Overview
Replacement upsells let you swap an item from the original order with a higher-value product during a post-purchase offer in Aftersell. Instead of adding a new item, the original product is removed and replaced if the customer accepts the offer. If the offer is declined, the original order remains unchanged. This makes replacement upsells ideal for upgrades, premium variants, or subscription conversions without increasing the number of items in the order.
Why use replacement upsells
Replacement upsells are commonly used to:
Upgrade a one-time purchase to a subscription
Swap a less expensive variant for a more premium variant
Replace a lower-priced product with a higher-value alternative
How replacement upsells work
When enabled, a replacement upsell removes the original product from the order and replaces it with the upsell product instead of adding an additional item. If the offer is declined, the original order remains unchanged.
Because this feature is still in BETA, access must be enabled manually by the Aftersell team and there may be known or unknown limitations as the feature continues to evolve.
If Aftersell detects an error while attempting a replacement, a failsafe may trigger. When this happens, replacement upsell offers will temporarily stop showing until the issue is reviewed and resolved by our Engineering team.
NOTE:
Replacement upsells are available as a BETA feature and apply to post-purchase (1-Click) offers.
Replacement upsells are still under active development. By using this feature, you acknowledge that there may be limitations or unexpected behavior. If you’d like access enabled for your account, please contact Aftersell support.
Setting up a replacement upsell
Once replacement upsells have been enabled for your account by the Aftersell team, they can be set up within your post-purchase funnel.
To configure a replacement upsell, start by selecting the product in the order that you want to replace. You’ll then choose the product that should replace it if the offer is accepted. From there, you can adjust replacement-specific settings, such as how the replacement behaves when quantities or discounts are involved, and preview the experience to make sure it works as expected
If you prefer a visual walkthrough, there’s a short video available that walks through the full setup process step by step.
Limitations and requirements
Replacement upsells have platform-level and offer-level limitations that may prevent an offer from showing.
Since replacement upsells run on the post-purchase page, they are subject to Shopify’s post-purchase limitations. You can learn more about those limitations in Shopify’s documentation here.
In addition, replacement upsells have a few requirements and restrictions that can cause an offer to be skipped.
Payment gateway compatibility
Not all payment gateways support replacement upsells.
Replacement offers are not shown for orders placed using unsupported payment gateways. If your store uses multiple gateways, replacement offers will still appear for orders placed using a supported gateway.
Currently known unsupported payment gateways
Authorize.net – Authorize.net requires transactions to settle before refunds can be issued. Because settlement occurs on a delay, Aftersell can’t reliably replace products immediately after purchase.
When a replacement offer is skipped
A replacement upsell may be skipped in the following situations:
The product selected for replacement is not present in the order
The product to replace was purchased as a subscription (only one-time purchases can be replaced)
More than one unit of the product to replace was purchased
The product to replace already has another discount applied
By default, Aftersell skips replacement offers in these cases to prevent unexpected order changes. Some of these behaviours, such as allowing replacements when multiple quantities are purchased or when discounts are applied, can be adjusted in the offer’s replacement settings.
If a replacement offer is skipped for any reason, Aftersell automatically attempts to show the downsell offer in the same funnel.
We strongly recommend setting up a downsell as a fallback whenever you use replacement upsells.
How replacement offers are displayed
Accept button behaviour
When a replacement upsell is accepted, both products are initially charged, and the original product is then refunded. The end result is that the order contains only the replacement product.
The accept (or upgrade) button shows the price difference between the two products:
If the replacement product costs more, the button shows the additional amount to pay.
If the replacement product costs less, the button shows the refund amount the customer will receive.
Although the button only shows the net difference, the order itself will reflect:
A charge for the replacement product
A refund for the original product being replaced
The amount shown includes any taxes applied to the original product. Differences in tax between the original and replacement products aren’t currently accounted for.
Customer communication
In addition to the messaging shown in the replacement offer itself, you can optionally send customers a refund notification email when a replacement is accepted. This email is sent immediately after the order update.
Analytics and reporting
Refunds generated from replacement upsells include the note:
“Aftersell Post-Purchase Replacement Upsell”
This helps identify replacement-related refunds in Shopify.
Aftersell analytics do not subtract the refunded product’s price. Replacing a $100 product with a $200 product is reported as a $200 upsell.
Troubleshooting and failsafe behaviour
In rare cases, a replacement may fail due to factors like high Shopify load, incompatible payment gateways, or custom fulfillment workflows.
If this happens, Aftersell triggers a failsafe that temporarily skips future replacement offers on your store to prevent further issues.
You can check whether this failsafe has been triggered by reviewing an order in the Aftersell Order Browser (Detailed View).
If you believe your store has triggered the failsafe, contact Aftersell support so we can investigate and re-enable replacement offers.
Need help?
If you have questions about replacement upsells or want help setting them up correctly, reach out to our support team via in app chat or email support@aftersell.app.