Build the test matrix first
Prepare addresses for major regions, remote postcodes and any area with special rules. Include products from different shipping profiles, inventory locations, weights and dimensions. Test carts below, at and above promotional thresholds, plus mixed-product carts that may split fulfillment.
Outcomes can vary by destination address, product, variant, cart value, market, payment and shipping configuration, and customer session. Record all of these with each result.
Step-by-step checklist
Confirm the destination belongs to an active market
Select the country in a clean session and verify that the product is actually available there. A shipping zone cannot rescue a product excluded from the market's catalog.
Use complete and realistic addresses
Enter a valid street, city, region and postal code. Test a mainstream and a remote address where relevant; country-only estimates often miss postcode-level exclusions.
Test each important shipping profile
Choose products assigned to standard, oversized, fragile, hazardous or supplier-specific profiles. Verify the rate set expected for each profile and note inventory location dependencies.
Vary product, variant and quantity
A variant's weight, stock location or shipping requirement can change eligibility. Increase quantity and include mixed carts to expose rate combination or split-shipment problems.
Cross every cart-value threshold
Test immediately below, exactly at and above free-shipping or promotional thresholds. Confirm the customer-facing currency and whether discounts affect the qualifying subtotal.
Review names, prices and delivery claims
Rate names should be understandable and not contradict the carrier or delivery range. Avoid promising delivery dates that the configuration, handling time and destination cannot support.
Stop before payment and log evidence
Record the product, variant, quantity, cart value, address, market, session and rates returned. If no option appears, use that evidence to inspect zones, profiles, stock locations and carrier services.
Common failure modes
No rates for a valid address
The product may be outside the relevant profile or zone, stocked only at an ineligible location, missing weight data, or blocked by a carrier/service rule.
Mixed carts lose shipping options
Products fulfilled from different profiles or locations can create a combination for which no compatible rate is returned.
Free shipping triggers at the wrong visible value
Market currency conversion, discounts, taxes or the threshold's configured basis can differ from what the shopper expects.
Remote regions are assumed to match capital cities
Carrier services and surcharges often vary by postcode, so city-center success is not representative of the whole country.
What the public storefront can—and cannot—prove
Can be observed on a tested public path
- Product and sellable variant availability for the tested market
- Whether a temporary public cart can be created
- Whether a public shipping-rate request returns options
- The observed names and prices of those options
Needs manual, Admin or operational verification
- Carrier account credentials and negotiated-rate accuracy
- Every postal code, package or fulfillment split
- Actual pickup, label purchase and delivery performance
- Final checkout extensions or fraud and payment rules
The free scanner is intentionally narrow: it does not claim automatic duties, localization or catalog-wide scanning, and it does not prove every customer journey.
Frequently asked questions
Why are no international shipping rates showing?
Check market product availability first, then the destination zone, shipping profile, inventory location, weight/package data and carrier service. Reproduce the exact cart and postal code before diagnosing.
Can I test shipping without buying?
Usually, yes. You can inspect available rates before payment. A controlled real order is still needed to validate payment, label purchase, fulfillment, tracking and delivery.
Does the scanner submit checkout?
No. It uses public storefront behavior, stops before checkout submission and discards its temporary cart. Results apply only to the tested path.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
This guide paraphrases platform concepts and adds an independent QA workflow. Consult current official documentation and qualified advisers for your configuration.