Why won't UPS 3 Day Select show as a shipping option on my website?

[richarda67]

I wanted to add the ability for our customers to have UPS 3 Day Select as a shipping option, replacing Priority Mail and it will not work on the website despite me setting it up as an option in the Shopify app.  It will only allow our Default FREE Shipping and UPS NEXT DAY AIR and USPS PRIORITY MAIL.  Even as I delete one of these the 2nd Day Air and 3 Day Select won't show up for our customers.

[Summer]

Hey, @Richarda67! Welcome to Shopify Community!

I'd love to shed some light on why there are situations where UPS 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select don't appear at your checkout. This is expected behavior and it's related to the UPS Ground service. 

Essentially, UPS filters out services that are more expensive than Ground, but have the same, or slower, delivery time. For context, UPS Ground has a variable time in transit and its delivery time is calculated based on the origin and destination zip codes. This is in contrast to 2nd Day Air and 3 Day Select which have the delivery time built into the name and service. In some cases, Ground will have the same delivery time as 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select but it will always come out cheaper. Whenever a package can be delivered through UPS Ground faster or for the same amount it takes to deliver with 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select, the fixed-delivery services will not appear. To give you an example, let's say there's a shipment from New York to New York that can be delivered through Ground in 2 days, 2nd Day Air will not show because it's a more expensive service than Ground. The same happens with 3 Day Select.

Even if you don't enable UPS Ground shipping, 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select will still be filtered out by this rule. This is something UPS has set up and it's something we are unable to control, therefore it's a good idea to enable UPS Ground rates or flat rates to ensure shipping services will always be presented to customers in the event 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select will not show at the checkout. 

Since we're on the topic of shipping, I thought I'd mention we have a free course called Leverage Shipping for Success that you may be interested in. Shipping can be challenging to figure out so we created a course to help you ensure you have a strategy that's not only beneficial for your customers but for you and your business as well. Feel free to take the course to get some tips on optimizing your shipping strategy! 

[Mirdas]

As @Summer explained, Shopify UPS filters out services that are more expensive than Ground but have the same or slower delivery time.

If you require all services to be offered at checkout, you may consider using an app. However, if you are relying on Shopify UPS discounted rates, then this is not an option.