How to split a Big Cartel shipment
Part of the order is marked shipped with its own tracking number, the rest is still outstanding, and the buyer knows which is which.
Checked against Big Cartel: Send Shipment Tracking Info on September 13, 2026.
Before you start
- One parcel packed and its tracking number to hand
- A clear list of which items are in this box
- A paid plan, because Big Cartel says "The shipment tracking feature is available in our paid plans."
Steps
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Open the order with items left behind
Sign in at app.bigcartel.com, go to Orders and select the order.
You should see every item on the order, including the ones not going today.
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Start the shipment
On the order, select Mark as shipped.
You should see the shipment tool, with the order's items and the tracking fields.
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Choose only the items in the box
In the shipment, choose which items in the order you are sending out.
You should see the items in this parcel selected and the rest left unselected.
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Add the tracking for this parcel
In the tracking fields, paste the tracking number for the box you packed and check the carrier.
You should see one tracking number tied to this shipment rather than to the whole order.
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Send this shipment
On the order, select Mark as shipped to save it and notify the buyer.
You should see an email listing the items in this parcel with its tracking link.
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Find the order again when the rest ships
In the admin, go to Orders and open the Partially Shipped tab.
You should see the order waiting there with its outstanding items, ready for a second shipment.
If it goes wrong
- The buyer thinks half the order is missing
Each shipment sends its own notification, so a two box order means two emails with different item lists. Say in the first one that a second parcel is coming, because the email itself cannot say it for you.
- You marked the whole order shipped by accident
Confirming without narrowing the item selection closes the order in one shipment. The way back is to mark it unshipped, which deletes the shipping and tracking info you added, then start over with the right items.
- The remaining items never got shipped
A partly shipped order leaves the Unshipped tab, so it stops appearing where you look every morning. Check Partially Shipped as a separate queue, or an order sits half done for a week.
- Two parcels, one tracking number
A number you reuse across shipments points the buyer at whichever box it belongs to and leaves the other unaccounted for. Buy a label per box and keep the numbers with the item list you selected.
What happens next
The order sits under Partially Shipped until the last item ships, and each shipment keeps its own tracking on the order details page. Plan for 2 emails on a 2 box order, and for the second parcel's postage to be priced on its own weight, not on half of the original.
Price each box on its own weight
Split an order into two boxes and the two parcels rarely price alike. I'd Ship That rates USPS and UPS for each parcel as packed, shows the full price before you buy, and gives you a tracking number per label. Weight comes from your saved product presets or from what you type once.
Related questions
As many as the order has items to split across, since each pass lets you choose which items are going out. In practice two is common and three is a sign the order should have been packed differently. Each shipment carries its own tracking and its own email.
Yes. Big Cartel's shipping email shows a breakdown of which items in their order have shipped, along with the tracking link, so the item list is the useful part on a split order.
Marking an order unshipped removes the shipping and tracking info that was added, so treat it as starting the order's shipping over rather than editing one parcel. Note the numbers and item lists somewhere before you undo anything.
Yes, listing only what is in that box, or the buyer counts the first slip against the second parcel. Our guide on pick lists versus packing slips covers which document belongs in the box and which stays on the bench.