> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/marketing/website-tools/upsell/why-an-upsell-isnt-showing.md).

# Why an Upsell Is Not Showing

The reasons an upsell competition might not appear at checkout, and how to make sure the one you want is the one customers see.

The short answer: your site only ever offers **one** upsell, in a popup on the checkout page, and it decides which competition to offer (and whether to show the popup at all) using a fixed set of rules. If your upsell never appears, it is almost always because the competition is not eligible, because another upsell competition is being chosen ahead of it, or because the popup was shown very recently in that browser.

This page explains exactly how the choice is made, so you can get the result you want. If you have not set up an upsell yet, start with [Upsell](/marketing/website-tools/upsell.md).

***

### How your site picks which upsell to show

A moment after the checkout page opens, your site looks for a competition to offer and follows these steps:

1. It only considers competitions that have the **Upsell** toggle switched on.
2. It only keeps the ones customers can enter right now. The competition must be **Active**, must have reached its start date, must not have ended, must not have sold out, and must not be a **Hidden / VIP Competition**.
3. It removes any competition the customer already has in their basket.
4. From what is left, it picks the one with the **latest end date** (the competition running furthest into the future).
5. It makes a final check that this competition still has tickets available, then shows it in the popup.

The important point is step 4. If several competitions have **Upsell** switched on, the one ending last always wins. A competition that ends sooner is never offered while a later ending one is also eligible.

{% hint style="info" %}
Switching on **Upsell** for several competitions does not show several at once. It simply gives your site a bigger pool to choose one from, so there is nearly always something to offer. To control exactly which competition customers see, either switch **Upsell** on for just one competition, or make sure your preferred one has the latest end date.
{% endhint %}

***

### Reasons no upsell is shown

Sometimes the popup does not appear at all. Here is every reason, and what to do about it.

* **The competition is switched off.** Only competitions with the **Active** toggle switched on can be offered. Open the competition and check **Active** is on.
* **The competition has not started yet.** A competition with a start date in the future is [scheduled](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition/schedule-a-competition.md). It cannot be offered as an upsell until it opens for entries.
* **The competition has ended.** Once its end date has passed, it is no longer offered. If you want to keep using upsells, switch **Upsell** on for a competition that is still running.
* **The competition has sold out.** A sold out competition is never offered. If the competition your site picks turns out to have no tickets left, the popup is held back for that visit rather than offering something the customer cannot buy.
* **The competition is a Hidden / VIP Competition.** Hidden competitions are deliberately kept out of upsells, even when **Upsell** is switched on. The helper text on the **Hidden / VIP Competition** toggle confirms this: it hides the competition from every public listing, feed and related or upsell section. See [Hidden VIP Competitions](/create-your-first-raffle/hidden-vip-competitions.md).
* **The customer already has it in their basket.** There is no point offering a competition they have already chosen, so it is skipped. If it was the only eligible upsell, nothing is offered.
* **The popup was shown recently in that browser.** After the checkout page has opened and the popup has had its chance to appear, it will not appear again in the same browser for a few minutes. This stops it repeating every time the customer moves between the basket and the checkout. The pause starts on every visit to the checkout, even a visit where no upsell was offered. So if you opened your checkout just before switching **Upsell** on, wait a few minutes before checking again.

{% hint style="warning" %}
The most common surprise is a **Hidden / VIP Competition** with **Upsell** switched on. Hidden competitions can only be reached by direct link and are kept out of every public area of your site, including the upsell popup, so they will never appear here no matter what.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
The popup belongs to the checkout page. Customers need to be signed in and have at least one item in their basket to reach checkout, so they will not see an upsell while browsing competitions or viewing their basket.
{% endhint %}

***

### A quick checklist when an upsell will not appear

Work through these in order for the competition you expect to see:

1. Is **Upsell** switched on, and did you click **Save changes** afterwards?
2. Is **Active** switched on?
3. Has the competition reached its start date, and is its end date still in the future?
4. Does it still have **tickets available** (not sold out)?
5. Is **Hidden / VIP Competition** switched off? If it is on, the competition is excluded on purpose.
6. Is there **another competition with Upsell switched on that ends later**? If so, that one is being shown instead.
7. Is the competition **already in the basket** you are testing with? Add a different competition instead.
8. Have you visited the checkout in the **last few minutes**? Wait a few minutes, or test in a fresh private or incognito browser window.

{% hint style="success" %}
For predictable results, switch on **Upsell** for just **one** competition at a time. Make sure it is active, has started, has tickets remaining, is not hidden, and has an end date well into the future. That removes any guesswork about which competition your customers will see.
{% endhint %}

***

### Testing your upsell

The easiest way to check your upsell is working is to go through checkout as a customer would:

1. Open your site in a **private** or **incognito** browser window. This makes sure you are not affected by the popup having been shown recently.
2. Sign in to a customer account.
3. Add a competition to your basket. Choose one that is **not** your upsell competition.
4. Go to the checkout.
5. Wait a moment. The upsell popup should appear over the page.

If nothing appears, close the private window, work through the checklist above, then try again in a new private window. You do not need to finish paying to test the popup.

***

### Related pages

{% content-ref url="/pages/J5cj311pWr5CMyIyyWaS" %}
[Upsell](/marketing/website-tools/upsell.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/ikquN3GTGeJqpqnJdhcv" %}
[Hidden VIP Competitions](/create-your-first-raffle/hidden-vip-competitions.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}