How To Fix “There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination” Shopify Error (Fast)

It’s the most frustrating thing you’ve ever come across. You’ve added your products, customized your theme, and are making a test order to check everything works – only to be hit by the dreaded “There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination” Shopify error message.

The last thing you want is for a prospective customer to make it all the way to your checkout page, but not be able to put in their shipping details.

Read on to find out how to fix these issues and resolve the error.

1. No shipping zones set up for the destination address

The default setting on any Shopify store applies the same shipping rates for every country in the world.

However, you may have created custom shipping zones to reflect accurate rates for certain locations. If you haven’t set up zones for a certain location and a prospective customer inputs an address that ships to that location, the error will appear.

Here’s how to fix this issue.

Set up Shopify shipping zones

In your Shopify dashboard, go to your Settings > Shipping and delivery > Shipping rates at checkout. Click on “Manage rates” under Custom Shipping Rates. If you have locations that are not covered by your shipping zone, you may see this message.

Click on the blue arrow to find out the details of the locations that are not covered.

You can edit your current profile to add a new shipping zone. Click on “Create shipping zone” to set up a new shipping zone that includes the locations you’ve missed.

Input missing rates

If you see a message like the below, you have not set up rates for some locations that are included in your shipping zone.

Click on the “Manage rates” button. Scroll to the bottom and you should see the option to add rates for the locations that don’t already have rates.

2. Cart contents don’t meet the parameters of your shipping settings

You may not have set up certain parameters in your shipping settings. When your prospective customer wants to checkout, they may get the error simply because you haven’t made the shipping methods available in your settings.

Set up shipping weights for every single product

Click on Products in the left menu and click on your product. Scroll down to the Shipping section and make sure you have assigned a product weight that is not 0. Make sure the checkbox that says “This is a physical product” is checked off.

If you are using a shipping integration, make sure the weight unit you use matches their settings. Some errors can be easily fixed by changing the weight unit to the one that your shipping provider uses.

You can check multiple products at a time by using the Bulk Editor.

Set up weight-based freight rates for all possible shipping weights

If your heaviest product is 5kg, make sure you have your weight-based rates set up from 0kg to 5kg. For example, you should have settings for:

0-1kg: $5

1kg-3kg: $8

3-5kg: $10

To set up weight-based rates, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Shipping rates at checkout. Click on “Manage rates”. Under each location, click the “Add rate” button and select “Add conditions”. You will see the option to add rates for each weight category.

If your customer orders a combination of products that do not meet any of your weight-based rate settings, it can create the “There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination” error.

Remember that the weight of the default package you have in your settings will be added on to the total weight of the shopping cart. That brings us to the next thing you should check.

Set your default package weight to zero

Head back to the trusty Shipping and delivery page in your Settings. Scroll down to the Packages settings.

Make sure the weight of your Saved packages are set to zero.

Set up price-based freight rates for all possible checkout values

If you’re using price-based rates instead of weight-based rates, make sure you have rates for all possible total checkout values. Alternatively, you can set up a category that does not have a maximum limit on price to make sure you’re covered for any customer that decided to make a bulk purchase.

3. You’re using a shipping integration and you have not changed the inventory settings

If you use a custom fulfillment service, you might still have settings that are set to allow Shopify to manage your inventory.

Change your inventory settings

Go to Products and click on the product that is fulfilled by your third-party provider. Scroll down to the Inventory section. This is set to Shopify by default. Under the Inventory managed by option, make sure that you’ve selected your third party provider and saved it.

Conclusion

The “There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination” Shopify error can make you want to pull your hair out, but the issue is easily fixed by checking a few settings for individual products and your Shopify store.