> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/shipping-testing/preview-and-qa-shipping-experiments.md).
# Preview and QA Shipping Experiments
How to verify a Shipping Experiment in Elevate A/B Testing before launch, using the Shipping Preview Sandbox and variation previews, plus the cart scenarios and checkout checks worth running.
***
Shipping is the one experiment type that changes what a real customer is charged. Verify it properly before launch. This page covers the two preview tools and the scenarios worth running through each.
Both tools live on the **Preview** stage of the Experiment Review screen, which you reach after selecting **Create Preview Experiment**.
### Before you preview: confirm the carrier rate
Do this first. Everything else on this page assumes Shopify can actually reach Elevate A/B Testing for rates, and if it cannot, your previews will be wrong in a way that looks like a configuration mistake.
1. In your Shopify admin, go to **Settings**, then **Shipping and delivery**.
2. Find the shipping profile you selected for this experiment.
3. Scroll to the shipping zone you selected.
4. Under **Carrier and app rates**, confirm you see **Elevate Shipping Rate (Rates provided by app)**.
The entry sits below your own rates, and reads **Calculated transit time**. Your own rates stay listed while the experiment is in preview.
If it is missing, go back to the **Elevate Carrier Rate** stage of Experiment Review and either let the launch add it or add it yourself, then select **Recheck zones**. If it still does not appear, contact support rather than launching: see [Help and Support](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/start/help-and-support) and [Troubleshooting Shipping Experiments](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/troubleshooting).
### The Shipping Preview Sandbox
The sandbox answers one question quickly: given this cart, what does this variation charge?
1. Under **Select Shipping Variant**, choose the variation to inspect.
2. Enter a **Cart Total** and a **Cart Weight**.
3. Read **Available Shipping Options** for what the customer would see, and **Order Summary** for the resulting total.
Only rates from the zones you selected appear here. The sandbox is an estimate: actual rates at a live checkout also depend on the customer's address and the specific items in the cart.
#### Scenarios worth running
Change one number at a time and watch what the options do.
| Scenario | What you are checking |
| ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cart total just below a threshold | The paid rate appears, at the price you intended |
| Cart total exactly at the threshold | The boundary behaves the way you meant. Off-by-one threshold errors are the most common shipping mistake |
| Cart total just above the threshold | The free or discounted rate takes over |
| Weight below a weight condition | The correct rate for a light order |
| Weight above a weight condition | The conditional rate applies |
| Every variation, same cart | The differences between variations are the ones you configured, and nothing else |
### Previewing on your storefront
**Preview** on a variation card puts you into that group, so you can browse your own store and reach checkout as a visitor assigned to it.
Use this for anything the sandbox cannot show:
1. Add products to the cart and go to checkout.
2. Enter an address inside the zone you are testing, so the shipping section appears.
3. Confirm the rate names, prices, descriptions, and delivery estimates match the variation.
4. Check any storefront messaging about shipping. If you configured content changes in Step 7, confirm the threshold your site advertises matches the one the checkout applies.
5. Return to the Preview stage, select **Preview** on the next variation, and repeat.
Empty your cart between variations. A cart carried over from the previous group can produce results that look like a bug and are not.
### Pre-launch checklist
Every item is pass or fail.
1. **Carrier rate present.** **Elevate Shipping Rate (Rates provided by app)** appears under **Carrier and app rates** in the zone you are testing.
2. **Sandbox thresholds correct.** Each conditional rate switches over at the value you intended, checked just below, at, and just above.
3. **Every variation checked.** Including the control, which should show your current live rates.
4. **Rate names read well.** They are customer-facing. Check them at the checkout, not just in the app.
5. **Storefront messaging agrees with checkout.** No page still advertising a threshold a variation does not honour.
6. **Discount codes.** Apply one and confirm the shipping rate still behaves as intended, since a code can change the cart total across a threshold.
7. **Address inside the zone.** Every check uses an address the tested zone actually covers, since that is the only place the test rates apply.
8. **Devices and browsers.** Check at least one desktop browser and one mobile browser.
9. **Cart properties hidden.** No experiment data visible in the cart or drawer. See [Hide Cart Item Properties](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/hide-cart-item-properties).
When everything passes, go to **Elevate Review** and select **Launch Experiment**, or **Request Review** to have the Elevate A/B Testing team check the setup first.
### Related
* [Create a Shipping Experiment](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/create): the eight step setup walkthrough and the Experiment Review stages.
* [Shipping Testing Overview](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/overview): requirements and how rates are delivered.
* [Troubleshooting Shipping Experiments](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/troubleshooting): symptom first fixes and FAQs.
