Subscription shipping troubleshooting

Start here when a subscriber is charged the wrong shipping amount, customers can't check out because no shipping options appear, or a subscription's shipping changed when you didn't expect it. Find what you see in the tables below, then open the linked article. Each article walks through quick checks in order, the likely causes, and the fixes. If you use an AI agent, have it read this page first.

How shipping for subscriptions works

Shopify sets the rate at checkout. Shopify works it out from your shipping profiles and any shipping apps you use. Awtomic doesn't choose checkout rates.
Each subscription saves its own shipping method and price. Renewals bill that saved price. Changing a shipping profile doesn't change existing subscriptions.
Awtomic asks Shopify for a new rate only at certain times. For example, after a customer or admin edits the subscription's products, after an address change, or when you run a bulk refresh. You can turn off the updates on edits. See How a subscription's shipping rate is set and when it changes.
Subscription-only rates live in one Shopify shipping profile. Awtomic creates an empty profile named Awtomic Subscription Shipping. You add its zones and rates in Shopify. Every zone in it must also exist in your General profile, or Shopify returns no subscription rate for that address. Each plan's Enable subscription shipping checkbox (under Shipping in the plan's Pricing section, or in Prepaid terms → Payment options on prepaid plans) attaches the plan to it. Awtomic never writes zones or rates. See Shipping settings.

Before you begin

Have these ready. Most checks start from them.

The subscription ID. It's in the URL of the subscription page in Awtomic.
What the subscription page shows in the shipping row: the rate name and price, and the delivery method (shipping, local delivery, or pickup).
The subscription's timeline. Look for recent edits and shipping rate changes.
Whether the subscription is prepaid.

Find your symptom

Messages in italics are the exact text you or your customers see. Search this page for the words in the message.

Subscribers pay the wrong amount for shipping

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"I changed my shipping rates in Shopify, but existing subscribers still pay the old rate"	Expected. Each subscription keeps the price it was saved with.	How a subscription's shipping rate is set
"A subscriber's shipping price changed on its own," for example after they or you edited the subscription, or a rate you set by hand went back	An edit made Awtomic ask Shopify for today's rate. Shopify returns only the cheapest shipping rate, so a pricier rate drops to the cheapest.	How a subscription's shipping rate is set
"A prepaid subscriber shows $0 shipping," or "shipping appeared halfway through a prepaid term"	Prepaid subscriptions follow their own shipping rules	How a subscription's shipping rate is set
"Subscriptions I imported from another app have $0 or no shipping"	Imported subscriptions keep the price the old platform had, often $0	How a subscription's shipping rate is set
"Subscribers are charged my normal shipping rate," or "free subscription shipping stopped working"	The plan or the item isn't attached to the subscription shipping profile	Subscriber charged your regular shipping rate
"A new product, add-on, gift, or swapped-in item doesn't get subscription shipping"	That item isn't on a plan with subscription shipping turned on	Subscriber charged your regular shipping rate
"I ran a bulk swap with Recalculate shipping and subscribers got the regular rate"	The swapped-in product isn't on the plan	Subscriber charged your regular shipping rate
"Subscriptions suddenly started charging shipping and nothing changed"	Often another app changed your profile or plan	Shipping apps and delivery customizations
"Customers can only pick one rate," "a subscriber who paid for express is now on standard," or "an expedited or pickup-point rate was chosen for them"	For subscriptions, Shopify offers only the cheapest shipping rate for the address. Renewals bill the stored price, and any re-check moves a pricier rate to the cheapest.	Why subscriptions use the cheapest shipping rate

Customers see no shipping options

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"Shipping not available. Your order cannot be shipped to the selected address." at checkout, "No delivery options available for this address", "There are no shipping options available for that address.", or "Unfortunately, we do not ship to this location." in the customer portal	Shopify found no rate for this address and these items	No shipping rates for subscription products
"Subscription items get no rates, but one-time purchases work," or "carts with a subscription and a one-time item show no rates"	A delivery customization or shipping app is hiding rates	Shipping apps and delivery customizations
"The cart says a subscription item is already sold out"	The subscription profile is missing the location that stocks the item	No shipping rates for subscription products
"Card-on-file checkout is stuck on the shipping step," "The selected delivery option is no longer available.", or "HTTP: 400" on POS	Shopify has no rate for this address and these items	No shipping rates for subscription products
"Recalculating shipping failed - no shipping options found."	Shopify had no rate for the new address	No shipping rates for subscription products
"Do my ZIP-code or live carrier rates carry over to renewals?"	Renewals bill the saved price	Shipping apps and delivery customizations

Errors when you turn on subscription shipping

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"Cannot associate product variants and selling plan groups to the same profile.", "Cannot enable subscription shipping", "Unable to enable subscription shipping for this plan due to a product conflict", or "Error updating delivery profile"	Products were added straight to the Awtomic Subscription Shipping profile. A profile can hold subscription plans or products, not both.	Shipping settings
"The Enable subscription shipping checkbox won't stay on," or "it's greyed out"	The profile doesn't exist yet, your store has no location, or the product conflict above	Shipping settings
"I can't create the profile because of legacy shipping compatibility mode," or Create keeps returning to the create screen	Shopify has discontinued legacy shipping mode, so this should no longer happen. Contact support with your store URL.	Shipping settings
"One-time shipping broke after I added products to the subscription profile"	Products moved out of your General profile	Shipping settings

Local pickup and local delivery

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"Pickup or local delivery isn't offered for subscriptions," "No pick up locations available", or "No local delivery locations available"	The item isn't in stock at the location, or the delivery method isn't turned on there	Local pickup and local delivery for subscriptions
"Enter a phone number for this local delivery."	Local delivery needs a phone number	Local pickup and local delivery for subscriptions
"I want to move a subscriber from pickup or local delivery to shipping," or "No Shipping rates available for this address" when you try	Select Edit on the Pickup address card, choose Ship, then pick the address and confirm the rate. Shopify has no shipping rate for that address if none appears.	Local pickup and local delivery for subscriptions

Bulk shipping updates

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
A row says "Subscription unchanged"	The rate was already correct. Nothing to fix.	Bulk update shipping rates
A row says "Internal server error, please contact us"	Awtomic couldn't update this subscription. The article lists the known causes.	Bulk update shipping rates
"The rate must be a number equal or higher than 0"	The amount you entered isn't a valid price	Bulk update shipping rates
"The bulk update has been stuck in Processing for hours"	Large updates run slowly. The counter counts only Success rows, so it can stop below the total.	Bulk update shipping rates
Codes in the bulk log: `SC_SHIPPING_RATE_CHANGED`, `SC_SHIPPING_RATE_UNCHANGED`, `SC_NO_DELIVERY_METHOD_ADDRESS`, `NO_SHIPPING_RATE_FOUND`, `INVALID_SC_PREPAID`, `SHOPIFY_ERROR`	Each code is one subscription's result. The article explains each one.	Bulk update shipping rates

Free shipping

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"Free shipping worked on the first order only," or "renewals charge shipping even with a free-shipping discount"	Often the discount is limited to the first payment	Free shipping for subscriptions
"A membership discount won't combine with free shipping"	Shopify's discount combination rules decide which one applies	Free shipping for subscriptions
"A renewal got free shipping below my threshold," or "didn't get it above my threshold"	Shopify checks the threshold against the price before discounts	Free shipping for subscriptions
"One-time items are charged shipping, but the subscription ships free"	Subscription and one-time items get separate shipping	Mixed carts: subscription and one-time items

A renewal failed

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
`INVENTORY_ALLOCATIONS_NOT_FOUND` or "No inventory location found or enabled" on a renewal	Shopify couldn't find a location with stock that serves this address	Renewal failed: INVENTORY_ALLOCATIONS_NOT_FOUND
"A subscription is in Needs review after billing, and marking it reviewed doesn't help"	Usually the same inventory problem	Renewal failed: INVENTORY_ALLOCATIONS_NOT_FOUND and Troubleshooting subscriptions that need review

Orders look wrong

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"Orders show Subscription Shipping or Custom Rate as the shipping method," or "the order's method name doesn't match the subscription"	The subscription saved a generic name	Wrong shipping method name on subscription orders
"A carrier I removed still shows on subscriptions"	Subscriptions keep the method they were saved with	Wrong shipping method name on subscription orders
"The first order has two shipping charges, one of them $0," or "one order became two shipments"	Normal for carts with subscription and one-time items	Mixed carts: subscription and one-time items

Changing one subscriber's shipping

What you see	What it usually means	Read this
"I want to change one subscriber's rate or add a recurring delivery fee"	Edit the rate on that subscription	Edit the shipping rate in a subscription
"Edit shipping rate is greyed out"	For example, the subscription is a newer prepaid subscription, billing right now, or on local delivery or pickup	Edit the shipping rate in a subscription
"An error occurred updating shipping rate"	Awtomic couldn't save the change. The article lists what to check.	Edit the shipping rate in a subscription
"Edit shipping rate only offers Custom shipping rate"	Shopify has no rate for this address and these items	No shipping rates for subscription products
"I want my AI agent to find the cause"	Hand it our ready-made checklist	Debug subscription shipping with your AI agent

Start here if you don't see your symptom

Does a one-time purchase of the same product to the same address work? If it also fails, fix your general Shopify shipping first. See No shipping rates for subscription products.
Is Enable subscription shipping on for the plan, and is every item on that plan? If not, see Subscriber charged your regular shipping rate.
Do you have delivery customizations, rate apps, or another subscription app? Turn customizations off one at a time and retest at checkout. See Shipping apps and delivery customizations.
Is the problem only on existing subscriptions? The saved rate is expected. See How a subscription's shipping rate is set and when it changes.
Is the subscription prepaid, on local delivery, or on pickup? These follow different rules. See How a subscription's shipping rate is set and when it changes and Local pickup and local delivery for subscriptions.

Who controls what

Behavior	Who controls it
Which rates checkout shows	Shopify, using your profiles and shipping apps
Zones, rates, and locations in every profile, including Awtomic Subscription Shipping	You, in Shopify. See set up shipping zones and rates.
A profile can't contain both products and subscription plans	Shopify
Renewals bill the price saved on the subscription	Shopify
When Awtomic asks Shopify for a subscription's rate again	Awtomic
Which rates Shopify returns to that request: only the cheapest shipping rate per profile, plus local delivery and pickup options	Shopify
A zone in the subscription profile gives no rate unless the same zone also exists in your General profile	Shopify
Pickup is offered only when the item is in stock at the pickup location. The pickup location also needs a shipping zone, which doesn't need any rates.	Shopify. See set up pickup in store.
Subscription and one-time items get separate shipping lines	Shopify
Free-shipping thresholds on renewals are checked against the price before discounts	Shopify

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Shipping profile	Shopify's set of locations, zones, and rates for a group of products or subscription plans. Developers and the Shopify API call it a delivery profile.
Awtomic Subscription Shipping	The shipping profile Awtomic creates for subscription-only rates. It starts empty.
Subscription plan	An Awtomic plan. Shopify calls it a selling plan group.
Saved shipping price	The price saved on the subscription. Renewals bill it. Shopify stores it on the subscription record, which developers call a subscription contract.
Rate update	Awtomic asks Shopify for the current rate and saves it on the subscription. Developers call this a re-quote.
Custom rate	An amount you set by hand on one subscription. Saved as Custom Rate and not updated on edits.
Prepaid	A subscription paid for several orders up front. Shipping is $0 between prepaid orders.

If you use an AI agent

Have your agent read this page first, then the article for your symptom. It can check your Shopify profiles, plans, and apps without changing anything, and read the subscription's saved rate through the Awtomic API. See Debug subscription shipping with your AI agent.

Still stuck? Send support this

Every article in this section ends with this checklist. Send it with your first message so we can skip a round of questions.