Shipping operations

Safety fallback rate

Show one fixed rate when a cart matches no scenario, so checkout is never left without a Rulify option.

Written by HizuLast updated October 16, 2026

When no scenario matches a cart, Rulify returns no rate. The safety fallback returns one fixed rate instead, limited to the zones you choose.

The fallback works only when the carrier service is connected and you are on Pro or Grow.

Set it up

  1. Create at least one zone first. See Shipping zones and postcode prefixes.
  2. In Rulify, go to Settings and find the Safety fallback card.
  3. Turn on Fallback on and fill in:
Field Description
Rate name The title customers see at checkout. Required.
Service code An internal code for the rate.
Price The fixed price, in the currency shown.
Delivery, From and To Optional delivery time in business days.
Description Optional. Shown under the rate name.
Minimum and maximum cart weight Optional. Outside this range, no fallback is shown.
Minimum and maximum cart value Optional. Outside this range, no fallback is shown.
Only for these zones Required. The fallback never applies worldwide.
  1. Click Save.

Customers can complete checkout with the fallback rate, so limit it to destinations and orders you can fulfil.

When the fallback is used

The fallback is returned only when all of these are true:

  • The request is valid and no scenario produced a rate.
  • The destination is in one of the selected zones.
  • The cart weight and value are inside the ranges you set.
  • The checkout currency matches the fallback currency.

If a scenario matched but was set up to return no rate, the fallback is not used.

The fallback does not cover timeouts or errors. Shopify's own backup rates handle those.

See how often it is used

The card shows how many times the fallback was used today. On Home, rate requests that used it are marked Fallback. Open a request in the Checkout log to see why the fallback was or was not returned. See Test a cart and read the checkout log.

Common reasons it does not show

Reason in the checkout log What to check
The safety fallback rate is disabled. Turn on Fallback on.
The destination is outside the fallback's zones. Add the destination's zone, or widen the zone.
The shipment is below the minimum, or exceeds the maximum, weight. Adjust the weight range.
The cart is below the minimum, or exceeds the maximum, value. Adjust the value range.
The checkout currency does not match the fallback currency. The customer paid in another currency.