Why can't orders be shipped to certain addresses when using pre-paid debit cards?

[nobaddeh]

Hello.

This is my first ... experience. 

I have someone in Texas help me test the shipping and payment and there is an issue. He is using a pre-paid debit card and trying to make a purchase. Keeps getting that error message that it cannot be shipped to the address.

I just tried and placed an order myself to my PO Box in WA state, but with my credit card. It worked fine. 

Are there any known issues with pre-paid debit/credit card and addresses? If the store item is listed in CAD, but it's a card in USD, would Shopify manage it all for me or cause issues? 

error message just says "cannot be shipped to the address make sure it's entered correctly".

[Rick · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back with this extra information @nobaddeh 

Thank you for also confirming that Texas is definitely included in your 'US Cross-Border' shipping zone. Based on your screenshot, it looks like you have a single flat rate for that shipping zone which is for free shipping. 

As you can see in the 'Condition' section of this shipping rate, the customer has to spend $25 or higher in order for this rate to be available for their order. This means that unless you have other rates set up, they will see an error in your checkout stating that the order cannot be shipped if the total order value is below $25.

To fix this you could consider adding another shipping rate with the price condition of $0 - $24.99, and then maybe charge for this rate. That would mean customers below $25 order value will still be able to checkout on your store, but will have to pay for shipping. Over $25 order value would then qualify for free shipping.

I can see at the top of your screenshot it mentions discounted rates from Shopify Shipping - can you confirm if you have any other shipping rates set up on your store?

[Rick · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back to let me know @nobaddeh 

You are very welcome! We're always here to help.

It sounds like you have figured out what happened - well done! The discount code must have made the order total go below the minimum threshold for shipping, and as a result the customer wasn't able to check out on your store (as there was technically no applicable shipping rates for their order).

I am assuming that your store is located within the US, correct? If so, have you considered using Shopify Shipping on your store, instead of manual flat shipping rates? Shopify Shipping is an all-in-one shipping and fulfillment solution designed to simplify the shipping process for merchants and improve the overall customer experience.

Some of the key benefits of Shopify Shipping include:

• Real-time carrier rates: Shopify Shipping can show real-time shipping rates from major carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL.
• Print shipping labels directly from your Shopify admin, making it easy to manage multiple shipping orders.
• Discounts: You can avail of discounted shipping rates through Shopify Shipping by using Shopify's own carrier accounts, which can save you money on shipping costs.

For a quick breakdown of how it works, feel free to check out this video on Shopify Shipping from our Shopify Help Center YouTube channel. Besides this shipping issue we worked through, how is the rest of your store coming along? I would love to hear more about how your business is going, and if you are working towards any goals or milestones that perhaps I could assist with?

[Rick]

Hi @nobaddeh 

Thanks for reaching out here - welcome to the Shopify Community.

I understand that you are experiencing some issues with your checkout, and are seeing an error message saying that the order cannot be shipped to the entered address.

There's a few reasons why this error might be happening, but the most common is that there are problems with the shipping rate for that specific location. This could mean there is simply no shipping rate for Texas, or perhaps there are conditions on the rates that are not being met with the cart total amounts.

I would suggest navigating to Settings > Shipping and Delivery and then clicking Manage next to the shipping profile in question (by default this will be the General profile). Once there you will need to find the shipping zone where Texas is located, and then ensure there is a suitable shipping rate. It's important to make sure there are no overly restrictive conditions on the rate, such as weight ranges that have a gap, or price minimums that are being missed etc.

Feel free to take a screenshot of your shipping rates where Texas is included, and I can take a closer look. It is also possible that there is an issue with the address format being entered in the checkout. Make sure that the address is entered correctly and matches the format that the checkout requires e.g. the ZIP code is correct etc. 

You were wondering about prepaid debit cards, and if the card is in CAD. Can you confirm what payment gateway you are using on your store? If the issue was payment related, it would likely show a different error message, and wouldn't mention that it cannot ship to the address entered. Once we make sure your shipping settings all look OK, we can certainly explore that possibility. For the moment, you can check more information about why the order failed by navigating to the abandoned checkout that was created, and checking the timeline of the order (which will include detailed payment information and state whether errors occurred).

[nobaddeh]

It says all of the states are checked off.

Going to check with the buyer what he used for the gateway. I am assuming just the regular CC check out.

[Rick · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back with this extra information @nobaddeh 

Thank you for also confirming that Texas is definitely included in your 'US Cross-Border' shipping zone. Based on your screenshot, it looks like you have a single flat rate for that shipping zone which is for free shipping. 

As you can see in the 'Condition' section of this shipping rate, the customer has to spend $25 or higher in order for this rate to be available for their order. This means that unless you have other rates set up, they will see an error in your checkout stating that the order cannot be shipped if the total order value is below $25.

To fix this you could consider adding another shipping rate with the price condition of $0 - $24.99, and then maybe charge for this rate. That would mean customers below $25 order value will still be able to checkout on your store, but will have to pay for shipping. Over $25 order value would then qualify for free shipping.

I can see at the top of your screenshot it mentions discounted rates from Shopify Shipping - can you confirm if you have any other shipping rates set up on your store?

[nobaddeh]

Ahhh. I see. Thank you!

Im doing a trial with someone in Texas and as a way to thank that customer with helping me test the website and shipping i made a 90% discount code so that put the unit price below the 25 minimum.

[Rick · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back to let me know @nobaddeh 

You are very welcome! We're always here to help.

It sounds like you have figured out what happened - well done! The discount code must have made the order total go below the minimum threshold for shipping, and as a result the customer wasn't able to check out on your store (as there was technically no applicable shipping rates for their order).

I am assuming that your store is located within the US, correct? If so, have you considered using Shopify Shipping on your store, instead of manual flat shipping rates? Shopify Shipping is an all-in-one shipping and fulfillment solution designed to simplify the shipping process for merchants and improve the overall customer experience.

Some of the key benefits of Shopify Shipping include:

• Real-time carrier rates: Shopify Shipping can show real-time shipping rates from major carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL.
• Print shipping labels directly from your Shopify admin, making it easy to manage multiple shipping orders.
• Discounts: You can avail of discounted shipping rates through Shopify Shipping by using Shopify's own carrier accounts, which can save you money on shipping costs.

For a quick breakdown of how it works, feel free to check out this video on Shopify Shipping from our Shopify Help Center YouTube channel. Besides this shipping issue we worked through, how is the rest of your store coming along? I would love to hear more about how your business is going, and if you are working towards any goals or milestones that perhaps I could assist with?

[nobaddeh]

Hi. The "store" is in Canada but in the border region. So far the plan was to do my weekly fuel up cross border trip and drop the packages off at the local USPS office. Hence the "weekly drop off". It seems more economical and I figured people are not going to want to spend 15 dollars  on shipping a 25 dollar item (5 is for the shipping).

I have been shipping within Canada with regular letter mail and so far it has not been an issue.

[Rick]

Hi @nobaddeh 

Thank you for sharing your shipping strategy with me. I understand that you are trying to minimize shipping costs for your customers. I totally get that shipping costs can have a direct impact on your business and your customers, and it's great that you're taking the necessary steps to keep it affordable for everyone.

However, keep in mind that you may need to adapt your current shipping strategy as your business expands and sales increase, as that sounds like a lot to manage. That might be something to keep in mind for further down the line! 

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with, or if you have any other questions. We're always here to help!

[nobaddeh]

hi. im still having issues. 

i just had a friend try with a real proper CC from Hawaii and it still declines it. 

earlier i had someone else try from Arizona and declined it as well. 

there are no messages other than 'card declined'.

what am i still missing there?

[Rick]

Hi @nobaddeh 

Thanks for reaching back out.

That certainly isn't ideal that you are still experiencing issues with accepting orders on your store.

Can you confirm if you are using the Shopify Payments gateway on your store to accept credit cards? To confirm this you can head to the Settings > Payments section of your admin, and check to see if it's enabled there.

You can actually see more information relating to the order by navigating to the Orders > Abandoned Checkouts section of your store. Here you can click into the relevant abandoned/failed order and view detailed information in the order timeline, including payment events. This might help to identify exactly what happened.

If you are unable to troubleshoot this yourself by using the above information, feel free to contact our support team directly using this link here and we can take a closer look at this order.

It's possible that you may also need to direct the customers to their bank to see if there's any issues or blockages coming from their side. Also, if you are using a third-party gateway and not Shopify Payments, it would be a good idea to touch base with their support team to see if they can identify any issues with your account, or provide further context on these credit card failures.

[nobaddeh · Accepted solution]

oh my god. i got it figured out just a couple minutes ago.

i was using a 90% discount code when asking folks to help me test the sales/shipping part and... the 90% off made the purchase amount small enough so the banks flagged it as fraud. 

got a friend to try with a full amount and it went through. 

HOURS spent on this.... 

[Rick]

Hi @nobaddeh

Thanks for your speedy reply!

That is great to hear you figured this out. If you are using Shopify Payments then the minimum order the gateway will accept is generally about $0.50. However, it sounds like this issue was potentially coming from your customers bank, as they were flagging it as fraud due to the small amounts.

It's certainly not ideal that you spent a lot of time figuring this out, but I am happy to hear you now understand what happened and can continue with your store! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help, or anything else you are unsure of with your Shopify store! We're always keen to lend a hand.