Is selling out of stock enough?

Shopify lets you enable “Continue selling when out of stock” on a variant with inventory tracking. This allows orders when stock reaches zero, but it does not create a full pre-order purchase option on its own: it adds no payment schedule, sales limit or dedicated customer information.

This approach can suit a simple case: full payment upfront, a reliable availability date, a capped sales volume and manageable manual processing. You then need to clearly identify the pre-order and its lead time on the product page and in the cart, flag the relevant orders, adapt emails and assign someone to stop sales if supply changes.

Available quantities at locations that fulfil online orders also affect the availability displayed. Source: Shopify guidance on selling out of stock.

When should you choose a pre-order app?

To use Shopify's pre-order purchase options, you need an app. It can be installed from the Shopify App Store or developed specifically for your store; either way, it uses Shopify's pre-order and payment mechanisms.

Depending on the setup, customers can pay in full, pay a deposit or be charged later. The app displays pre-order information on the product page and at checkout, then helps the team identify the relevant orders. Source: Shopify guidance on pre-orders.

An existing app is generally sufficient when its rules cover your variants, dates, caps, payments, inventory, cancellations and refunds. Test it against real cases, especially a cart mixing available products with pre-orders. Depending on the app, inventory may be reserved at the time of sale or fulfillment. Source: managing Shopify pre-orders.

Which restrictions should you check before choosing?

Shopify currently states that pre-orders are available to merchants using Shopify Payments or PayPal Express. Customers cannot pay for them with Shop Pay, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or certain local payment methods such as Klarna or mollie iDEAL | Wero. Pre-orders are also unsupported on stores with a customized checkout.

These restrictions can be decisive if a significant share of your customers uses those payment methods. Check the Shopify setup documentation, then make a test purchase with each method actually enabled in your store.

The same documentation states that pre-orders are supported on the Online Store and Custom Storefront sales channels. It also requires clear information about delivery timing: if the promised date changes, customers must receive a new date and be informed of their right to cancel or obtain a refund. Have your terms of sale reviewed for the countries where you sell the products.

When is custom development justified?

A dedicated solution is justified when an essential rule is not properly covered by existing apps: a shared quota across variants or channels, batch allocation with different dates, business approval before charging, or specific exchanges with production or management software.

This development is still a Shopify app. It must use the purchase options and selling plans documented by Shopify, without bypassing the platform's payment system. Its scope must cover storefront display, the cart, orders, payment schedules, inventory, after-sales operations and maintenance when themes or APIs change.

Before development starts, write down every rule, its owner and the expected result if it fails. If an existing app covers them properly, configuring and testing it will generally be simpler to operate.

How can you decide quickly?

  • A simple out-of-stock sales setup: full payment upfront, a limited number of products, reliable lead times and controlled manual processing.
  • An existing app: standard pre-order rules, deposits or deferred payments, a need to launch quickly and an interface that is already maintained.
  • A custom app: essential business requirements, complex quotas or batches, integration with production, an ERP or another internal tool.

The deciding factor is the gap between your actual rules and what the solution can reliably deliver without fragile workarounds, rather than the number of features promised.

What should you test before launch?

Run a complete test on a variant for every important case: a standalone order, a mixed cart, the last permitted unit, immediate or deferred payment, a declined payment, delayed delivery, cancellation and a refund.

Review what customers see before paying: the nature of the pre-order, amounts due now and later, the announced date or period and cancellation terms. Then check the order in Shopify, inventory, emails and data sent to fulfillment tools. Finally, test who gets alerted and what happens if the balance payment fails or delivery is postponed.

To plan a Shopify pre-order system suited to your store, describe the products involved, volume caps, payment rules, announced date and tools that need to receive the order. This information helps you choose between a simple setup, an existing app and custom development.

Plan your next step