This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and utilizing Gelato delivery profiles for your Etsy store. Learn how these profiles simplify shipping cost management and ensure accurate pricing for your customers.
Understanding Gelato Delivery Profiles for Etsy
Gelato delivery profiles are designed to streamline your shipping process on Etsy. They automatically sync your Gelato shipping costs with your Etsy listings, guaranteeing that the price your customers see at checkout precisely matches what Gelato charges you for shipping.
How Gelato Delivery Profiles Work for Etsy
Setting up Gelato delivery profiles is a breeze:
Connect your Etsy store to Gelato: Connect your store to Gelato.
Add a new product from Gelato: Add a new product from Gelato.
Once these steps are completed, Gelato automatically generates delivery profiles in your Etsy store. When you add a new product through the Gelato integration, it's automatically linked to the appropriate delivery profile. This automation ensures that your shipping costs are always current and accurately reflected in your Etsy listings.
Keep in mind that all product variations are linked to the same delivery profile. For formats with varying shipping rates, it's recommended to create separate products to maintain pricing accuracy. You can find a detailed breakdown of shipping rates for different products and formats in our product catalog: Where can I find the flat rates for shipping?
Managing Your Delivery Profiles on Etsy
For customized shipping rates:
Create your own delivery profiles directly on Etsy.
Assign your products to these newly created profiles.
Remember, avoid making changes to the Gelato-generated delivery profiles, as these modifications won't be saved.
Locating Your Gelato Delivery Profiles
You can easily find your Gelato delivery profiles within your Etsy Shop Manager by navigating to Settings > Delivery settings > Delivery profiles.
Please be aware that delivery profiles may be updated periodically to reflect any adjustments in shipping costs.
For a deeper dive into Etsy delivery profiles, refer to the Etsy Help Center.
Etsy’s Shipping Profile Limitation & Workarounds
Etsy allows only one shipping profile per product, which presents a challenge for products with significant size-based shipping price differences (e.g., framed posters, and canvas prints).
How Gelato Handles This Limitation
By default, Gelato assigns the cheapest shipping profile when publishing a product (usually for the smallest size).
This means that larger sizes may be underpriced in shipping costs.
Possible Solutions for Sellers
Split the Product into Multiple Listings
Create separate listings for small, medium, and large sizes, each with its correct shipping profile.
Downsides: More manual work, increased Etsy fees, and potentially confusing customer experience.
Use the Middle Shipping Profile as a Compromise
Set the medium shipping price for all sizes to balance the cost difference.
Some customers will underpay, while others will overpay, but overall, it might average out.
Adjust the Product Retail Price Instead
Use free shipping and adjust product prices accordingly.
Example: Increase the price of larger variants to absorb the difference in shipping cost.
Etsy’s Product Pricing Limitation
Etsy also limits how sellers can set different prices for domestic and global markets:
By default, for their listings, Sellers can set up only one product price which is considered a local price (Local based on the store location)
Sellers must manually enable "Global price" via Etsy Shop Manager → Listings → Inventory & Pricing → Toggle "Domestic & Global Pricing" ON.
This allows sellers to set separate prices for local (domestic) and international (everywhere else) sales.
However, this approach is still not perfect due to price differences across markets (e.g., Europe vs. UK vs. Australia vs. USA).
Alternative Workarounds
Create Separate Etsy Stores for Different Markets
Some sellers manage separate stores for different regions to better control pricing.
Use Custom Etsy Shipping Profiles Instead of Gelato’s Default Profiles
This allows including and excluding certain countries or set own shipping rates.