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How to Change Shopify Checkout Shipping Text: Customize No Rates Available Messages and TBD Shipping

Complete Guide to Customizing Shopify Shipping Messages, Labels, and Rates

Tutorial: How to customize Shopify shipping text and fix no rates available messages
Peter is the author and developer of the Better Shipping app for ShopifyBy Peter
01/31/2025

Learn how to change Shopify's 'No rates available' message, customize shipping messages at checkout, and set up advanced shipping rules. Step-by-step guide for Shopify merchants with solutions for quote-based TBD or contact for quote shipping.

If you're running a Shopify store, you've probably run into issues with shipping messages at checkout. Maybe you need to fix that frustrating "No rates available" message, customize shipping options for different products, or set up quote-based shipping. I help merchants solve these exact problems every day, and I'll show you both the quick fixes and advanced solutions that can transform your checkout experience.

Better Shipping for Shopify no rates checkout screenshot



What You'll Learn

  • How to fix "No rates available" messages in Shopify
  • Ways to customize shipping text at checkout
  • Solutions for quote-based and TBD shipping
  • Advanced shipping restrictions and rules
  • Local delivery and international shipping setup
  • Tips for multiple location shipping

One important thing to note before we start: customers often don't read shipping rate descriptions carefully. They might see "Free" (or even "TBD") and assume shipping is free, regardless of any extra text you add. If you absolutely need to make sure customers contact you before ordering, you'll want a more robust solution than just changing text. I'll cover some better options below, including how to use shipping apps to solve these problems automatically.

Customizing the "No Rates Available" Message

This is the most common change merchants need. Maybe you have certain products that can't ship to some areas, or you need customers to contact you for a shipping quote. Here's how to change that message:

  1. Go to your Shopify admin
  2. Click Online Store
  3. Find your current theme and click the three dots (...)
  4. Select "Edit theme content"
Better Shipping for Shopify go to shopify theme language settings



Now here's a tip that'll save you some time - there are a lot of language settings in there, so instead of scrolling forever: To change the title of the box:

  1. Search for "shipping not available" in the search bar
  2. Look for the "Title" box
  3. Enter your custom title
  4. Click "Save"

To change the message:

  1. Search for "your order cannot be shipped"
  2. Look for the "One" box
  3. Enter your custom message
  4. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify edited no rates screenshot



Pro tip: These can be tricky to find! I usually use Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows) to search on the page. There are several similar-looking options as well, so make sure you're changing the right one.

You can also change the no delivery available message to remove the product from the customer's cart.

Better Shipping for Shopify remove product from cart



To change the 'No delivery available' title:

  1. Search for "No delivery available"
  2. Look for the "Title" box
  3. Enter your custom title
  4. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify no delivery available title language settings



And to change the message:

  1. Search for "This item will be removed from your cart because there are no delivery methods available for your address."
  2. Look for the "One" box
  3. Enter your custom message
  4. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify no delivery available message language settings



You can also change the 'NOT AVAILABLE' text to something else:

  1. Search for "not available"
  2. Under the "Checkout stock unpurchasable product generic" section
  3. Look for the "Status column header" box
  4. Enter your custom text
  5. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify not available title language settings
Better Shipping for Shopify edited remove product from cart



Here are some helpful message examples our merchants use:

  • "Some items in your cart may not be available for shipping to your location. Please review your cart or contact us on [email protected] for options."
  • "We can't ship this combination of items to your address. Try removing large or heavy items."
  • "Shipping not available for this order. Please contact us at [email protected] or try a different combination of items."

Handling Quote-Based or TBD Shipping

If you need to show "TBD" or "Quote Required" instead of "Free" for shipping that needs manual quotes, there's a way to do this - but there are some important things to know first:

  1. Changing the "Free" text will affect ALL free shipping rates in your store. There's no way to change it for just some rates.
  2. If you have legitimate free shipping rates (like local pickup or actual free shipping promotions), they'll show the new text too.
  3. Most importantly, customers often miss or ignore the text in shipping rates - they see "Free" or "TBD" and might assume shipping is included.

Here are some more reliable approaches our merchants use:

  1. Use product restrictions and a clear message:

    • Restrict shipping for quote-based products completely
    • Set a clear "no rates available" message with your contact details
    • This ensures customers must contact you before ordering
  2. Set a high placeholder rate:

    • Add a notably high shipping rate (like $999)
    • Include "Contact us for actual rate" in the name
    • Note: This might deter some customers, but ensures they'll contact you
  3. Instead of using $0 for quote-based shipping:

    • Set the rate to a small amount (like $1)
    • Add a note in the rate name: "Quote Required - Final shipping cost will be confirmed"
    • But remember, customers might miss this text!
  4. For mixed free/quote shipping:

    • Create separate shipping rates for truly free options
    • Use one of the above approaches for quote-based items
    • Explain clearly in your product descriptions or cart notes

If you still want to change the "Free" text, here's how:

  1. In the language editor, search for "Free"
  2. Do ctrl+f on windows or cmd+f on mac and search for "Free rate label"
  3. Change that text to what you want (like "TBD" or "Quote Required")
  4. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify tbd free shipping label



Then to change the 'Free' text to 'TBD' on the right side of the shipping rate:

  1. In the language editor, search for "Free"
  2. Do ctrl+f on windows or cmd+f on mac and search for "Free rate label"
  3. Change that text to what you want (like "TBD" or "Quote Required")
  4. Click "Save"
Better Shipping for Shopify tbd free shipping label sidebar



Testing Your Changes

Always test your changes by going through checkout as a customer would. Here's what to check:

  1. Add something to your cart
  2. Go to checkout
  3. Enter different addresses to see your new messages
  4. Make sure everything reads naturally
Better Shipping for Shopify checkout with tbd



Extra Tips and Workarounds

Here are some other helpful solutions our merchants have found:

1. Cart page notifications:
  • Add a cart note or banner for products with special shipping
  • Use your theme's announcement bar feature
  • Example: "Some items in your cart may need shipping quotes - we'll contact you after checkout"
2. Handling international orders:
  • Set up a specific "International Orders" shipping rate
  • Use the rate name to explain the process: "International - We'll email shipping options"
  • Consider a small handling fee ($1-5) to cover quote preparation time
3. Pre-checkout communication:
  • Add shipping information to your FAQ page
  • Create a shipping policy page explaining different scenarios
  • Link to these pages from your product descriptions

Remember: Clear communication before checkout often works better than trying to explain everything in the shipping rate text!

Need More Control Over Your Shipping?

While Shopify's built-in features can handle basic text changes, most growing stores need more control over their shipping options. That's why we built Better Shipping - to give you advanced features like:

  • Product-specific shipping restrictions
  • Zip code based rates and messages
  • Custom shipping messages for different products
  • Automated shipping rules based on cart contents
  • Multiple location shipping management

Not sure what approach would work best for your store? Just contact us - we help merchants figure out the best shipping setup every day!

Ready to take control of your shipping? Try Better Shipping's 14-day free trial on the Shopify App Store.


Peter is the author and developer of the Better Shipping app for ShopifyBy Peter
01/31/2025