If you’ve ever struggled with oversized or unprofitable orders, weight-based limits may be exactly what your Shopify store needs. These rules let you control purchases not by quantity or price, but by the total weight of items in a cart. It’s a simple feature that can make fulfillment easier, reduce shipping surprises, and help you stay profitable. Let’s take a closer look at what weight-based limits are, why they matter, and how merchants are using them.
What are weight-based order limits?
Weight-based order limits allow you to set minimums and maximums based on the combined weight of a cart. For example, you could prevent customers from checking out with more than 50kg of products, or require a minimum of 2kg before shipping. Unlike standard quantity rules, this feature is designed for stores where weight has a direct impact on costs, logistics, or customer experience.
What types of stores would benefit from weight limits?
With weight-based rules, you’re not just setting boundaries. You’re building a structure that keeps orders profitable and manageable. This feature gives you control, reduces shipping risks, and makes fulfillment smoother when products vary widely in size and density.
Think of it like this: Instead of a customer checking out with an order that’s too heavy to ship affordably or too light to cover costs, you can guide them into ranges that make sense for your business. The result is more predictable, sustainable orders.
Weight limits are especially useful for stores that:
- Sell heavy goods like construction materials, furniture, or bulk beverages
- Ship food and beverage products internationally where costs spike on small orders
- Manage large or dense items such as pet food, gardening supplies, or home goods
- Run subscription boxes that need consistent weight ranges for packaging and delivery
For these types of stores, weight-based limits are more than just a safeguard—they’re a practical way to protect margins, avoid fulfillment headaches, and deliver a reliable experience for customers.
How to set up weight-based limits using DC Order Limits
Setting it up in your DC Order Limits app is easy. Here’s how:
- Click “New Rule” and give it a name (for internal use).
- Select Weight limits as the rule type.
- Enter your Minimum weight, Maximum weight, and choose the unit (lb, kg, oz, g).
- Choose how it applies whether its to the whole cart, each product, or specific variants.
- Set the product, customer, and market eligibility.
- Click Save!
And just like that, your store will only accept orders within the exact weight ranges you set, keeping fulfillment simple and shipping costs under control.
How merchants are already using weight-based limits
Real-world case: Heavy goods retailer
One construction supply store sells 25kg bags of concrete mix. In the past, some customers were stacking orders that weighed over 300kg, which led to unsafe handling and sky-high freight costs. By introducing a 150kg cart weight cap, the store kept orders manageable, made shipping affordable, and protected its staff from heavy lifting risks.
Real-world case: International food brand
A specialty grocer ships snacks and pantry goods to customers worldwide. The problem was that lightweight international orders often cost more to ship than the store earned in revenue. By setting a 2kg minimum weight for overseas markets, they avoided unprofitable micro-orders, kept shipping efficient, and still made it easy for international fans to enjoy their products.
Weight-based limits are a small adjustment with a big impact. They align customer orders with what makes sense for your business, protect against costly mistakes, and give you more control over fulfillment. Whether you’re shipping heavy materials or lightweight items across borders, these rules help you balance customer demand with the realities of shipping and operations. Weight-based order limits are now available in DC Order Limits, giving you the flexibility to manage orders by weight directly inside your Shopify store.
