How Mixed Carts Are Handled

Learn what the plugin does when a cart contains products with conflicting shipping rules and how to control the outcome.

What is a mixed cart?

A mixed cart is any order that contains products with different shipping rules. For example, a customer who adds a lightweight accessory (standard post allowed) and a heavy appliance (freight only) to the same cart. These two products have no overlapping shipping methods, which creates a conflict.

With the free version, the plugin shows only the methods that are valid for every product in the cart — the intersection. If there's no overlap, the checkout may show no shipping options at all, which blocks the customer from completing the order.

The Premium version solves this with configurable conflict resolution options.

Conflict resolution options (Premium)

You can choose how the plugin handles a cart where no single shipping method satisfies all products:

Option	What it does
Common shipping methods	Shows only methods allowed by every product. If none exist, falls back to zone defaults.
Cheapest option	Automatically selects and shows the lowest-cost method valid for the cart.
Most expensive option	Automatically selects and shows the highest-cost method (useful for stores that want to guarantee premium service).
Let customer choose	Presents all methods that are valid for at least one product in the cart and lets the customer decide.

Where to configure this

Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping (or the plugin's dedicated settings screen — the exact path depends on your version).
Find the Mixed Cart / Conflict Resolution section.
Select your preferred resolution method.
Save changes.

Choosing the right option for your store

Common methods works best when your product catalogue is consistent and you want strict control — customers only see methods that genuinely work for every item.
Cheapest option is popular for stores where the mix is always valid but you want to avoid overwhelming customers with choices.
Let customer choose gives maximum flexibility and is useful when your products have complementary shipping options (e.g., standard + express both work, just with different costs).
Most expensive is a less common choice but makes sense if you always ship the full order with your premium carrier regardless of what's in the cart.

If checkout is still showing unexpected results after configuring this, see Troubleshooting: Shipping Methods Not Filtering Correctly.

How Mixed Carts Are Handled

Learn what the plugin does when a cart contains products with conflicting shipping rules and how to control the outcome.

What is a mixed cart?

The Premium version solves this with configurable conflict resolution options.

Conflict resolution options (Premium)

You can choose how the plugin handles a cart where no single shipping method satisfies all products:

Option	What it does
Common shipping methods	Shows only methods allowed by every product. If none exist, falls back to zone defaults.
Cheapest option	Automatically selects and shows the lowest-cost method valid for the cart.
Most expensive option	Automatically selects and shows the highest-cost method (useful for stores that want to guarantee premium service).
Let customer choose	Presents all methods that are valid for at least one product in the cart and lets the customer decide.

Choosing the right option for your store

Common methods works best when your product catalogue is consistent and you want strict control — customers only see methods that genuinely work for every item.

Cheapest option is popular for stores where the mix is always valid but you want to avoid overwhelming customers with choices.

Let customer choose gives maximum flexibility and is useful when your products have complementary shipping options (e.g., standard + express both work, just with different costs).

Most expensive is a less common choice but makes sense if you always ship the full order with your premium carrier regardless of what's in the cart.