> 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/troubleshooting-shipping-experiments.md). # Troubleshooting Shipping Experiments Fixes for Shipping Experiments in Elevate A/B Testing when no rates appear at checkout, the wrong rates show, zones cannot be selected together, or storefront messaging disagrees with the checkout, pl *** Symptom first fixes for Shipping Experiments. Each entry gives the likely cause, how to confirm it, and what to do. Shipping rates reach the customer through Shopify's carrier service rather than your theme, so start every investigation in your Shopify shipping settings rather than on your storefront. ### No shipping rates appear at checkout at all **Likely cause:** Elevate A/B Testing is not present as a rate provider in the zone, and the rates it replaced are hidden. That leaves the zone with nothing to offer. **How to confirm:** in your Shopify admin, go to **Settings**, then **Shipping and delivery**, open the profile you selected for the experiment, scroll to the zone, and look under **Carrier and app rates** for **Elevate Shipping Rate (Rates provided by app)**. [Preview and QA Shipping Experiments](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/preview-and-qa) shows what a correctly configured zone looks like. **Fix:** on the **Elevate Carrier Rate** stage of Experiment Review, either let the launch add it, or add it yourself with **Edit zone**, then **Add rate** in Shopify, then **Use carrier or app to calculate rates** with Elevate A/B Testing as the carrier. Select **Recheck zones** afterwards. If it still does not appear, contact support before launching: see [Help and Support](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/start/help-and-support). ### The Shipping Experiment type is unavailable, or rates never return **Likely cause:** the store does not have access to third-party carrier-calculated shipping rates. Shopify includes these on some plans and with annual billing, and sells them as an add-on otherwise. **Fix:** switch to annual billing, add the carrier-calculated rates capability, or contact Shopify Support. There is no way around this from inside Elevate A/B Testing. ### Customers in some countries see the old rates **Likely cause:** their address falls outside the zones you selected. Only selected zones are affected, which is by design. **How to confirm:** expand the zone at Step 2 and check the country list against where those customers are. **Fix:** none needed if that was the intent. If it was not, the experiment needs the other zone selected too. ### I cannot select two zones together **Likely cause:** an experiment runs in a single shipping zone. This is not a bug. **Fix:** run a separate experiment per zone. That is usually better anyway, since domestic and international shipping behave differently enough that one combined result would be hard to act on. ### The rates at checkout do not match the sandbox **Likely cause:** the sandbox is an estimate based on the cart total and weight you typed. A real checkout also factors in the customer's address and the actual items in the cart. **Fix:** verify with a real cart using **Preview** on the variation card, entering an address inside the tested zone. ### A conditional rate never applies **Likely cause for weight conditions:** your products have no weights set in Shopify, so the cart weight never reaches the threshold. Conditional rates work on cart price or order weight, and a weight condition is only as good as your product data. **Likely cause for price conditions:** the cart total is being evaluated after a discount that pushes it back below the threshold. **How to confirm:** use the Shipping Preview Sandbox and raise the cart weight or total until the rate appears. If it never appears at any value, the condition is set wrong. If it appears in the sandbox but not at a real checkout, the cart data is the problem. **Fix:** add product weights in Shopify, or adjust the condition boundary. ### My site advertises a threshold the checkout does not honour **Likely cause:** the storefront messaging was not changed per variation. Your theme says one amount to every visitor while variations charge differently. **Fix:** turn on **Content Editing Changes** at Step 7 and edit the messaging per variation, or use **Request Shipping Content Setup** to have the Elevate A/B Testing team do it. This is the most damaging shipping misconfiguration, because customers meet a promise the checkout breaks. ### Experiment data is visible in the cart, emails, or packing slips **Likely cause:** your theme or an app renders line item properties without skipping underscore-prefixed ones. **Fix:** see [Hide Cart Item Properties](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/hide-cart-item-properties). ### Revenue looks higher than on my other experiments **Likely cause:** shipping fees count towards revenue on this experiment type and are excluded on every other one, because here the fee is the thing being tested. **Fix:** none needed. Compare shipping experiments against shipping experiments. See [Reports Overview](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/analyze/reports/reports-overview). ### Results are moving slowly **Likely cause:** only visitors who reach the shipping step of checkout are affected by the change, and audience targeting narrows that further. **Fix:** run on all visitors rather than a segment, and test a difference large enough to detect. See [Statistical Significance](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/analyze/reports/statistical-significance). ### FAQs #### What happens to my real shipping rates during the test? The rates you selected are hidden and replaced with an Elevate A/B Testing rate adjusted per variation. Rates you did not select carry on as normal. Your originals are restored automatically when the experiment ends or is paused. #### Do I have to restore anything myself when the test ends? No. Restoration is automatic on both ending and pausing. #### Can one experiment cover more than one shipping zone? No. One experiment, one zone. Run a second experiment for a second zone. #### Can I test shipping on only some products? No. Shipping experiments apply store-wide within the zones you select and cannot be limited to products or collections. #### How many variations can I run? Up to five, including the control. #### Can I edit the control? No. The control holds your current live rates, which is what makes it the baseline. Only variations are editable. #### Do I need the theme extension? Only if you use **Content Editing Changes** at Step 7 to change on-page shipping messaging. The rates themselves are delivered through Shopify's carrier service and do not need it. #### Why do the zones and rates I see differ from another store's? Because they come from your own Shopify shipping configuration. Profiles, zones, countries, rates, and currency are all yours. #### Can I run a Shipping Experiment alongside other experiments? Yes. Turn on traffic isolation if you need certainty that another experiment is not influencing this one. See [Traffic Isolation](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/operate/experiment-setup/traffic-isolation). #### Should I request a review before launching? On your first shipping experiment, yes. **Request Review** on the Elevate Review stage has the team check your setup. Shipping is the only experiment type where a mistake charges real customers the wrong amount. ### Related * [Create a Shipping Experiment](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/create): the eight step setup walkthrough. * [Preview and QA Shipping Experiments](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/preview-and-qa): the sandbox, scenarios, and pre-launch checklist. * [Shipping Testing Overview](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/test/shipping/overview): requirements and how rates are delivered. * [Ending an Experiment](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/operate/experiment-setup/ending-an-experiment): ending a Shipping Experiment.