--- title: "Why isn't my free gift added to the cart?" description: "Why a Free gift isn't added or is charged at checkout: app embed, gift product, tier, eligibility, codes, Buy it now, POS. Checks in order." url: "https://smart-bundles.io/help/free-gifts/free-gift-not-added-to-cart" updated: "2026-11-02" product: "SMART Bundles App & Upsells" section: "Help center / Free gifts" --- # Why isn't my free gift added to the cart? Most often the SMART Discounts app embed is off in the published theme, the gift product isn't available on the Online Store, or the items that count don't reach the tier. Free gift also can't add the gift in flows that skip the cart, such as Buy it now, and it never applies in Shopify POS. ## Check these in order 1. **App embed.** In the theme editor of your published theme, open App embeds and check that **Deal widget** from SMART Discounts is on, then save. See [Turn on the app embed](https://smart-bundles.io/help/getting-started/turn-on-the-app-embed). 2. **Status and dates.** The Free gift must be **Active** and inside its **Active dates**. A future start shows it as Scheduled. 3. **The gift product.** It must be Active and published to the Online Store sales channel, and the gift variant must be available to buy (in stock, or set to continue selling when out of stock). If the product or variant was deleted, the editor says "This product was deleted. Pick a new gift." or "This variant no longer exists. Pick the gift variant again." 4. **The tier.** Only items under **Counts toward the tier** count, at prices before any discount. Gift lines and bundle upsell add-ons never count. The cart must not be above a maximum, and with **Require all of these products** it needs each listed product. See [Free gift tiers](https://smart-bundles.io/help/free-gifts/free-gift-tiers). 5. **Eligibility.** Guests have no customer tags, so **Customers with any of these tags** never reaches a shopper who isn't signed in. **New customers only** leaves out customers with previous orders. **Markets** must include the shopper's market. 6. **Code gifts.** The code must be on the cart, not typed only at checkout. See [Free gift with a discount code](https://smart-bundles.io/help/free-gifts/free-gift-with-a-discount-code). 7. **Deleted by the shopper.** A gift deleted from the cart isn't added again in that browser tab while the cart stays at that tier. Test in a new tab or a private window. 8. **Another discount won the line.** If a discount that doesn't combine with Free gift takes the gift line, the app removes the gift instead of charging for it. Check **Combinations** on both discounts ([how Shopify combines discounts](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-combinations)). ## Where Free gift can't add the gift The gift is added by the app embed's script in your Online Store theme, before checkout. No gift is added with: - **Buy it now** and express checkout buttons on the product page, and cart links that open checkout directly. They skip the cart. - A code typed only at checkout. - **Shopify POS.** Free gift never applies there, so a gift rung up at POS is charged. - Headless or Hydrogen storefronts, and apps that build a cart without your theme. - Checkouts that replace Shopify's own checkout. They don't run the app's discounts. ## Why a gift line can be charged at checkout The app removes the gift when the cart stops qualifying, and briefly holds a checkout click until the cart is in sync. It can't catch every path: - Quantities changed in a cart form and posted straight to checkout in one click. - Express checkout buttons clicked before the cart has updated. Those buttons can't be held. - Apps that change the cart outside your theme's cart. - A customer who signs in at checkout and then fails **New customers only** or a tag rule. The gift is in the cart, but the discount no longer applies. - A code typed at checkout for a discount that doesn't combine with the gift. Shopify applies the best discount for the cart, which can leave the gift line at full price. Place a test order through the path your shoppers use to see the result for yourself. ## The gift appears, then disappears - **Code gift with another code on the cart:** the app tries the gift, sees it isn't free and removes it. Expected. - **The cart dropped below the tier,** or above the maximum. - **A gift whose discount was deleted, ended or paused** is removed from carts while it shows no discount. ## Still stuck? Contact us by chat in the app or by email at support@etradepartner.io, with your store address and the gift's name. See [Get support](https://smart-bundles.io/help/getting-started/get-support). For other discounts that don't apply, see [Discount not applying](https://smart-bundles.io/help/troubleshooting/discount-not-applying). **Free gifts that keep the cart in step** SMART Bundles adds the gift when the cart qualifies and removes it when it doesn't. Free on the Shopify App Store. [Install SMART Bundles App & Upsells on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/smart-automatic-discounts). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Free gift work in Shopify POS? No. Free gift never applies in POS. See [POS support](https://smart-bundles.io/help/troubleshooting/pos-support) for what does. ### The gift is added on the cart page but not from Buy it now. Is that a bug? No. Buy it now goes straight to checkout and skips the cart, so there's no step where the gift can be added.