates use the Origin ZIP Code in Shipping Settings, and pickup uses the Pickup ZIP Code. The address under Settings, then My Store, then Location doesn't change either one.

For a tour of the rest of your Seller Dashboard, see How to use your Seller Dashboard.