How to hide COD on large first orders

To hide COD on large first orders, set a first-order amount. When a new customer's cart is above that amount, COD is hidden and they pay online. When the cart is at or below it, COD stays, so new customers can still try your store with a small cash order. At checkout, "first order" means a guest checkout or a signed-in customer with no previous orders. Returning customers who check out as guests count as new, so choose the amount with that in mind.

Why are first orders riskier with COD?

A returning customer has already accepted and paid for a delivery from you. A first order comes with no such history. The shopper has never dealt with your store, may have ordered on impulse from an ad, and loses nothing by refusing at the door. A fake order placed under a made-up name has no history behind it either.

New customers are still where your regulars come from. The goal is to cap how much you risk on someone you don't know yet, while keeping COD open for small first orders.

What counts as a "first order"?

A payment rule can only see a customer's order history when the checkout is linked to that customer. Shopify then gives the rule the total number of orders the customer has made at your store. A guest checkout has no customer attached, so there is no history to read, and the rule treats it as a first order.

This is how Khaleeji COD defines a first order. When the rule can't tell who the shopper is, it treats them as new.

The guest row has a practical effect. If many of your regulars check out as guests, a first-order rule also applies to them when their cart is above the amount. You can set the amount higher, or encourage regulars to sign in: Shopify fills in a signed-in customer's saved details at checkout, which saves them typing.

How is a first-order limit different from a cart limit?

A cart limit hides COD above an amount for everyone. A first-order limit applies only to new customers, so it can be much lower. Used together, they work like this:

Khaleeji COD's GCC preset starts with 500 for first orders and 1,500 for any cart, in your store's currency (carts in other currencies are converted before comparing). Treat those numbers as a starting point and adjust them to your own orders. For the cart limit itself, see how to hide COD above a cart total.

How do you choose the amount?

Use your own orders:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and filter by Order status (Canceled) with a Date range, such as the last 90 days. How to find cancelled COD orders shows how to keep only the COD ones.
2. Open each cancelled COD order. The order page's Conversion summary shows the customer's number of orders, for example "This is their 1st order". Shopify says these details can take up to 48 hours to appear.
3. Write down the total of each cancelled first order. Then look at the totals of first orders that were delivered and paid.
4. Pick an amount above most of your normal first orders and below the range where refused first orders start.

If you only have a few cancelled orders, start near your usual first-order total and look again after a month. A refusal usually costs you shipping both ways and more besides, so what one refused COD order really costs helps you judge how much risk a given amount carries.

Why keep COD for small first orders?

Hiding COD for every first order is simpler, but it asks every new shopper to pay by card before you have delivered anything. Some shoppers won't. A small cash order lets them try you, and after that first order they no longer count as new when they sign in at checkout.

Tell shoppers about the limit before checkout, for example on your shipping or FAQ page: "Cash on Delivery is available on first orders up to AED 350." Then a shopper with a bigger cart isn't surprised when COD is missing.

How do you test it?

1. Create a new test customer. A new customer has no orders.
2. Create a draft order for them with a total above your first-order amount, open its checkout link, and go to the payment step. COD should be hidden.
3. Lower the total below the amount and check again. COD should show, unless another rule hides it.
4. If you have a test customer with past orders, try the same large cart for them. COD should show as long as the cart is below your cart limit.

Remember to use the checkout link: payment rules don't run when you collect payment for a draft order inside the admin. The full method is in how to test checkout payment rules with draft orders.