Introduction

Putting products on pre-order in Shopify is a great way to build hype, improve cash flow, and validate demand before you commit to inventory. But many merchants run into the same question: what’s the best way to incorporate pre-orders into my business?

That’s where PreProduct comes in. PreProduct gives you multiple ways to put products on pre-order in Shopify — from quick manual listings to fully automated workflows. Each approach has its own strengths and trade-offs, depending on how many products you’re managing and how hands-on you want to be.

In this post, we’ll walk through five different ways of putting a product on pre-order in Shopify with PreProduct.

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1. Manual Listing

The most straightforward way of putting a product on pre-order is to create a listing manually in PreProduct. You can set deposits, lead times, and customize variant availability. It’s perfect if you want complete control over the details of each pre-order.

The trade-off? It’s slower when managing more than a handful of products.

👉 Full guide: Listing a new product on pre-order

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2. Bulk Lister

If you want to put multiple products on pre-order at once, PreProduct’s bulk product lister makes it simple. You can apply pre-order settings across batches of products in just a few clicks.

This is ideal for mid-sized catalogs where setting each product individually would be too time-consuming.

👉 Full guide: Bulk Product Lister

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3. Listing Manager

For stores managing hundreds or even thousands of products, templates are the best way to scale pre-orders. Instead of configuring each product, you define rules — for example: “apply deposit upfront pre-orders to all products tagged ‘Pre-Sale’.”

PreProduct’s Listing Manager builds on templates to deliver full automation. Once your templates are in place, the Listing Manager will automatically apply them to new or updated products as variants go in and out of stock.

This is ideal for large catalogs where products frequently go in and out of stock, saving hours of repetitive admin work.

👉 Learn more: Templates

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4. API

If you need complete flexibility, PreProduct’s Admin API is the most powerful way to put products on pre-order. It allows developers to programmatically create, edit, or remove listings, integrate with your backend, and sync pre-order data with external systems like ERPs or custom apps.

This route is for teams with technical resources who want pre-orders deeply embedded in their existing workflows.

👉 Full guide: PreProduct Admin API

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5. Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow is a free Shopify app that allows you to build automation workflows across your store. PreProduct integrates directly with Flow, enabling over 30 pre-order related triggers and actions:

• “Put listing variant on pre-order”
• “Link listing to template”

This opens up powerful automation without needing to write code, though it does require a system-thinking approach to set up correctly.

👉 Full guide: Pre-order Shopify Flow Actions & Triggers

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Which Method Should You Choose?

When it comes to putting products on pre-order in Shopify with PreProduct, the right method depends on your stage and scale:

• Best for getting started: Manual listing
• Best for 10–100 products on pre-order: Bulk lister or listing manager
• Best for automation: Start with Listing Manager, then add Shopify Flow if needed

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Wrap-Up

Putting products on pre-order is a low-risk way to improve cash flow and capture demand before stock arrives. Whether you’re just listing a single product manually or building full-scale automations, PreProduct supports every workflow — from fine-grained control to mass automation.

Want to learn more? Check out the PreProduct docs for step-by-step guides on putting products on pre-order in Shopify.