Not all products in your catalog are suitable for pickup point delivery. Implementing product eligibility rules ensures that customers are only offered pickup as a delivery option when it is genuinely available for the items in their cart — preventing failed fulfillments, carrier rejections, and a poor customer experience.
This guide helps you identify which products are ineligible, choose the right filtering strategy for your catalog, and understand how eligibility checks are implemented across different platforms.
The precise steps for configuring product eligibility filters depend on your ecommerce platform. Refer to the relevant platform integration guide for detailed, platform-specific instructions. Some HubBox integrations include built-in eligibility features; for other platforms, eligibility rules must be implemented on the retailer's side — HubBox can provide guidance on the best approach.
Implementing eligibility rules ensures:
Before implementing filters, you need to determine which products are ineligible. Consider the following factors:
Check the specific maximum dimension and weight restrictions imposed by each pickup network you intend to offer. These limits can vary significantly between carriers and service types (for example, lockers vs. staffed points). Always factor in packaging dimensions and weight, not just the product itself.
Refer to the Example Pickup Network Restrictions table below as a starting point, and confirm current limits directly with each carrier.
Identify categories that are inherently unsuitable for pickup points. Common examples include:
Review carrier policies and regulations regarding hazardous materials (HAZMAT) and restricted goods. Common examples include:
Carrier restrictions on prohibited items vary significantly. Always consult each carrier's specific prohibited items list and confirm requirements with your carrier account manager before configuring eligibility rules.
Define an internal policy threshold for items you prefer not to ship to third-party pickup locations due to value or risk. For example, UPS Access Point has a maximum declared value of $5,000. This is a business decision based on your risk tolerance and insurance policy.
Identify items requiring temperature control or specific handling. Standard pickup points cannot accommodate these. Examples include:
Identify products requiring age verification upon collection. While ID checks occur at staffed pickup points, carrier policies or regulations may restrict certain age-restricted items from being sent to unattended lockers or even staffed points in some cases. Verify specific carrier rules before enabling pickup for these products.
Once you know what to exclude, you need to determine how your system will identify these products during checkout. You may use one or a combination of the following strategies:
Exclude all products within specific categories or sub-categories (e.g., "Furniture", "Large Appliances", "HAZMAT").
Maintain a specific list of SKUs or Product IDs that are explicitly ineligible for pickup.
Filter products based on their dimensions (length, width, height) and/or weight exceeding the limits of your chosen pickup networks.
Leverage existing or create new custom attributes or tags on your product data to flag eligibility.
Examples:
is_pickup_eligible: false
handling: HAZMAT
value_tier: high
requires_refrigeration: true
oversized: true
In complex fulfillment setups, eligibility might depend on the warehouse or source fulfilling the item — for example, certain locations cannot handle HAZMAT or oversized items.
Regardless of platform, the following principles apply to all eligibility implementations:
On Shopify Plus with Checkout Extensibility, product eligibility is managed via a flexible rules engine configured by the HubBox Integrations team within your HubBox account settings. These rules dynamically evaluate the customer's cart during checkout. If the conditions for hiding pickup are met, the HubBox app block and/or pickup shipping rates are automatically hidden ("bailed out") for that specific checkout instance.
Implementation process:
extensionRules.bailout conditions in your store's backend settings.Understanding the rules engine:
Each bailout rule consists of one or more Conditions combined by a logical Operator (AND or OR). Each condition specifies:
key — the data point to check (e.g., product tags, cart total, customer country)operator — the comparison type (e.g., contains, greaterThan, equals)value — the value to compare againstExample rule: hide pickup if any cart item has the tag Pickup-Restricted:
{
"operator": "OR",
"conditions": [
{
"key": "productTags",
"operator": "contains",
"value": "Pickup-Restricted"
}
]
}
Shopify Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans have limitations on modifying checkout logic directly. The standard HubBox app for these plans cannot easily prevent the HubBox pickup shipping rate from showing when the cart contains ineligible items.
The recommended approach is to use a third-party Shipping Rules app from the Shopify App Store in combination with Shopify's native Product Tags and Collections:
Pickup-Restricted) to these items in your Shopify product admin.Refer to the Shopify - Basic and Advanced documentation for detailed instructions and recommended apps.
For implementations using the HubBox Tag script, product eligibility is handled via a bailout callback built into the Tag. This callback allows retailers to add custom logic that hides the pickup option based on the contents of the cart.
The bailout callback is added to your Tag configuration by your HubBox Integration Manager and has been designed for flexibility, covering common use cases such as exclusion by SKU, weight, product category, and more.
Data layer requirements:
The bailout callback reads data from the checkout page's data layer at runtime. It is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that whatever data is required by the bailout logic is accessible via the window object at the point the Tag executes. For example:
window object.In some cases, the bailout callback can make API calls to retrieve data that is not available in the data layer directly. However, this adds latency to the checkout experience and should be used only where necessary.
It is the retailer's responsibility to expose the required product and cart data in the data layer. If the necessary data is not accessible via the window object at the time the Tag executes, the bailout logic will not function correctly. Work with your development team and your HubBox Integration Manager to confirm data availability before implementing bailout configuration.
For these platforms, eligibility logic is implemented on the retailer's side. The general approach is to inspect the cart contents during the shipping rate calculation step and conditionally hide or remove the pickup shipping option based on your defined rules.
Refer to the relevant platform integration guide for implementation details.
The table below provides indicative size, weight, and content restrictions for common pickup networks. These figures are provided as a reference only.
Carrier restrictions may change. Always confirm current limits directly with each carrier or your carrier account manager before configuring eligibility rules. Do not rely solely on the figures below for production implementations.
| Network | Max. Weight | Max. Length | Max. Combined Dimensions | Other Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPS Access Point | 20 kg (44 lbs) | 97 cm | L + Girth (2W + 2H) ≤ 330 cm (130 in) | Max declared value: $/€5,000; certain items (e.g., batteries) prohibited. |
| DPD Pickup Point | 20–31.5 kg (varies) | 60–175 cm (varies) | L + Girth (2W + 2H) ≤ 300 cm (varies) | Certain goods excluded (e.g., live animals, weapons, valuables); robust packaging required; volumetric weight may apply. |
| DHL Parcel Pickup Point | 10–70 kg (varies) | 60–120 cm (varies) | Varies widely by service (e.g., 60×50×50 cm common for small parcels) | Confirm exact restrictions for the specific DHL service used; volumetric weight may apply. |
| Evri ParcelShop | 15 kg | 120 cm | L + 2(W+H) ≤ 225 cm | Certain items prohibited or restricted; Evri Lockers have smaller dimensions (66×41×38 cm max). |
| Mondial Relay Point Relais | 30 kg | 120 cm | L + W + H ≤ 150 cm | Tubes and cylindrical packages discouraged. |
| PostNord Service Point | 20 kg | 1 m (Intl) / 1.5 m (Nordic) | L + Circumference ≤ 2.5 m (Intl) / 3 m (Nordic) | Minimum L: 140 mm, W: 90 mm, H: 15 mm; volumetric weight may apply. |
| Royal Mail Local Collect | 5–15 kg (varies) | 40 cm | Max. 40×30×20 cm (typical) | Specific to items collected at Post Offices — not all Royal Mail parcel services. |
| Colissimo Point Retrait | 20 kg | 100 cm | L + 2H + 2W ≤ 250 cm | Minimum dimensions: 30×21 cm, 3 cm thickness or 200 g; surcharges for non-compliance. |
| Budbee Box | 30 kg | 60 cm | 54×33×60 cm (typical box size) | Exceeding limits may result in non-acceptance or alternative delivery. |
What happens if a customer adds an ineligible item to their cart after already selecting a pickup point?
Your eligibility logic must handle this scenario. The eligibility check should run dynamically whenever the cart contents change — not just at the point of initial shipping method selection. If an ineligible item is added after a pickup point has been selected, the pickup option should be hidden or disabled, and the customer should be prompted to select an alternative delivery method.
On Shopify Plus, the HubBox rules engine re-evaluates the cart on each checkout update. For other platforms, ensure your implementation triggers a re-evaluation of available shipping methods whenever the cart is modified.
How do I handle mixed carts containing both eligible and ineligible items?
The standard approach is a cart-level decision: if any single item in the cart is ineligible for pickup, the pickup option is hidden for the entire order. This is the safest approach and avoids partial fulfillment complexity.
If your business requires more granular handling (e.g., splitting an order so eligible items go to a pickup point and ineligible items are home delivered), this requires custom fulfillment logic on your side and is significantly more complex to implement. Contact your HubBox Integrations Manager to discuss this scenario.
Do I need to account for packaging weight and dimensions, or just the product itself?
You must account for the total packaged weight and dimensions — not just the product. Carrier restrictions apply to the parcel as it will be shipped, including all packaging materials. If your product data only includes bare product dimensions and weight, you will need to add an estimated packaging allowance to your eligibility thresholds to avoid edge cases where a packaged item exceeds carrier limits even though the product data suggests it is within limits.
Where can I find the prohibited items list for a specific carrier?
Prohibited items lists are documented in each carrier's service guide or terms and conditions. Contact your carrier account manager or consult the carrier's developer documentation for the most current list. The Example Network Restrictions table in this guide provides a high-level summary, but carrier policies change regularly and should always be verified directly.
Who should I contact if I need help defining or implementing eligibility rules?
Contact the HubBox Integrations team. Your HubBox Integrations Manager can review your catalog, carrier setup, and platform to advise on the best eligibility strategy and, for Shopify Plus, configure the rules engine on your behalf.