Create a Product Blocking Limit
Use trigger products in the cart to switch a quantity or value cap on (or off) for the rest of the order — perfect for "buy this, can't buy that" or "if this is in cart, full order must be $X+".
Requires: Free plan (Exclude products and Notify about limit when require the Plus plan)
Prerequisites
- Avada Order Limit installed on your Shopify store
- At least one published product to use as the trigger that activates the rule
Step 1: Open Limits management and create a new limit
From the left-hand menu of the app, click Limits management to open the list of your rules. Click Create new order limit (or Create new limit, in the top-right, if you already have rules) to open the limit type chooser.
Step 2: Choose the limit type
On the limit type chooser, find the Product blocking card and click Select.
Unlike a Product or Customer Limit, a Product Blocking rule keys off the products already in the shopper's cart. When the trigger product is detected (or absent), the rule fires against the targets you choose in Step 5.
Step 3: Name your limit
Enter a name in the Limit name field. This name is for internal use only — customers will never see it. Pick something that describes the trigger and target, for example "Sale bundle — locks regular items" or "Wholesale SKU — forces $500 cart".
Step 4: Choose the trigger type, pick the trigger products, and set the trigger condition
The trigger card has three parts:
Pick the trigger type
Under Select trigger type, choose how the trigger products are defined:
- Specific products — pick individual products one by one, same as before. Click Browse to open the product picker, tick the products (and optional variants) that should fire the rule, then click Select. You can edit the list any time by clicking Edit under the selected count.
- Group of products (by tags/vendor/title) — match a whole group of products at once instead of ticking them one by one. Click Add condition, choose the field to match (Tags, Vendor, or Title), the operator, and the value. Add more conditions if needed, then choose All conditions (a product must match every condition) or Any conditions (matching one condition is enough) to decide how the conditions combine.
- Collection — pick a single collection; every product inside that collection counts as a trigger product.
Pick the trigger products
For the Specific products trigger type, click Browse to open the product picker, tick the products (and optional variants) that should fire the rule, then click Select. You can edit the list any time by clicking Edit under the selected count.
Pick when the rule applies
Under Apply limit below when:, pick one:
- Cart contains one of trigger products — fire the rule the moment any trigger product is in the cart.
- Cart does not contain any trigger products — fire the rule whenever the trigger products are absent. Useful for "you must add this item to check out".
Step 5: Pick the limit target (Type of limit)
Under Apply limit to, use the Type of limit dropdown to choose what the cap evaluates against once the trigger fires:
| Type of limit | What gets capped |
|---|---|
| Apply to order | The full cart contents (excluding the trigger products themselves). |
| Apply to collection | Items from a chosen collection. You'll be prompted to pick the collection right after. |
| Apply to product | Items from a hand-picked product list. |
Important: Trigger products are automatically excluded from whichever target you pick — they are the switch, not the thing being capped.
Limit the number of products or variants per order
Both Apply to order and Apply to collection modes also include a Limit products/variants per order option — the same control already available on Order Limit rules, now available here too.
- In Apply to order mode, it sits next to Exclude products.
- In Apply to collection mode, it sits next to Select collections to limit.
Tick the checkbox to turn it on, choose whether the cap counts Products or Variants, then enter the maximum number allowed in a single order.
Step 6: Set the limit conditions
Open the Limit conditions card and pick the Condition type for the cap. The available types match the Type of limit you picked in Step 5:
| Type of limit | Available condition types |
|---|---|
| Order | Total product quantity, Total product value, Total product weight |
| Collection | Total product quantity, Total product value |
| Product | Total product quantity |
Then fill in Minimum and Maximum values for the chosen condition.
Important: Leave the maximum field blank to set no upper limit. Set maximum = 0 to block the affected products from being purchased while the trigger is in the cart.
Step 7: Configure Advanced Setting
Expand the Advanced Setting card to control when the rule is active, how notifications behave, and the "Contact us" affordance.
Active dates
- Start date — the date (GMT +00:00) the rule becomes active. Required.
- Set end date — tick this to add an end date. The rule stops applying after that date. Leave it unchecked for an indefinite rule.
Notify about limit when
Plus plan: Notify about limit when is available on the Plus plan. On Free, the dropdown is locked to the default option.
Pick when the on-storefront notification should appear:
- The limit has been reached — only show the message after the limit has been hit.
- "add-to-cart" button is clicked and in cart page — show whenever the customer adds to cart or changes a cart line in a way that would break the limit.
- No notification — silent mode. The Checkout button is disabled when the limit is hit, but no message is shown.
Note: Limit customer re-purchase does not apply to Product Blocking rules and is intentionally hidden for this limit type.
"Contact us" in notification
Tick "Contact us" in notification to add a Contact us button to the limit message. When enabled, paste the destination link (live chat URL, contact form, social channel) in the "Contact us" URL field. The button text and the surrounding message copy are configured in the Message tab — see Step 8.
Step 8: Customize the message and save
Switch to the Message tab to tailor the limit notification text and add translations. The Display language card at the top sets how the app detects the shopper's language. In the Message and language card below it, your default language (English) is listed first — click Edit to change its messages, or add more languages via Add supported language.
Use the available variables shown under Note: Here are a few variables you can use to inject the live limit values into your copy. For a Product Blocking limit, the available variables are:
{{minimum_product_quantity}}/{{maximum_product_quantity}}— minimum / maximum product quantity{{minimum_total_product_value}}/{{maximum_total_product_value}}— minimum / maximum total value{{minimum_product_weight}}/{{maximum_product_weight}}— minimum / maximum product weight{{remaining_total_product_value}}/{{remaining_product_quantity}}/{{remaining_product_weight}}— amount / quantity / weight still needed to reach the minimum{{multiple}}— current multiple value{{maximum_product_per_order}}/{{maximum_variant_per_order}}— maximum number of different products / variants per order{{product_title}}— title of the product that triggered the limit{{weight_unit}}— the shop's weight unit (lb, kg, g, oz){Button text}— for the Contact us button copy
Use the variables that match the condition type you set in Step 6. Click the copy icon next to any variable to put it on your clipboard.
For the full translation walkthrough (adding languages, toggling them on, setting a default), see Customize and translate limit message.
When everything looks right, click Save in the top bar. The rule goes live immediately on the start date.
Tip: Open the storefront in an incognito tab and add only the trigger product first — confirm the warning fires on the target items as expected. Then remove the trigger and re-verify the cart can clear checkout.
Tips
- Trigger is the switch, not the target. The trigger product is never the thing being capped — the targets you pick in Step 5 are. Don't put the same SKU in both lists.
- Pair with date windows for flash promotions. A start/end date scoped Product Blocking rule is a clean way to run "buy this special edition, max 1 of these others" promotions.
- Mind the trigger condition. Cart does not contain flips the logic — every order is checked, and the cap kicks in unless the trigger product is added. Use sparingly, since it's the inverse of intuition.
- Test both states. Place a test order both with and without the trigger product in the cart to confirm the rule behaves as expected.
And there you have it! You've created a Product Blocking rule that responds to what's actually in the cart — keeping cross-sell mistakes, flash promo rules, and "must include" enforcement on autopilot.
If you have any questions or run into any issues, don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to help!
Previous: Create an Order Limit | Next: Customize and translate limit message