Frequently asked questions
What does ShipEmbargo do?
It blocks specific products from being shipped to specific US states or countries. You create rules (by product, collection, or product tag) and Shopify's checkout enforces them automatically — buyers with a blocked shipping address see your message and can't complete the order.
Does it change my theme or slow down my storefront?
No. ShipEmbargo never touches your theme and adds no storefront scripts. Enforcement runs inside Shopify's own checkout infrastructure. Uninstalling leaves no trace in your store.
Which Shopify plans does it work on?
All of them — Basic through Plus. It doesn't require carrier-calculated shipping or any add-ons.
How quickly do rule changes take effect?
Immediately. Every time you save, toggle, or delete a rule, it syncs to checkout before the page returns. The banner at the top of the app tells you the live status at all times.
What exactly does the buyer see?
A message at the top of checkout — for example "Sorry — Product X can't be shipped to California" — and checkout won't complete while the blocked product ships to a blocked destination. Buyers can fix the address or remove the product. You control the wording, globally or per rule, using {product} and {state} placeholders.
A rule isn't blocking — what should I check?
In order: (1) the banner at the top of the app is green — if it's yellow, every rule is turned off; if red, the last sync failed and the error is shown. (2) The rule is active (not "off" in the rule list). (3) The product in the cart is actually one the rule matches — check the product list, or the tag spelling for tag rules. (4) The test address's state is one the rule blocks. If all four check out and it still doesn't block, email us.
Can I block whole countries?
Yes — rules can block any combination of US states and countries (two-letter codes like GB, DE). Buyers see the full country name in the message.
Can I do the opposite — only ship to certain places?
Yes. Every rule points one of two ways: block the places you list, or allow only the places you list. An allow-only rule is the right shape when your list of permitted destinations is shorter than your list of forbidden ones — a licence that covers three states, or a product you only ship domestically. Everything else about the rule is the same: same products, collections and tags, same custom message, same enforcement inside checkout.
Can I restrict by ZIP or postal code?
Yes — a rule can list ZIP or postal codes as well as states and countries, in either direction. Write each code with its country and without spaces, like US:90210 or GB:SW1A1AA (it still matches a buyer who types SW1A 1AA). The country is required so a US ZIP can never match an address abroad; US territories use US:, because that's how checkout reports them. A * at the end covers every code that starts with it: US:902*, GB:SW1*. At checkout, a block rule stops the order when the buyer's code matches its list, and an allow-only rule stops it when it doesn't; a buyer's ZIP+4 is matched on its first five digits. A rule's states, countries and codes add together, so a code can't make an exception to a state the same rule names.
Can I enter a range of ZIP codes?
Yes, for US ZIP codes. Write two five-digit ZIP codes joined by a hyphen, low to high: US:90001-90100 covers 90001, 90100 and every ZIP code in between. In an imported list, 90001-90100 on its own works too. A ZIP+4 such as 90001-1234 isn't a range — enter its first five digits, since a buyer's ZIP+4 is matched on those anyway. Other countries don't take ranges; a prefix like GB:SW1* covers an area instead. Ranges work the same way in block and allow-only rules.
Can I import a list of ZIP codes from a spreadsheet or CSV?
Yes. Below the postal codes field, "Import a list" takes a column pasted from a spreadsheet, or a CSV or text file, and adds it to the rule's list. Bare values are read as US ZIP codes — 90001, a range like 90001-91316, or a prefix like 902* — and leading zeros a spreadsheet dropped are put back (2134 becomes 02134) and counted; codes for other countries need their country, like GB:SW1A1AA. A header on the first line and any repeats are skipped, and values that can't be read are listed with their line numbers (the first ten). Save a spreadsheet file (Excel, Numbers) as CSV first — the app won't read one directly. If you paste a column into the postal codes field itself, the app offers to read it the same way. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded, and nothing is published until you review the list and save the rule.
How many ZIP codes can a rule hold?
It depends less on how many ZIP codes there are than on how they're grouped. What counts is runs: ZIP codes in unbroken order that the same rules list count as one run, however you entered them, and all of a store's rules share room for up to 814 runs — fewer once more than five active rules list US ZIP codes. A range like US:90001-91316 is one run, while ZIP codes that aren't next to each other take one run each, so thousands of ZIP codes fit where they're grouped and fewer where they're scattered. Each rule can also list up to 10,000 US entries (an exact ZIP code, a range or a prefix counts as one) and up to 500 postal codes for other countries, which don't use that room but do count toward your rules' overall size. If your rules don't fit, publishing tells you — for ZIP codes, how many runs they make and how many fit — and the rule stays saved, so you can shorten a list or turn off rules you no longer need and publish again.
Can one product have both a blocking rule and an allow-only rule?
Yes, and checkout takes the cautious reading when they disagree: the address has to be permitted by the allow-only rule and not named by any blocking rule. Two rules disagreeing can stop an order that one of them would have allowed; they will never let one through that a rule said to stop. This comes up on its own even if you never set it up deliberately, because tag and collection membership changes in Shopify, outside ShipEmbargo — adding a tag to a product can pull it under a rule pointing the other way days after you set either one up.
What's free and what's paid?
Free includes one active rule with full enforcement quality and your own custom message. The paid plan ($6/month or $50/year, 7-day free trial) unlocks unlimited active rules and per-rule message overrides. You can keep unlimited rules saved as drafts on the free plan.
What data do you store?
Only your rules and settings — never your customers' personal information. Buyer addresses are evaluated inside Shopify's checkout and never reach our servers. Details in the privacy policy. Uninstalling deletes everything.
How do I test that a rule actually blocks?
Temporarily add your own state to the rule and save. Then open your storefront, add a restricted product to the cart, and enter your address at checkout — the block message appears at the shipping step; no payment is needed. Remove your state from the rule when you're done. Changes publish the moment you save.
Does it hide restricted products from my storefront?
No — buyers everywhere can browse and add to cart; the block happens at checkout, once a real shipping address is entered. That's deliberate: address-based enforcement at checkout is airtight, while hiding products by visitor location is guesswork (VPNs, travelers, gift orders shipped to someone else) and requires theme code — which we never touch.
Which orders does ShipEmbargo check?
Every checkout where Shopify collects a shipping address: your online store's web checkout, express wallets (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal), B2B checkout, and draft-order invoices. Not covered by Shopify's checkout rules: point-of-sale purchases, recurring subscription renewals (the first checkout is checked; automatic rebills are not), orders created or edited directly in the admin or by other apps — and store staff can deliberately override rules on a draft order. The block appears once a shipping address is entered, and your message is shown exactly as you wrote it (it isn't translated into the buyer's language).
What country code do I use for the United Kingdom?
GB. Country fields use two-letter ISO codes (GB, DE, FR…) — the app validates what you type against the real country list and will auto-correct "UK" to GB, so a typo can't silently create a rule that never matches.
What's a product tag and where do I set one?
Tags are the labels on each product's page in your Shopify admin (Products → open a product → Tags, right-hand column). Tag rules match the tag text exactly — copy-paste the tag into ShipEmbargo to avoid typos, and if you rename a tag on your products, update the rule to match.
I deleted and re-added a product — is it still blocked?
No. A recreated product is a new product as far as Shopify is concerned, so product rules need it re-selected (the rules page will warn you when a rule points at deleted items). Tag rules survive recreation as long as the new product carries the same tag — a good reason to use tags for products you re-create often.
If I uninstall and reinstall, do my rules come back?
No — uninstalling deletes everything we store, immediately and permanently. That's the "uninstalls clean" promise working as designed. If you're troubleshooting, email us before uninstalling; if you do plan to uninstall and return, note down your rules first.
What happens if I downgrade from the paid plan?
Your oldest active rule stays on (the Free plan includes one active rule); any other active rules are turned off — visibly, in your rules list, never silently. They stay saved, and upgrading turns them back on with one click each.
Do you cover US territories and military addresses?
Yes — Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and military mail (AA/AE/AP) appear alongside the states in the rule editor and block the same way.
How do I get help?
Email support@shipembargo.com — we aim to respond within one business day.