How to Manage Pre-Order Inventory in Shopify: A Complete Guide

After analyzing $85M+ in pre-order sales, we found that 20.6% of pre-orders ship within 30 days, but 28.1% take 121-150 days. That massive variance in timelines makes inventory management the difference between smooth launches and operational chaos.

Managing pre-order inventory in Shopify isn’t just about enabling “continue selling when out of stock.” It’s about preventing overselling, coordinating fulfillment holds, syncing with ERPs and 3PLs, and making smart decisions about mixed carts. Get it wrong and you’ll face premature shipments, angry customers, and refund requests. Get it right and pre-orders become a powerful tool for validating demand and improving cash flow.

This guide covers the exact Shopify pre-order inventory management workflows used by successful merchants, from setting variant-level stock limits to automating fulfillment holds, backed by data from 1M+ pre-orders.

Understanding Pre-Order Inventory Fundamentals

For a complete overview of Shopify pre-orders, see our guide to Shopify pre-orders.

What Makes Pre-Order Inventory Different

Pre-order inventory operates differently from standard Shopify inventory management. With regular products, you have stock on hand and Shopify tracks quantities as orders come in. With pre-orders vs backorders, you’re selling products that don’t exist in your warehouse yet.

This creates three key differences:

Negative inventory becomes necessary. When you take pre-orders for products with zero stock, your inventory levels go negative. Not all ERPs or inventory systems support this, which can block pre-orders entirely if not configured correctly.

Payment timing affects inventory reservation. Our data shows that 43.8% of pre-orders use charge-later (vaulted card) payment models. When you charge later, you need to decide: do you reserve inventory when the customer orders, or when you actually charge them? This impacts your demand forecasting and production planning.

Fulfillment holds prevent premature shipping. Standard Shopify orders automatically flow to fulfillment systems. Pre-orders need holds applied so they don’t ship before inventory arrives. Without proper holds, your 3PL might try to dispatch orders the moment they sync to your fulfillment system.

Three Core Inventory Management Challenges

Challenge 1: Preventing overselling when stock limits exist

Not every pre-order campaign can accept unlimited orders. If you have 500 units of a new product inbound, taking 1,000 pre-orders creates a fulfillment nightmare. Variant-level stock limits let you cap pre-orders by SKU, size, or color, automatically hiding buy buttons when limits are reached.

Challenge 2: Keeping pre-orders separate from buy-now inventory

Mixing pre-order and regular inventory in the same tracking system complicates reporting, forecasting, and fulfillment. Our research shows that 62.1% of stores prohibit mixing pre-orders with ready-to-ship items in the same cart. This separation simplifies operations and reduces errors.

Challenge 3: Syncing inventory across Shopify, ERPs, and 3PLs

Pre-orders touch multiple systems. Shopify handles the order, your ERP manages inventory planning, and your 3PL coordinates fulfillment. If these systems don’t properly sync pre-order status (especially the “On Hold” fulfillment state), orders ship too early or get lost in limbo.

Setting Up Inventory Controls for Pre-Orders

Stock Limits and Quantity Caps

A core component of Shopify pre-order inventory management is setting maximum pre-order quantities to prevent overselling and keep production aligned with demand. Here’s when and how to implement stock limits:

When to limit pre-order quantities:

  • Limited edition drops with finite incoming stock
  • Made-to-order products where production scales with orders
  • Test launches to validate demand before committing to large inventory
  • Restocks where you know the exact incoming quantity

Variant-level inventory allocation is critical for products with multiple SKUs. A pre-order campaign for a t-shirt might need different limits for small (200 units), medium (500 units), and large (300 units) based on your production run. Product-level limits don’t work here; you need granular control.

Calculating safe pre-order quantities requires accounting for cancellations. Industry data shows an average cancellation rate of 5.4%, so if you can fulfill 1,000 units, consider capping pre-orders at 950 to maintain a buffer.

Pre-order apps like PreProduct can enforce these limits automatically, hiding buy buttons when thresholds are reached and preventing checkout for products at capacity.

Negative Inventory Settings

Shopify’s native inventory system doesn’t automatically support selling when stock is zero. To enable pre-orders, you need to configure negative inventory handling.

Enabling “continue selling when out of stock”

In your Shopify product admin, navigate to the inventory section and check “Continue selling when out of stock.” This tells Shopify to accept orders even when the available quantity is zero or negative.

How pre-order apps handle negative inventory

Quality pre-order apps manage this setting automatically. When you create a pre-order listing, the app toggles the “continue selling” option on. When the pre-order campaign ends, it toggles it back off to prevent accidental overselling.

ERP considerations for negative stock

Not all ERPs support negative inventory by default. Before launching pre-orders, verify your ERP can process orders when on-hand stock is depleted. You’ll typically find this setting in your ERP’s inventory management or product configuration section. Without it enabled, your ERP may reject pre-order syncs from Shopify, creating order processing failures.
(We have specific guides on taking pre-orders with specific ERPs here)

Inventory Reservation Strategies

When do you actually reserve inventory for a pre-order: when the customer places the order, or when you collect payment? The answer affects forecasting and working capital.

Reserve at time of sale makes sense for charge-upfront pre-orders. The customer pays immediately, so you reserve inventory immediately. This gives you the most accurate picture of committed stock.

Reserve at fulfillment works better for charge-later models. Since 47.8% of pre-orders are charged within 30 days, you’re essentially forecasting demand but not locking in inventory allocation until payment succeeds. This accounts for payment failures and cancellations but requires more sophisticated inventory planning.

The choice depends on your payment model, cancellation tolerance, and production lead times. Products with long lead times (the most common shipping window is 121-150 days) benefit from earlier reservation to inform manufacturing, while quick-turn restocks can wait until charge time.

Managing Pre-Order Fulfillment Holds in Shopify

Implementing fulfillment holds prevents pre-orders from shipping before inventory arrives, protecting you from costly fulfillment disasters.

Understanding Shopify’s “On Hold” Status

Shopify’s fulfillment hold feature includes an “On Hold” status that signals an order is valid but shouldn’t be fulfilled yet. This is essential for pre-orders because it prevents premature shipping.

What fulfillment holds do

When an order has “On Hold” status, it appears in your Shopify orders admin but doesn’t flow to automatic fulfillment systems. This buys you time to wait for inventory to arrive before releasing orders for shipping.

How pre-order apps automatically apply holds

Pre-order apps should place fulfillment holds automatically when orders contain pre-order items. For Shopify stores, this means setting the fulfillment status to “On Hold.” For mixed carts with both pre-order and buy-now items, sophisticated apps apply holds only to the pre-order line items while letting regular items fulfill normally.

Releasing holds when inventory arrives

When your pre-order inventory hits the warehouse, you need to release fulfillment holds. This can be done manually per order, in bulk for an entire pre-order listing, or automatically through inventory-aware triggers. The key is having clear workflows via your pre-order app and documentation on who releases holds and when, to avoid bottlenecks.

ERP and 3PL Compatibility

Not all fulfillment systems natively recognize Shopify’s “On Hold” status, which creates integration challenges for managing pre-orders with your ERP or 3PL.

Systems with native “On Hold” recognition

The following 3PLs and fulfillment platforms natively sync and respect Shopify’s “On Hold” status:

  • ShipBob
  • RyderShip
  • Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN)
  • ShipStation (with proper configuration)
  • Flexport

If you use one of these, pre-order holds will automatically prevent fulfillment until you release them.

Mapping holds to custom internal statuses

ERPs and 3PLs without native support require workarounds. Common approaches include:

  • Mapping “On Hold” to a custom status in your system
  • Using Shopify tags (like “pre-order” or “hold-fulfillment”) to trigger routing rules
  • Leveraging line-item properties to mark pre-order items
  • Creating separate fulfillment locations for pre-orders, either virtual or real

The critical requirement is testing end-to-end before launch. Create a test pre-order, place it, and verify it doesn’t ship from your 3PL until you explicitly release it.

Automation with Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow enables sophisticated automation for pre-order fulfillment holds, especially useful for stores managing multiple pre-order campaigns simultaneously.

Triggering fulfillment holds based on product tags

Create a Flow workflow that monitors orders and applies “On Hold” status when line items have specific tags (like “pre-order” or the product collection). This ensures even if your pre-order app misses an edge case, holds still apply.

Auto-releasing holds when stock quantity changes

Set up a Flow that monitors product inventory levels. When a product’s available quantity increases (indicating stock arrival), automatically release fulfillment holds for orders containing that product. This eliminates manual release work for large pre-order campaigns.

PreProduct’s Shopify Flow integration

PreProduct offers 15 custom Shopify Flow actions and 16 triggers specifically for pre-orders, giving you granular control over hold application, charge timing, and release workflows. This is particularly valuable for stores wanting to integrate pre-order inventory management with broader operational automation.

Handling Mixed Carts and Partial Fulfillment

Three Approaches to Mixed Buy-Now + Pre-Order Carts

When customers want to purchase both in-stock and pre-order items together, you have three strategic options. Each has different implications for inventory management and operations.

Option 1: Prohibit mixing (62.1% of stores choose this)

Force customers to check out separately for pre-order and buy-now items. This is the cleanest approach operationally because it keeps pre-order and regular inventory completely separate in your fulfillment system. At PreProduct, this is enforced via redirecting customers to a checkout page or pre-order only cart. Another common approach is showing a message to customers that they need to check out separately for pre-order and buy-now items and just blocking the checkout until they comply.

Benefits: Simple inventory tracking, no partial fulfillment complexity, clear customer expectations.
Drawbacks: Lower average order value, potential friction in checkout experience.

Option 2: Multiple shipments

Allow mixed carts but fulfill items separately. In-stock products ship immediately while pre-order items ship when available.

Benefits: Better customer experience, higher average order value, no delays for in-stock items.
Drawbacks: Higher shipping costs (you pay twice), more complex 3PL coordination, requires partial fulfillment support.

Option 3: Hold all items

Accept mixed carts but hold the entire order until pre-order items are ready, then ship everything together.

Benefits: Single shipping cost, simpler logistics than option 2.
Drawbacks: Delays in-stock items unnecessarily, potentially frustrating customers, higher cancellation risk.

Inventory Implications of Each Strategy

How mixed carts complicate inventory tracking

When you mix pre-order and in-stock items, your inventory system needs to track:

  • Which line items are pre-order vs. buy-now
  • When each type of item will be available
  • Whether partial fulfillment is allowed
  • How to allocate inventory when items transition from pre-order to in-stock

This requires more sophisticated inventory management than single-type orders.

Split fulfillment requirements for 3PLs

Most modern 3PLs support partial fulfillment (ShipStation, Shippo, ShipBob, Flexport, ShipMonk, and others). However, you need to verify your specific 3PL can:

  • Recognize which line items are held vs. ready to ship
  • Create separate shipments from a single order
  • Sync tracking information back to Shopify for each shipment
  • Handle inventory allocation correctly for split orders

In 2024, Shopify released a split shipping feature that can be used to enforce charging seperate shipments for line items with different ship dates.

Impact on average order value vs. operational complexity

Allowing mixed carts typically increases AOV as customers add impulse purchases to pre-order checkouts. However, this comes with operational overhead. Calculate whether the revenue gain justifies the complexity for your specific operation.

Setting Up Your Policy

Configuration in pre-order apps

Quality pre-order apps let you choose your mixed cart policy:

  • Redirect to checkout with pre-order items only (prohibit mixing)
  • Allow mixing with automatic partial fulfillment tagging
  • Allow mixing with full-order hold until pre-orders are ready

Configure this based on your 3PL’s capabilities and operational capacity.

Customer communication requirements

Whichever policy you choose, communicate it clearly before checkout. Display messages like:

  • “Pre-order items will ship separately from in-stock items”
  • “Your entire order will ship together when pre-order items are available in [estimated date]”
  • “Pre-order and in-stock items must be purchased separately”

Clear expectations reduce support tickets and cancellations.

Integrating Pre-Orders with ERPs and Inventory Systems

Common ERP Integration Challenges

ERPs handle enterprise inventory planning, but many weren’t designed with pre-orders in mind. Here are the most common friction points:

Negative inventory support limitations

As mentioned earlier, not all ERPs process orders when inventory is negative or zero. During high-demand pre-order launches, sync delays between Shopify and your ERP can cause overselling if the ERP rejects orders based on stock levels.

Order status syncing (“On Hold” recognition)

Shopify’s “On Hold” fulfillment status may not map directly to your ERP’s internal status system. Without proper mapping, pre-orders might appear as regular unfulfilled orders in your ERP, triggering incorrect fulfillment workflows.

Real-time vs. scheduled inventory updates

Some ERP-Shopify connectors sync in real-time while others run on schedules (every 15 minutes, hourly, etc.). Scheduled syncing creates windows where customers can order based on outdated inventory data, leading to overselling during flash pre-order campaigns.

Best Practices for ERP Integration

Verify negative inventory settings before launch

Log into your ERP’s inventory management section and confirm negative inventory is enabled for products you plan to offer as pre-orders. Test by manually creating an order when stock is zero and verify it processes successfully.

Map Shopify statuses to internal ERP workflows

Work with your integration partner or developer to explicitly map:

  • Shopify “On Hold” → ERP pre-order status
  • Shopify “Unfulfilled” → ERP ready-to-ship status
  • Custom tags (like “pre-order-hold”) → ERP routing rules

Document these mappings for your team and review them quarterly as systems evolve.

Test pre-order flow end-to-end before going live

Create a test pre-order product, place orders through checkout, and track them through every system:

  1. Does the order appear correctly in Shopify?
  2. Does it sync to your ERP with proper status?
  3. Does your ERP recognize it shouldn’t fulfill yet?
  4. Can you trigger fulfillment release from both Shopify and your ERP?
  5. Does inventory reservation work correctly?

Only launch publicly after confirming the full flow works.

Use line-item properties for advanced routing

For complex workflows, leverage Shopify’s line-item properties to pass pre-order metadata to your ERP:

  • Estimated ship date
  • Pre-order campaign ID
  • Payment status (charged upfront vs. charge-later)
  • Stock source (made-to-order vs. incoming restock)

This additional context helps ERPs route orders correctly without relying solely on fulfillment status.

Popular ERPs and Pre-Order Compatibility

NetSuite: Supports negative inventory and custom order statuses. Requires configuration and typically custom integration work for full pre-order support.

Brightpearl: Native negative inventory support, good webhook capabilities for pre-order status syncing.

Cin7: Handles negative inventory well, offers Shopify integration, may require custom field mapping for fulfillment holds.

QuickBooks Commerce: Basic pre-order support through inventory adjustments and order tags.

For detailed ERP-specific workflows, see our guide on managing pre-orders on ERPs.

Coordinating Pre-Orders with 3PL Fulfillment

3PL Pre-Order Challenges

Most 3PLs don’t have dedicated pre-order modules. Instead, they rely on signals from Shopify to identify which orders to hold and which to ship.

Reliance on Shopify signals

3PLs typically use:

  • Fulfillment status (“On Hold” vs. “Unfulfilled”)
  • Financial status (is it marked as ‘paid’ in Shopify)
  • Order tags (like “pre-order” or “hold-fulfillment”)
  • Custom fields or line-item properties
  • Fulfillment location assignments

Your pre-order app must properly set these signals, and your 3PL must be configured to respect them.

Preventing automatic fulfillment of pre-orders

By default, some 3PLs automatically fulfill orders as soon as they sync from Shopify. Without proper holds in place, this means pre-orders ship before inventory arrives. Testing the hold workflow with your 3PL before launch is non-negotiable.

3PLs with Native Pre-Order Support

These fulfillment providers either natively recognize Shopify’s “On Hold” status or offer built-in pre-order workflows:

ShipBob: Full “On Hold” status support, real-time bidirectional inventory syncing, partial fulfillment capabilities.

ShipStation: Configurable automation rules can hold orders based on tags or status, supports partial fulfillment.

Flexport: Recognizes hold status, offers sophisticated inventory management for complex pre-order scenarios.

ShipMonk: Custom status mapping available, supports split shipments for mixed carts.

Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN): Native Shopify integration understands “On Hold” status automatically.

Easyship: Tag-based routing rules can separate pre-orders from regular fulfillment.

Workflow Setup

Configuring holds in 3PL systems

Work with your 3PL to set up automation rules:

  • If order has tag “pre-order” → hold for manual release
  • If fulfillment status = “On Hold” → do not auto-ship
  • If order contains specific SKUs → hold until approved

Most 3PLs offer some level of automation rule configuration, though complexity varies.

Testing pre-order to fulfillment flow

Place test pre-orders and track them through your 3PL’s system:

  1. Does the order appear in the 3PL admin?
  2. Is it marked as held/pending and not automatically fulfilled?
  3. Can you manually release it for fulfillment when ready?
  4. Does the 3PL correctly handle partial releases for mixed carts?

Communication protocols when stock arrives

Establish clear processes for when inventory lands:

  • Who notifies the 3PL that stock arrived?
  • How do you bulk-release pre-orders for fulfillment?
  • What’s the SLA for the 3PL to ship once released?
  • How do you track fulfillment progress for large pre-order batches?

Document these workflows so multiple team members can execute them.

For detailed 3PL-specific guidance, see our article on managing pre-orders with your 3PL.

Tracking and Forecasting Pre-Order Inventory

Key Metrics to Monitor

Pre-order quantity by variant

Track orders at the SKU level, not just product level. A product with five sizes needs five separate quantity trackers to inform production accurately. This granular visibility prevents the scenario where you have 1,000 total pre-orders but didn’t track that 600 are size medium and you only planned for 200.

Fulfillment timeline tracking

Monitor how long pre-orders sit in your system before fulfillment. Since pre-orders can ship within 30 days but often take much longer, understanding your timeline distribution helps set customer expectations and plan working capital.

Cancellation rates

The industry average cancellation rate is 5.4%. Track yours by campaign, product type, and shipping timeline. Longer timelines generally correlate with higher cancellations, so factor this into inventory planning.

Stock arrival dates vs. customer expectations

Track the gap between promised ship dates and actual fulfillment. Delays erode trust and increase cancellation and refund requests. If you consistently miss dates, adjust your estimated timelines to be more conservative.

Using Pre-Order Data for Demand Forecasting

SKU-level demand signals

Pre-orders provide early demand data before production commitments. If a new product gets 500 pre-orders in week one, you can confidently scale production knowing demand exists. This is far more reliable than forecasting based on similar products or market research.

Production run planning

Use pre-order quantities to right-size manufacturing. If you’re deciding between a 1,000-unit or 2,500-unit production run, 750 pre-orders in hand makes the decision data-driven rather than a guess.

Avoiding overproduction

U. S. retailers held $740 billion worth of unsold goods in 2023. Shopify pre-orders flip this model: produce based on confirmed demand rather than speculative inventory. This reduces write-offs, discounting, and tied-up capital.

Inventory Reports and Dashboards

Monitoring pre-order allocations

Check pre-order app dashboards showing:

  • Total pre-orders by product and variant
  • Percentage of stock limit reached (if limits are set)
  • Payment collection status (charged vs. pending charge)
  • Estimated fulfillment dates and current status

Stock level alerts

Set notifications for:

  • When pre-order limits reach 80% capacity (time to decide if you’ll expand)
  • When expected stock arrival dates approach (prepare for fulfillment release)
  • When cancellation rates exceed normal thresholds (investigate cause)

Variant performance tracking

Identify which variants are in highest demand. This informs future production mixes and helps you avoid the common mistake of producing equal quantities of all sizes when demand is heavily skewed.

Preventing Common Pre-Order Inventory Mistakes

Mistake #1: Not Setting Stock Limits

Risk of overselling when incoming inventory is finite

If you have 500 units arriving but take 1,000 pre-orders, you face a crisis. You must either disappoint 500 customers with cancellations and refunds, expedite additional production at high cost, or face delivery delays that damage your brand.

How to calculate safe pre-order quantities

Formula: (Confirmed incoming inventory) × (1 – expected cancellation rate) = maximum safe pre-orders

Example: 1,000 units incoming × (1 – 0.054) = 946 safe pre-orders

Build in this buffer to account for cancellations without overselling your actual stock.

Mistake #2: Poor ERP/3PL Communication

Orders shipping prematurely

The most common pre-order disaster is orders fulfilling before inventory arrives. This happens when:

  • Fulfillment holds aren’t properly applied
  • ERP/3PL doesn’t recognize hold status
  • Manual release happens accidentally
  • Integration failures cause orders to sync without hold flags

Inventory sync failures

Real-time vs. scheduled syncing matters during high-volume launches. A 15-minute sync delay can result in hundreds of over-sold units when a popular pre-order goes live.

Testing requirements before launch

If you use a third-party 3PL and/or ERP, never launch a pre-order campaign without running complete tests through your fulfillment stack. The cost of testing is minutes; the cost of a failed launch is thousands in refunds, rush shipping, and brand damage.

Mistake #3: Unclear Customer Communication

Setting accurate estimated ship dates

Optimistic ship dates feel good in the moment but create problems when missed. Use data from past campaigns: if your average timeline is 90 days, quote 90-120 days rather than 60 days and hope.

Updating customers when timelines change

Production delays happen. The worst response is silence. Send proactive updates:

  • When delays are likely (before promises are missed)
  • With specific new timelines (not vague “coming soon”)
  • Offering options (wait or cancel) for long delays

Remember that 28.1% of pre-orders have 121-150 day shipping windows. Customers accept long timelines if communicated clearly upfront.

Choosing the Right Pre-Order App for Inventory Management

Key Features to Look For

When evaluating pre-order apps for Shopify, prioritize these inventory management capabilities:

Variant-level stock limits: Not all apps support capping pre-orders by individual SKU or variant. This is critical for products with multiple sizes, colors, or configurations.

Automated fulfillment holds: The app should automatically apply “On Hold” status to pre-order items without manual intervention.

ERP/3PL integration capabilities: Look for apps that can set Shopify tags and line item properties (for custom flow setting), API access, or native integrations with your specific fulfillment stack.

Flexible payment options: Charge-upfront, charge-later, and deposit options affect inventory reservation timing. Choose an app that supports your preferred payment model.

Real-time inventory syncing: Especially important for high-volume launches where seconds matter.

PreProduct’s Inventory Management Features

PreProduct is a Shopify pre-order app built specifically to handle the inventory management challenges covered in this guide:

Automatic fulfillment holds with “On Hold” status: Pre-orders automatically receive Shopify’s “On Hold” fulfillment status, preventing premature shipping to 3PLs that recognize this signal.

Variant-specific pre-order limits: Set maximum quantities per variant, automatically hiding buy buttons when limits are reached to prevent overselling.

Integration with Shopify Flow: 15 custom Flow actions and 16 triggers enable sophisticated automation for inventory-aware charging, fulfillment release, and status updates.

Separate admin for pre-order tracking: Monitor all pre-orders in a dedicated dashboard separate from your regular Shopify orders, simplifying inventory allocation and reporting.

Flexible payment models: Support for charge-upfront, charge-later (vaulted card), deposits, and multi-step payment plans. Each model affects inventory reservation differently, and PreProduct handles all of them.

The app is designed to address the technical workflows and operational challenges discussed throughout this article, backed by insights from processing $100M+ in pre-order sales.

Conclusion

Effective Shopify pre-order inventory management comes down to five core principles:

  1. Set variant-level stock limits to prevent overselling when incoming inventory is finite. Use the formula: incoming inventory × (1 – cancellation rate) to calculate safe maximums.
  2. Implement fulfillment holds to prevent premature shipping. Verify your ERP and 3PL recognize and respect “On Hold” status before launching.
  3. Test integrations thoroughly before going live. Run pre-orders through your entire fulfillment stack, confirming holds work and inventory syncs correctly.
  4. Choose a mixed cart policy based on operational capacity. 62.1% of stores prohibit mixing for good reason; only allow mixed carts if you can handle the complexity.
  5. Track metrics to improve forecasting. Monitor pre-order quantities by variant, cancellation rates, and fulfillment timelines to refine future campaigns.

Pre-orders offer powerful benefits for validating demand, improving cash flow, and capturing revenue before inventory arrives. But these benefits only materialize with proper inventory management. By implementing the workflows in this guide, you’ll avoid the common mistakes that turn promising pre-order campaigns into operational nightmares.

Ready to manage pre-orders with confidence? Start taking pre-orders on Shopify with tools built for proper inventory management, fulfillment holds, and system integration.

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Shopify Partial Payments: Complete Guide to Deposits, Installments & Deferred Charges

Managing cash flow while keeping customers happy can feel like walking a tightrope. Shopify partial payments let you collect a portion of the sale upfront and charge the remaining balance later, creating flexibility for both you and your customers. Whether you’re launching a new product line, managing pre-orders, or selling higher-ticket items, understanding how to implement partial payment strategies can transform how you capture revenue.

From processing over $85 million+ in pre-order sales, we’ve learned what actually works. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Shopify deposits, charge-later options, and installment plans so you can choose the right approach for your store.

What Are Shopify Partial Payments?

The Core Concept

Shopify partial payments enable merchants to charge a portion of the sale upfront while deferring the remaining balance until later. Instead of collecting the full amount at checkout, you might take 30% now and charge the rest when the product ships. This approach relies on vaulted card technology, where payment details are securely stored with your payment provider, allowing you to trigger charges at a later date without restrictive authorization windows.

The flexibility extends beyond simple deposits. Merchants can structure payments in three main ways: deposit upfront with a later charge, full charge-later with zero upfront cost, or multi-step installment plans that spread payments across several transactions.

Three Main Approaches to Partial Payments

Based on data from over one million pre-orders, here’s how merchants actually structure their payments:

Charge-later accounts for 43.8% of all pre-order listings (75,781 listings). Customers complete checkout without paying anything upfront, and merchants trigger the charge when ready to ship. This approach maximizes conversion by removing initial friction while still securing the order.

Deposit upfront represents 12.6% of listings. Merchants collect a partial payment during checkout, typically 20-50% of the product value, then charge the balance when the item is ready. This balances customer commitment with flexibility.

Charge upfront makes up 14.9% of listings. The full amount is collected immediately at checkout, providing instant cash flow but requiring customers to pay before receiving the product.

The remaining 28.7% use capture-only approaches, where payment is taken through payment links rather than vaulted cards.

Why Partial Payments Matter in 2025

The shift toward flexible payment models reflects changing customer expectations. Buyers increasingly expect options beyond “pay now or don’t buy.” For merchants, partial payments solve a critical challenge: how do you capture revenue before inventory arrives without alienating customers who want to minimize upfront commitment?

Traditional Shopify payment authorizations expire after 7 or 30 days depending on your payment provider and Shopify plan. Partial payment solutions using vaulted cards bypass these limitations, giving you control over when charges occur regardless of lead times.

How Shopify Partial Payments Work

Technical Requirements

Only two payment providers currently support the vaulted card technology required for deferred charges: Shopify Payments and PayPal (although we’ve heard reports of Cybersource recently being supported). Any credit card that passes standard checkout validation works for partial payments; no special card types are required.

The system captures and securely stores card details at initial checkout. When you’re ready to charge, you trigger the payment through your pre-order app or payment platform. The customer doesn’t need to re-enter payment information or take any action.

The Customer Experience

From a customer perspective, partial payments create a streamlined experience. They complete checkout once, entering payment details as they normally would. For deposit-based approaches, they see the deposit amount charged immediately. For charge-later options, no charge appears until you trigger it.

Customers can monitor their deferred payment status through customer portals that show expected shipping dates, outstanding balances, and payment schedules. This transparency reduces support inquiries and maintains trust during longer lead times.

The Merchant Workflow

Setting up partial payments requires choosing your deposit amount or percentage, configuring when charges will occur, and customizing customer communications. You can set charges to trigger manually when you’re ready to ship, automatically based on inventory levels, or on specific dates.

For deposit approaches, you specify whether to charge a fixed amount or a percentage of the product price. The system calculates and displays the deposit at checkout, shows the remaining balance, and handles the math automatically.

When triggering remaining charges, you can process them at the listing level (charging all customers for a specific product) or at the customer level (charging individual orders as they’re ready). Failed charges generate automated recovery emails, giving customers the opportunity to update payment methods before orders are cancelled.

Benefits of Partial Payments for Pre-orders

For Merchants: Extended Sales Windows

Traditional payment authorizations create artificial constraints. With Shopify Payments, authorizations typically expire after 7 days, though this can extend to 30 days in some cases. If your product lead time exceeds these windows, you face a choice: charge upfront and risk higher refund requests, or wait until inventory arrives and lose revenue velocity.

Partial payments eliminate this constraint. Data shows that while 25% of merchants charge immediately (Day 0), 47.8% charge within the first 30 days of the order. The flexibility to control charge timing means you can align revenue capture with your specific supply chain reality, not arbitrary authorization periods.

For Merchants: Reduced Refund Administration

Charge-upfront pre-orders create customer frustration when delays occur. Customers who’ve already paid feel entitled to immediate resolution, generating support tickets and refund requests. Charge-later and deposit models reduce this friction. Customers who haven’t fully paid yet tend to be more patient with timeline adjustments, as they haven’t fully committed their funds.

This isn’t just theory. Merchants using charge-later approaches report fewer cancellations and support inquiries compared to charge-upfront campaigns, particularly for products with variable lead times.

For Customers: Lower Initial Commitment

The psychological barrier of a $300 product is very different from a $75 deposit. Partial payments let customers secure items they want without the immediate financial impact of the full purchase. This is particularly powerful for higher-ticket items where the decision to buy might be delayed by cash flow concerns.

Customers who make partial payments also demonstrate stronger purchase commitment. Having “skin in the game” through a deposit makes them more likely to complete the purchase compared to waitlists or notification systems with zero commitment.

Real-World Impact: The Holochain Foundation Example

When Holochain Foundation launched their Web3 platform hardware, they faced a classic challenge: significant production costs with uncertain demand. They used deposit-based pre-orders to validate interest and secure upfront capital for manufacturing.

By collecting deposits, they confirmed real demand beyond survey responses or email signups. The deposits provided working capital to initiate production runs. And critically, they maintained full control over when to charge the remaining balance, coordinating charges with actual shipping timelines rather than racing against authorization expirations.

When to Use Deposits vs Charge-Later vs Installments

Strategic Decision Framework

The right payment approach depends on three factors: product price point, lead time length, and your cash flow needs. Here’s how to think through the decision.

Use Deposit Upfront When:

High-ticket items ($500+) benefit from deposits. The partial payment demonstrates commitment without requiring customers to part with the full amount months before delivery. We believe optimal deposit amounts range from 10-50% of the product value.

Long lead times (three months or longer) work better with deposits than charge-later. Asking customers to wait 90+ days with zero payment creates uncertainty. A deposit confirms their commitment and provides you with working capital during the production window.

Custom or made-to-order products justify deposits because you’re investing resources specifically for that customer. The deposit offsets your production costs and reduces the risk of cancellations after you’ve already started work.

When you need early production capital, deposits inject cash flow before the product is ready to ship. This is particularly valuable for crowdfunded-style launches or when production minimums require upfront investment.

Merchants who use deposit approaches represent 12.6% of listings in our dataset. While less common than charge-later, deposits serve a specific purpose for higher-value, longer-timeline products.

Use Charge-Later When:

Testing product demand works better with charge-later. The zero upfront cost maximizes conversion, giving you the truest read on interest. You can validate demand without customers needing to part with money immediately.

Short to medium lead times (one to two months) pair well with charge-later. Customers don’t perceive significant risk in the timeline, and you maintain flexibility on charge timing.

Low-medium priced items ($50-$300) see strong performance with charge-later. The payment amount isn’t large enough to justify deposits, and the reduced friction at checkout improves conversion rates.

When you want maximum conversion, charge-later removes all payment friction. Customers complete checkout knowing they won’t be charged until the product ships, eliminating the primary objection to pre-ordering.

The data supports this approach: 43.8% of pre-order listings use charge-later models, making it the most popular payment timing choice. The appeal is clear: secure orders now, charge when convenient, avoid authorization periods entirely.

Use Installment Plans When:

High-ticket items ($1,000+) benefit from spreading payments across multiple installments. This makes expensive products accessible to customers who want to spread the cost over time, similar to how Affirm or Klarna work.

Price sensitive customers who prefer to spread the cost over time. Offering installment plans allows you to offer a lower price point to customers who prefer to pay over time. Think of this like BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) but the customer receives the product later instead of upfront.

Competing with buy-now-pay-later services becomes easier when you offer your own installment options. Rather than paying fees to third-party services, you can structure multi-step payment plans that charge customers directly.

Extended payment terms (60-90+ days or longer) work well for premium product positioning. Luxury items or high-end equipment can be structured with monthly payments that align with when customers actually receive and use the product.

Multi-step payment plans work by splitting pre-orders into multiple automatic charges on a defined schedule. Customers select their preferred number of installments at checkout, and the system automatically processes charges based on your configured frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly).

Available for Shopify Plus stores and non-Shopify platforms, these plans integrate with charge-later or deposit-upfront pre-order models. You can configure maximum installment limits, offer discounts for choosing payment plans, and customize the customer-facing interface to match your brand. Customers access a portal showing their payment history, outstanding balance, and upcoming charge dates.

Optimal Deposit Percentages by Scenario

For physical goods in the $200-$500 range: 25-35% deposits work well. This is enough to confirm commitment without creating significant friction.

For higher-ticket items ($500-$1,500): 20-30% deposits provide meaningful capital while keeping the initial amount manageable. A $300 deposit on a $1,200 product feels more acceptable than a $600 deposit.

For custom or made-to-order products: 40-50% deposits are appropriate. Your costs are higher, customization requires more resources, and the commitment level should reflect the work involved.

For products with very long lead times (6+ months): 30-40% deposits strike a balance. Too small and it doesn’t feel meaningful; too large and customers balk at paying so much so far in advance.

The key is putting it in the context of your business and customer-base. Your hard fought intuition is a great starting point, as what works for one product or audience may not work for another.

How to Set Up Shopify Partial Payments

Option 1: Manual Setup (Not Recommended)

Some merchants attempt to create partial payment flows manually through Shopify’s native features. This involves creating separate deposit products, generating unique discount codes for the remaining balance, and manually coordinating payment collection with customers.

Why this approach fails: The customer experience is poor. They purchase a “deposit” product, then receive an email later with a discount code and instructions to buy the actual product. It’s confusing and unprofessional.

The manual coordination is time-consuming. You’re manually tracking which customers paid deposits, generating individual discount codes, and sending follow-up emails. For anything beyond a handful of orders, this becomes unmanageable.

You lose analytics and segmentation. These orders don’t flow through normal Shopify reporting as pre-orders; they look like separate product purchases. You can’t easily segment customers who have deposits pending or identify which partial payment campaigns perform best.

The approach is error-prone. Forgotten discount codes, incorrect discount amounts, customers who lose emails, all these issues create support tickets and frustration.

(FYI: Early on in PreProduct, before Shopify supported vaulted card payments; we actually offered a version of this ‘deposit product’ approach. It was pretty painful and we discontinued it as soon as the vaulted card functionality was released.)

Option 2: Using Pre-order Apps (Recommended)

Specialized pre-order apps handle the complexity of partial payments through purpose-built workflows. PreProduct offers flexible payment timing options including charge-upfront, charge-later, deposits, and multi-step installment plans.

Step-by-step setup process:

First, choose your payment timing approach. Decide whether you’re collecting full payment upfront, charging later, or taking a deposit. This decision drives the rest of your configuration.

Second, set your deposit amount or percentage if applicable. You can specify either a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the product price. The app automatically calculates and displays this at checkout.

Third, configure automatic charge triggers or plan for manual triggering. Some merchants prefer to trigger charges manually when they’re ready to ship. Others want automation based on inventory levels, where charges occur automatically when stock is added to Shopify.

Fourth, customize your customer portal and communications. Set up the messaging customers see on product pages, in cart, and at checkout. Configure email sequences for order confirmations, upcoming charges, and payment reminders.

Fifth, set up failed charge notifications and recovery workflows. If a customer’s card declines when you trigger the remaining charge, automated emails give them an opportunity to update their payment method before you cancel the order.

Sixth, test the complete flow. Place a test order through the entire checkout process, confirm the deposit or charge-later behavior works correctly, and verify that triggering the remaining charge functions as expected.

Configuration Best Practices

Communicate lead times clearly on product pages. Use specific dates when possible (“Ships in February 2025”) or windows when dates are uncertain (“Ships 8-12 weeks after order”). Vague language like “coming soon” creates customer anxiety.

Set realistic charge dates based on your actual supply chain. Building in buffer time is smart, but don’t pad timelines excessively. Customers appreciate accuracy more than conservatively long estimates.

Craft deposit policy language that explains what customers are paying now, what they’ll be charged later, and when that charge will occur. This belongs in multiple places: product page, cart, and checkout.

Design email sequences for payment reminders that notify customers a few days before their remaining balance will be charged. This reduces surprise and gives them time to ensure sufficient funds are available.

Managing Partial Payment Orders

Order Tracking and Segmentation

Once partial payment orders start flowing in, you need visibility into payment status across your customer base. Shopify deposit apps like PreProduct provide dashboards that show which orders have deposits paid, which customers are on charge-later status, and which charges have been triggered but not yet collected.

Segmentation becomes critical for larger campaigns. You might need to charge customers in batches as inventory arrives in waves, or handle exceptions for customers requesting earlier or later charges. Good pre-order tools let you filter by payment status, creation date, product, and other attributes.

Triggering Remaining Charges

Manual charge initiation gives you complete control. You review orders ready to ship, select the customers to charge, and trigger the charges. This works well for smaller volumes or when you need to carefully coordinate charges with actual inventory availability.

Automated triggers based on dates work for predictable timelines. If you know products will ship on March 15th, you can configure charges to trigger automatically on March 10th, giving time for payment processing before you need to create shipping labels.

Stock-based triggers charge customers automatically when you add inventory to Shopify. You receive a shipment, update your stock levels, and the app detects the change and initiates charges. This aligns charges with actual product availability rather than estimated dates.

Batch processing lets you charge large groups simultaneously. If you have 500 orders and inventory for all of them arrives, you can process all charges in one action rather than triggering them individually.

Failed Charge Management

Not every charge attempt succeeds. Cards expire, customers change banks, or funds aren’t available. When charges fail, you need a recovery process.

Common failure reasons include expired cards (especially problematic for long lead times), insufficient funds, or cards that were cancelled and replaced. Some failures are soft declines that will succeed if retried; others are permanent until the customer updates their payment method.

Automated recovery emails immediately notify customers when charges fail. These emails explain what happened, provide a link to update payment information, and set a deadline before the order is cancelled. Clear, non-accusatory language is important; frame it as “we need your help to complete your order” rather than “your payment failed.”

Grace periods and retry logic give customers time to fix issues. A common approach: retry the charge once after 24 hours, send another notification if it fails again, and give customers 3-5 days total before cancelling the order. The timeline should balance giving customers adequate time with your need to manage inventory.

When to cancel vs hold orders depends on your inventory situation. If you have excess inventory, you can be generous with grace periods. If inventory is tight and you have a waitlist, shorter grace periods let you reallocate products to customers whose payments will succeed.

Refund Scenarios

Partial payments complicate refunds compared to standard orders. If you’ve collected a deposit and need to refund, do you refund just the deposit? What if you’ve already charged the remaining balance?

Partial vs full refunds depend on when the refund request comes in and why. If a customer wants to cancel before you’ve triggered the remaining charge, you refund the deposit. If they want to cancel after being fully charged but before shipping, you refund everything. If the product has shipped and they’re returning it, your normal return policy applies.

Split payment complications arise when deposits and final charges occur far apart. Your accounting needs to handle a deposit collected in January and a refund processed in March that pulls from a different financial period.

Customer communication templates should clearly explain what amount is being refunded and when they’ll see it. “Your $75 deposit will be refunded to your original payment method within 5-10 business days” sets clear expectations.

Integration with Operations

Fulfilment Hold Management

The biggest operational risk with pre-orders is accidental early shipment. Products shouldn’t ship until you’ve triggered the remaining charges. Fulfilment holds prevent pre-order items from flowing to your 3PL or shipping team until you explicitly release them.

For Shopify stores, apps can place orders in “hold” fulfilment status. This keeps them out of your normal fulfilment queue. When you trigger charges and they succeed, the hold is released and the order moves to “unfulfilled,” making it visible to your fulfilment team.

For BigCommerce and WooCommerce stores, the approach differs. Pre-order apps keep orders in the app until you release them, then push them to your platform admin only when ready to ship. This ensures your team never sees an order before it’s time to fulfil it.

ERP and Inventory Systems

If you use an ERP system, syncing pre-order payment status matters for accurate financial reporting. Your ERP needs to know which orders represent collected revenue versus orders that will generate revenue when charged later.

Webhooks or API connections push order status updates from your pre-order app to your ERP. When a deposit is collected, your ERP records it. When the remaining balance is charged, another update flows through. This keeps your financial picture accurate without manual data entry.

For demand forecasting, pre-orders provide early signals about which products will sell and in what quantities. If you have 200 pre-orders before production starts, you know you need at least 200 units. Integrating this data into inventory planning prevents stockouts and informs production run sizes.

Learn more about managing pre-orders with ERP systems.

3PL Coordination

If you use a third-party logistics provider, they need to understand which orders are pre-orders and shouldn’t ship yet. Most 3PLs integrate with Shopify or your platform and automatically pull orders marked as unfulfilled. If pre-orders flow through before you’re ready, they’ll ship them.

The fulfilment hold approach prevents this. Only when you explicitly release holds do orders become visible to your 3PL. This coordination is critical for smooth operations.

For more on this topic, see our guide on managing pre-orders with your 3PL.

Mixed Carts: Pre-orders Plus In-Stock Items

Should you allow customers to purchase pre-order and in-stock items in the same cart? This decision impacts operations significantly.

Mixed carts increase average order value. Customers can buy what’s available now along with pre-order items, maximizing their cart size. However, this creates split fulfilment complexity. You need to ship the in-stock items immediately and hold the pre-order items for later.

Isolated carts force customers to check out separately for pre-orders and regular items. This simplifies operations; each order is either all in-stock or all pre-order. However, it may reduce total cart value and creates a slightly more complex customer experience.

The right choice depends on your operational capacity. If you can handle split fulfilments without errors, mixed carts are valuable. If your fulfilment setup struggles with partial shipments, isolated carts reduce mistakes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Payment Timing Errors

Charging too early before products are ready to ship creates customer frustration. If you charge the remaining balance and then announce a delay, customers who were patient during the charge-later period suddenly become frustrated. Only trigger charges when you’re confident products will ship within days.

Missing authorization windows applies to merchants not using vaulted card solutions. If you’re trying to use standard Shopify authorizations for long-lead-time products, you’ll hit expiration issues. This is why partial payment apps with vaulted cards exist in the first place.

Inadequate customer communication about when charges will occur causes surprise and support tickets. Notify customers a few days before charging remaining balances. Give them a heads-up rather than charging unexpectedly.

Deposit Amount Missteps

Asking too little defeats the purpose of deposits. A $10 deposit on a $300 product doesn’t demonstrate meaningful commitment. Customers will cancel without hesitation because they haven’t invested much.

Asking too much creates friction at checkout. A $250 deposit on a $400 product feels nearly as expensive as just paying full price. You lose the psychological benefit of partial payments.

Not testing different amounts means you’re guessing at optimal deposit levels. Run small test campaigns with 25%, 35%, and 45% deposits on the same product. Measure conversion rates and cancellation rates. The data will tell you what works for your audience.

Technical Pitfalls

Payment gateway incompatibility is the most common technical issue. If you’re not using Shopify Payments or PayPal, vaulted card features won’t work. You’ll need to use capture-only approaches with payment links instead, which creates a different customer experience.

Discount code conflicts can arise with partial payments. Shopify’s “buy X, get Y” style discounts aren’t yet supported by some pre-order apps. If you rely heavily on these discount types, test compatibility before launching campaigns.

Ignoring Shopify’s “continue selling when out of stock” setting causes checkout failures. Pre-order products need this setting enabled so customers can purchase when stock is at zero. Good pre-order apps handle this automatically, but if you’re building custom solutions, it’s easy to miss.

Customer Experience Issues

Unclear lead time communication on product pages leads to unrealistic expectations. If you say “ships soon” and then customers wait three months, they’ll be unhappy even if the product itself is perfect. Specific timelines set accurate expectations.

Poor failed charge recovery loses revenue unnecessarily. If charges fail and you just cancel orders without giving customers a chance to update payment methods, you’re leaving money on the table. Simple recovery emails can save 30-50% of failed charges.

Complicated refund policies create support burden. If customers don’t understand whether they’re getting deposits back, remaining balances back, or something else, they’ll contact support repeatedly. Clear refund language prevents this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Shopify take partial payments without apps?

Shopify doesn’t offer native partial payment functionality for pre-orders. While you can create manual workarounds using separate products and discount codes, these approaches create poor customer experiences and significant administrative overhead.

Specialized apps provide the vaulted card technology, customer portals, and automated workflows that make partial payments practical. The investment in an app quickly pays for itself through reduced support burden and improved conversion rates.

Which payment gateways support deposits?

Only Shopify Payments and PayPal currently support the vaulted card technology required for true charge-later and deposit-upfront functionality (although we’ve heard reports of Cybersource recently being supported). Other payment providers don’t offer the ability to securely store card details and charge them at a later date without re-entering information.

If you use a different payment gateway, you can still offer partial payments through capture-only approaches using payment links. When it’s time to collect the remaining balance, you send customers a link to complete payment. This creates an extra step but works with any payment provider.

What’s the ideal deposit percentage?

Based on industry data and merchant testing, 20-50% is the optimal deposit range for most products. The specific amount within that range depends on your product price point, lead time, and customer base.

Lower-priced products ($200-$400) work well with 25-35% deposits. Higher-ticket items ($500-$1,500) can go lower, around 20-30%, because the absolute dollar amount is still significant. Custom or made-to-order products justify 40-50% deposits given the resources you’re investing.

The only way to know for certain is testing different levels with your specific audience.

How do I handle failed charges?

When a charge fails, implement a recovery workflow:

First, send an immediate notification email explaining what happened and providing a link to update payment information. Keep the tone helpful, not accusatory.

Second, automatically retry the charge after 24 hours. Many soft declines succeed on retry once banks process pending transactions.

Third, if the second attempt fails, send another notification with a deadline. “We’ll need to cancel your order by [date] unless we can process payment.”

Fourth, give a grace period of 3-5 days total before cancelling. This balances customer convenience with your need to manage inventory.

Apps like PreProduct automate this entire workflow, reducing manual work and recovering revenue that would otherwise be lost.

Can I offer installment plans for pre-orders?

Yes, multi-step payment plans work well for pre-orders, particularly cost-sensitive customers and high-ticket items. These plans charge customers in multiple installments, like 3 payments of $200 instead of $600 upfront.

The system works by letting customers select their preferred number of installments at checkout. You configure the payment frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly), maximum installment count, and optional discounts for customers who choose payment plans. The app automatically processes charges on the defined schedule.

Available for Shopify Plus merchants and non-Shopify platforms, automated installment scheduling handles all charge timing. Customers see a selector above the pre-order button where they choose how many payments they want, and they access a portal showing payment history, outstanding balances, and upcoming charge dates.

For merchants on standard Shopify plans, manual installment approaches work. You trigger each charge manually when the next payment is due. This requires more oversight but achieves the same outcome.

What happens if I need to refund a deposit?

Refunding deposits works like any other Shopify refund. Process the refund through your Shopify admin or pre-order app, and the funds return to the customer’s original payment method within 5-10 business days.

If you’ve already charged the remaining balance, you can refund either the full amount or just a portion, depending on the situation. The refund process itself is straightforward; the complexity is deciding which amount to refund and communicating that clearly to the customer.

Clear refund policies prevent confusion. State upfront: “If you cancel before [date], we’ll refund your deposit in full. After [date], deposits are non-refundable but you can apply them to other products.”

Do deposits work with Shopify discounts?

Most discount types are compatible with partial payments. You can apply discount codes to orders, offer pre-order-specific discounts, and run sales that include deposit-based pre-orders.

The main limitation is Shopify’s “buy X, get Y” automatic discount format, which some pre-order apps don’t yet support. Standard percentage or fixed-amount discount codes work fine.

If you rely heavily on complex automatic discount combinations, test compatibility with your pre-order app before launching campaigns. Most common discount use cases work without issues.

Conclusion

Shopify partial payments can transform how you capture pre-order revenue. From the 1 million+ pre-orders report data to the rise of BNPL services like Klarna and Affirm. Partial payments are a great way to reduce friction and increase conversion rates.

The key takeaways:

Vaulted cards eliminate authorization periods, giving you complete control over charge timing regardless of lead times.

Payment timing flexibility lets you match your cash flow needs to customer expectations. Choose charge-upfront for immediate revenue, charge-later for maximum conversion, or deposits for balanced commitment.

Strategic deposit amounts based on product type and price point improve conversion while demonstrating real customer commitment.

App-based solutions solve the operational complexity, poor customer experience, and support burden of manual approaches.

Whether you’re launching new products, managing restocks, or selling made-to-order items, partial payments reduce friction while securing revenue before inventory arrives.

Ready to start taking Shopify deposits and partial payment pre-orders? PreProduct supports charge-upfront, charge-later, deposits, and multi-step installment plans with automated workflows and comprehensive customer communications.

Pre-sell With PreProduct

7 day free trial with all plans

Understanding Shopify Authorization Periods: What Pre-order Merchants Need to Know

Launched a pre-order with a 60-day ship date, only to realize Shopify’s payment authorization expires in seven days? You’re not alone. The Shopify authorization period is one of the most common operational challenges pre-order merchants face, especially when lead times stretch beyond a week or two.

In this guide, we’ll break down how Shopify’s authorization period works, why it matters for pre-orders, and how to handle pre-orders with lead times that exceed the standard seven-day window. Whether you’re running restock campaigns, made-to-order launches, or seasonal pre-sales, understanding authorization periods helps you choose the right payment strategy for your business.

We’ll cover extended authorization options for Shopify Plus merchants, vaulted card solutions that eliminate time constraints entirely, and the cost implications of each approach. By the end, you’ll know exactly which payment method fits your pre-order model.

shopify auth periods

What is a Shopify authorization period?

Payment authorization basics

A payment authorization is essentially a hold placed on a customer’s credit card. When someone enters their card details at checkout, the card issuer verifies that funds are available and reserves that amount. The merchant can then capture (collect) those funds later, within a specific timeframe.

This system exists for several reasons. It protects customers from unauthorized charges, reduces fraud risk for card issuers, and gives merchants flexibility in when they collect payment. For example, a merchant might authorize payment immediately but wait to capture until the product ships.

The authorization period is the window during which a merchant can capture an authorized payment. Once this period expires, the hold is released, funds return to the customer’s available balance, and the merchant can no longer collect payment through that original authorization.

Shopify Payments standard authorization period

For most Shopify merchants using Shopify Payments, the standard authorization period is seven days. This means you have seven days from the moment a payment is authorized to capture those funds. If you don’t capture within this window, the authorization expires.

After expiration, the customer’s card is released and you cannot collect payment. The order remains in your Shopify admin, but you’ll need to contact the customer to arrange new payment, either through a new order or by sending a payment link.

This seven-day standard isn’t unique to Shopify. It’s an industry-wide norm set by major card networks like Visa and Mastercard. Most payment processors, regardless of platform, operate under similar constraints.

What happens when an authorization expires

When a Shopify authorization period expires, several things occur. First, the hold on the customer’s card is automatically released by their card issuer. No charge goes through, and the customer sees the pending amount disappear from their statement.

In your Shopify admin, the order status remains but shows that payment wasn’t captured. You’ll see a notification that the authorization has expired. At this point, you have two main options: cancel the order and create a new one with fresh payment details, or contact the customer directly to collect payment through alternative means.

This creates friction for both you and your customer. The customer may be confused about whether their order is still valid. Your team needs to spend time following up, and there’s a risk the customer decides not to complete the purchase. For pre-order merchants with longer lead times, this scenario becomes inevitable unless you plan ahead.

Authorization periods and pre-orders: The core challenge

Why authorization periods matter for pre-orders

Pre-orders often involve lead times that extend well beyond seven days. Whether you’re manufacturing custom products, waiting on supplier shipments, or running seasonal campaigns, 30 to 90-day lead times are common.

The standard seven-day Shopify authorization period simply doesn’t align with these timelines. If you authorize payment at checkout for a product that won’t ship for two months, that authorization will expire 53 days before you’re ready to fulfill.

This creates operational complexity. You either need to charge customers upfront (potentially months before they receive anything) or find an alternative payment method that accommodates your timeline. Neither option is ideal without careful planning.

pre-orders

Common merchant scenarios

Consider a fashion brand producing made-to-order pieces with a six-week production cycle. Customers place orders in early September for items shipping in late October. With standard authorization, payment would need to be captured within seven days, forcing the brand to collect funds more than a month before fulfillment.

Or take a furniture maker offering build-to-order pieces with 90-day lead times. Standard authorization is completely incompatible with this model. The authorization would expire 83 days before the product is ready to ship.

Seasonal products present similar challenges. A brand taking holiday pre-orders in September for November delivery faces a 60-day gap between order placement and fulfillment. The seven-day authorization window closes long before products are ready.

Restock pre-orders can work with standard authorization if the restock arrives within a week, but supplier delays are common. A planned seven-day restock can easily stretch to two or three weeks, causing authorization issues.

Extended authorization periods for Shopify Plus merchants

How extended authorization works

Shopify Plus merchants have access to extended authorization periods, a feature that extends the payment capture window from seven days to up to 30 days. This feature launched in October 2020, specifically to address fulfillment delays and give merchants more flexibility.

Extended authorization is available for specific card types: Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Not all cards support extended holds, so even on Shopify Plus, you may encounter cards that revert to the standard seven-day period.

To use extended authorization, manual payment capture must be enabled in your payment settings. Shopify sends automatic notifications one day before an authorization expires, giving you time to capture before losing the hold.

extended authorization period

Setting up extended authorization

Navigate to Settings, then Payments in your Shopify admin. Under Payment authorization, select “Manually capture payment for orders.” This enables you to control when payments are captured rather than collecting automatically at checkout.

Once manual capture is enabled, Shopify Plus stores using Shopify Payments automatically gain access to extended authorization for supported card types. There’s no additional setup required beyond enabling manual capture.

You’ll receive email notifications when authorizations are approaching expiration, typically 24 hours before the 30-day window closes. This gives you a final opportunity to capture payment before the hold releases.

Extended authorization fees and limitations

While extended authorization provides more time, it comes with an additional cost. Shopify charges a 1.75% fee when you capture payment after the standard seven-day period. This fee applies on top of your regular credit card processing rates.

For example, if you capture a $100 payment on day 15 (after the seven-day window), you’ll pay your standard Shopify Payments rate (typically 2.9% + 30¢ for online stores) plus the additional 1.75% extended authorization fee. The total comes to $4.95 in fees instead of $3.20.

The 30-day maximum still presents limitations. For pre-orders with longer lead times (60, 90, or 120+ days), even extended authorization isn’t sufficient. You’ll need a different solution.

Card type dependency is another limitation. If a customer’s card doesn’t support extended authorization, you’re back to the seven-day window regardless of being on Shopify Plus.

Vaulted cards: The better solution for long lead time pre-orders

What are vaulted cards and how do they work

Vaulted cards, also called deferred payments, offer a fundamentally different approach. Instead of authorizing payment and racing against a countdown, vaulted card payments securely store customer payment details for future use, with no time limit.

Here’s how it works: At checkout, the customer enters their card details and agrees to a future charge. Shopify or your payment provider (like Stripe) securely stores (vaults) these payment details in a PCI-compliant manner. Later, when you’re ready to fulfill the order, you trigger the charge. The customer’s card is processed at that point.

This eliminates the authorization period problem entirely. Whether your lead time is 30 days, 90 days, or six months, you can charge the customer when it makes sense for your operations and their expectations.

Vaulted card payments became widely available on Shopify in 2022, transforming pre-order operations for merchants who needed charge-later flexibility without authorization period stress.

Vaulted cards vs authorization periods

The differences between standard authorization, extended authorization, and vaulted cards are significant:

FeatureStandard AuthorizationExtended Authorization (Plus)Vaulted Cards
Time Limit7 days30 daysUnlimited
Additional FeeStandard rates+1.75% after day 7Standard rates
Plan RequiredAll plansShopify Plus onlyAll plans with Shopify Payments
Card Type SupportAllVisa, MC, AmexAll
Best For1-week lead times2-4 week lead times30+ day lead times

Standard authorization works fine for quick turnarounds. Extended authorization suits Shopify Plus merchants with moderate lead times who can absorb the extra fee. Vaulted cards are the most flexible and cost-effective option for longer timelines.

Why 56.4% of pre-orders use vaulted cards

According to data from one million pre-orders, 56.4% of pre-order listings use the charge-later (vaulted card) method, making it the single most popular pre-order payment approach. This isn’t surprising given the flexibility it provides.

Merchants choose vaulted cards because they eliminate authorization expiration anxiety. You’re not watching the clock or manually tracking when to capture payments. The payment details are safely stored until you’re ready.

Customers often prefer charge-later arrangements too. Being charged when the product ships (rather than weeks or months before) feels fairer and builds trust. They know their money isn’t tied up for an extended period before receiving anything.

The data shows 47.8% of pre-orders are charged within 30 days of the order being placed. This means nearly half of all pre-order merchants need a solution that extends beyond the standard seven-day authorization period. Vaulted cards provide that solution without additional fees.

When to use vaulted cards for your pre-orders

Vaulted cards make the most sense when your lead times regularly exceed 30 days. If you’re manufacturing products to order, sourcing from overseas suppliers, or running seasonal campaigns with multi-month gaps, vaulted cards eliminate timing stress.

They’re also ideal when lead times are uncertain or variable. If you’re not confident about exact ship dates, you don’t want to be racing against an authorization deadline. Vaulted cards let you charge when you’re actually ready to fulfill.

Customer expectations matter too. If your audience prefers to pay when products ship rather than months in advance, charge-later pre-orders align with that preference. This is particularly common in sustainable fashion and made-to-order categories where customers understand production takes time.

From a cost perspective, vaulted cards are more economical than extended authorization for longer timelines. You pay standard Shopify Payments rates regardless of when you charge, whereas extended authorization adds 1.75% after day seven.

vaulted cards

Alternative payment capture strategies for pre-orders

Charge upfront pre-orders

Charging upfront means capturing payment immediately at checkout. This eliminates any authorization period concerns because you’re not deferring the charge at all.

According to the one million pre-order dataset, 14.9% of pre-orders use the charge-upfront method. This works best when you have high customer trust, shorter lead times (even if beyond seven days), or strong cash flow needs that justify collecting payment early.

The trade-off is customer experience. Charging someone in August for a product arriving in November can feel uncomfortable for customers, particularly if they’re unfamiliar with your brand. Clear communication about payment timing is essential.

Charge-upfront pre-orders work well for restock scenarios where customers are familiar with the product, limited edition launches with high demand, or when you’re offering significant discounts that justify early payment.

Deposit-based pre-orders

Deposit pre-orders capture a portion of the payment upfront (typically 10-50%) and collect the balance later via vaulted card. This approach accounts for 12.6% of pre-orders based on PreProduct’s dataset.

Deposits work particularly well for high-ticket items where you want to secure customer commitment without charging the full amount months in advance. The upfront deposit reduces cancellation risk while the deferred balance maintains goodwill.

For example, you might take a 30% deposit at checkout and charge the remaining 70% when the product is ready to ship. The deposit is processed immediately (no authorization period issue), and the balance uses vaulted card technology.

This approach balances cash flow needs with customer experience. You get some revenue upfront to fund production or offset supplier costs, while customers appreciate not paying the full amount until fulfillment is imminent.

Payment links and capture-only pre-orders

The capture-only method, used by 28.7% of pre-orders, involves collecting payment information without any upfront charge. You then send a payment link or invoice when ready to fulfill.

This approach offers maximum flexibility for merchants but requires more manual work. You’re essentially managing payment collection separately from the initial order, which can lead to customer drop-off if they don’t complete the payment when invoiced.

Capture-only makes sense for lower-volume merchants, custom orders, or situations where you want to give customers maximum flexibility. It works well when you have strong customer relationships and low risk of non-payment.

The downside is operational complexity and potential revenue loss if customers don’t respond to payment requests. You also need systems in place to track which orders are awaiting payment vs. fully paid.

Third-party payment gateways and authorization periods

Do third-party gateways have longer authorization periods?

One common question is whether switching to a third-party payment gateway (instead of Shopify Payments) provides longer authorization periods. Unfortunately, the answer is generally no.

Authorization period lengths are set by card networks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), not by Shopify or individual payment processors. The seven-day standard is an industry-wide rule that applies across most processors and platforms.

Certain industries get exceptions. Lodging, car rentals, and cruise lines can hold authorizations for up to 30 days because of the nature of their business. Ecommerce pre-orders don’t fall into these exception categories.

This means whether you use Shopify Payments, Stripe, Authorize.net, or another gateway, you’re generally working within the same seven-day authorization window (with some card-specific variations of 5-10 days).

When third-party gateways make sense

Third-party gateways can still be valuable if they offer vaulted card capabilities or flexible payment capture workflows that suit your needs better than Shopify Payments.

For example, Stripe offers robust APIs for storing payment methods and charging them later, similar to Shopify’s vaulted card functionality. If you’re building custom checkout flows or need specific payment features, a gateway like Stripe or Braintree might provide more flexibility.

The trade-off is that using a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments means you lose some Shopify-native features, potentially pay higher transaction fees, and may need more technical setup.

For most merchants, Shopify Payments with vaulted card support provides the simplest solution. But if you have specific requirements or already use a preferred gateway with deferred payment capabilities, that can work too.

How to set up charge-later pre-orders with vaulted cards

Requirements for vaulted card payments

To use vaulted card payments on Shopify, you need Shopify Payments enabled as your payment processor (or PayPal automatic payments). This feature isn’t available with third-party gateways through Shopify’s native checkout.

You’ll need a pre-order app that supports deferred payment functionality. Not all pre-order apps offer charge-later capabilities, so ensure your chosen solution integrates with Shopify’s vaulted card system.

Clear customer communication is essential. Your product pages, checkout flow, and confirmation emails should clearly explain when payment will be collected and what customers can expect.

Step-by-step setup process

Start by enabling Shopify Payments if you haven’t already. Go to Settings > Payments and complete the Shopify Payments setup process.

Next, enable manual payment capture. In Settings > Payments > Payment authorization, select “Manually capture payment for orders” and save your changes.

Install a pre-order app with vaulted card support, such as PreProduct. Configure your app to create charge-later pre-order listings for the products you want to offer on pre-order.

Customize your front-end messaging to clearly indicate payment timing. Your product page should state something like: “Your card details will be securely saved. We’ll charge you one week before your estimated ship date of [DATE].”. We have a post here on legal compliance for pre-orders and minimum communication requirements for pre-orders.

Test the entire customer experience. Place a test order, go through checkout, and confirm that payment details are vaulted properly and that you can trigger the charge from your admin when ready.

Ensure your product has the “Continue selling when out of stock” setting enabled in Shopify. This allows customers to purchase even when inventory shows zero, which is necessary for most pre-order setups.

PreProduct’s approach to authorization periods

PreProduct handles vaulted card setup automatically for charge-later and deposit-upfront pre-orders. When you create a pre-order listing, PreProduct configures the necessary settings to vault customer payment details without authorization period limitations.

You can trigger charges individually or set up inventory-based automation. For example, when stock is added to a product in your Shopify admin, PreProduct can automatically charge customers and release fulfillment holds.

Failed payment handling is built in. If a customer’s card declines when you attempt to charge, PreProduct can send dunning emails with clear instructions for updating payment methods, reducing lost revenue from expired cards or insufficient funds.

PreProduct also places automatic fulfillment holds on pre-order items, preventing them from being prematurely shipped before you trigger the charge. This keeps operations clean and prevents the nightmare scenario of shipping products before collecting payment.

pre-order type

Customer communication and authorization periods

Setting clear expectations upfront

Product page messaging is your first opportunity to set expectations. Include clear, specific language about when payment will occur. For example: “Pre-order now, pay when it ships. We’ll charge your card one week before your estimated ship date.”

At checkout, reiterate payment timing in your terms or checkout instructions. Customers should explicitly understand they’re agreeing to a future charge, not an immediate one.

Order confirmation emails should reinforce these details. State clearly: “Your order is confirmed. Your card ending in [######] will be charged on approximately [DATE], one week before your estimated ship date of [DATE].”

The estimated ship date should be visible throughout the customer experience. Consider using date ranges if exact timing is uncertain: “Estimated shipping: Late November 2025” rather than committing to a specific day you might miss.

Handling authorization expirations and failed charges

If you’re using standard authorization and it expires, proactive communication is critical. Contact the customer immediately to explain the situation and request updated payment information.

For vaulted card payments, failed charges are a different challenge. The card might have expired, been canceled, or have insufficient funds. Your pre-order system should offer dunning email flows when charges fail.

Effective failed charge emails include a clear subject line (“Action needed: Update payment for your order”), explanation of what happened, and a simple link to update payment details. Customer portals where buyers can self-serve payment updates reduce support burden significantly.

Set a clear policy for how long you’ll attempt to collect payment before canceling the order. Some merchants try for seven days, others for 14-30 days. Communicate this timeline to customers so they know the urgency.

Email sequence best practices

A solid email sequence for charge-later pre-orders includes three potential touchpoints:

Order confirmation: “Thank you for your pre-order. Your card will be charged on approximately [DATE] when your order is ready to ship.”

Charge notification: “Your payment of $[AMOUNT] has been processed and your order is now preparing to ship.” Include tracking information if available, or an estimated ship date.

Failed charge follow-up: If the charge fails, send immediate notification with clear instructions for updating payment details and a deadline for action before the order is canceled.

Authorization periods and your tech stack

How authorization timing affects fulfillment integrations

Pre-orders shouldn’t flow through to your 3PL or fulfillment center until you’ve collected payment and are ready to ship. This is where fulfillment holds become critical.

Shopify’s fulfillment hold status prevents orders from syncing to connected fulfillment systems. For charge-later pre-orders, this hold should remain in place until you trigger the charge and release fulfillment simultaneously.

PreProduct automatically manages this workflow. When you create a charge-later listing, fulfillment holds are applied. When you trigger charges (individually or via automation), PreProduct releases those holds at the same time, allowing orders to flow to your 3PL integration.

Without proper hold management, you risk shipping products before collecting payment, which creates accounting headaches and potential losses if payments subsequently fail.

ecom tech stack

ERP and inventory management considerations

If you use an ERP or inventory management system connected to Shopify, pre-order status and payment timing should be reflected accurately. Some ERPs only pull “paid” orders, which means charge-later pre-orders won’t appear until payment is captured.

This can be beneficial for cash flow tracking (you only see paid orders in your ERP) or problematic for demand planning (you can’t see full pre-order demand). Understand how your specific ERP integration handles unpaid orders.

PreProduct provides visibility into pre-order demand regardless of payment status. You can view all pre-orders, filter by charge status, and export data for demand planning and ERP integration purposes.

When setting up integrations, test how pre-orders flow through your system. Place test orders with different payment types and verify they appear correctly in your ERP, inventory system, and fulfillment platform at the appropriate times.

Shopify Flow automation and authorization periods

Shopify Flow allows you to build automated workflows based on events in your store. For pre-orders, you can create flows that trigger actions based on payment capture timing.

For example, you might build a flow that automatically tags orders when payment is captured, triggering a fulfillment workflow or customer notification sequence. Or you could create flows that alert your team when authorizations are approaching expiration.

PreProduct offers 15+ Shopify Flow actions specifically for pre-orders, allowing you to automate charge triggers, fulfillment releases, customer notifications, and more based on inventory changes or custom conditions.

Flow integration lets you connect pre-order events to the rest of your Shopify ecosystem. Tag customers who complete pre-orders, trigger email campaigns in Klaviyo when charges succeed, or update inventory systems when pre-order limits are reached.

Cost analysis: Authorization strategies compared

Standard 7-day authorization costs

If you can fulfill within seven days and capture payment within the standard authorization period, you’ll pay Shopify Payments’ standard rates with no additional fees. For most merchants, this is 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction for online orders.

On a $100 order, standard fees total $3.20. There’s no additional cost for authorization, as long as you capture within the seven-day window.

The risk with standard authorization isn’t financial (if you meet the deadline), it’s operational. Miss that seven-day window and you lose the authorization, requiring manual follow-up and potentially losing the sale entirely.

Extended authorization costs (Shopify Plus)

Shopify Plus merchants capturing payment between days 8-30 pay an additional 1.75% fee on top of standard credit card processing fees. This fee only applies to the capture amount, not to refunds or partial captures.

For a $100 order captured on day 15, you’d pay the standard 2.9% + 30¢ ($3.20) plus the 1.75% extended authorization fee ($1.75), totaling $4.95 in payment processing fees.

For a $500 order captured on day 20, standard fees are $14.80 (2.9% + 30¢) plus $8.75 (1.75%), totaling $23.55 in fees.

Extended authorization makes financial sense if you’re on Shopify Plus, need the 8-30 day window, and the 1.75% fee is acceptable for your margins. For lower-margin products or longer timelines, vaulted cards are more cost-effective.

Shopify Plus

Vaulted card costs

Vaulted card payments using Shopify Payments incur only the standard credit card processing fees, regardless of when you trigger the charge. There’s no authorization period fee, no extended authorization fee, no time-based penalty.

A $100 order charged via vaulted card on day 60 costs exactly the same as one charged on day 1: 2.9% + 30¢ = $3.20 in fees.

A $500 order charged via vaulted card 90 days after the initial order costs: 2.9% + 30¢ = $14.80 in fees, compared to $23.55 if you’d used extended authorization beyond day 7.

The cost advantage of vaulted cards increases as your lead time extends. For timelines beyond 30 days, vaulted cards are the only option that doesn’t require upfront payment or manual reinvoicing.

Choosing the right payment strategy for your pre-orders

Decision framework

Choosing the right payment approach depends on several factors: your typical lead times, whether you’re on Shopify Plus, your cash flow needs, customer expectations, and operational preferences.

Use standard 7-day authorization when your lead time is consistently under seven days, you can fulfill quickly and predictably, and you want to avoid additional setup complexity.

Use extended authorization (Shopify Plus) when your lead time falls between 8-30 days, you’re already on Shopify Plus and have access to this feature, and you’re comfortable paying the 1.75% fee for the convenience of a longer capture window.

Use vaulted cards (charge-later) when your lead time regularly exceeds 30 days, your lead time is uncertain or variable, you want to charge customers closer to ship date rather than months in advance, your customers prefer “pay when ships” models, or you want the most cost-effective option for long timelines.

Use charge-upfront when you need cash flow immediately to fund production, you have high customer trust and brand familiarity, you’re offering significant discounts that justify early payment, or you’re running limited edition or restock campaigns where customers expect immediate charges.

Use deposits when you’re selling high-ticket items where full upfront payment feels like too much, you want to secure customer commitment while maintaining goodwill, or you need some cash flow upfront but want to defer the bulk of payment until closer to fulfillment.

Real merchant examples

A fashion brand with six-week production cycles uses vaulted cards to charge one week before shipping. Customers appreciate not paying months in advance, and the brand avoids authorization period stress. Cash flow is predictable because they charge in batches as production completes.

A made-to-order furniture maker with 90-day lead times uses deposit pre-orders, collecting 30% upfront to secure commitment and fund materials, then charging the remaining 70% via vaulted card when pieces are ready to ship. This balances cash flow needs with customer experience.

A Shopify Plus merchant running seasonal products with 30-day lead times uses extended authorization. The 1.75% fee is acceptable for their margins, and the convenience of a longer capture window without needing to set up vaulted card workflows fits their operations.

A fast-moving restock campaign with 10-day lead times uses standard 7-day authorization paired with expedited fulfillment. Products typically ship within six days, allowing them to capture within the authorization window without issues.

Conclusion

The Shopify authorization period is a fundamental constraint that affects how you structure pre-order payments. The standard seven-day window works fine for quick fulfillment, but becomes a significant challenge as lead times extend.

Shopify Plus merchants gain access to extended authorization periods up to 30 days, though this comes with an additional 1.75% fee after day seven. For moderate lead times (8-30 days) and merchants already on Plus, this can be a convenient solution.

Vaulted cards represent the most flexible and cost-effective approach for longer pre-order timelines. With no authorization period limitations and no additional fees, charge-later pre-orders let you collect payment when it makes sense for your operations and your customers. The data backs this up: 56.4% of pre-orders use a vaulted card pre-order method, making it the most popular choice among merchants.

Understanding these options helps you choose the payment strategy that aligns with your lead times, cash flow needs, customer expectations, and operational complexity tolerance. There’s no single right answer, only the right answer for your specific business model.

Take stock of your typical pre-order lead times, evaluate the costs of different approaches, consider what your customers prefer, and test your chosen method end-to-end before launching. Pre-orders are powerful for capturing demand early and reducing inventory risk. Don’t let authorization period confusion hold you back from leveraging them effectively.

PreProduct handles charge-later, deposit, and charge-upfront pre-orders natively on Shopify, with built-in vaulted card support and no authorization period limitations. If you’re ready to start taking pre-orders on Shopify without worrying about authorization windows, explore how PreProduct can help streamline your pre-order operations.

Video

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5 Ways to Put Products on Pre-Order in Shopify: Fine-Grained Control to Mass Automation

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.


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


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


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


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


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


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

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.

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How to Create Urgency for Pre-Orders (3 Psychological Triggers)

Want to see a video? Skip to the bottom of the post to see Oli talk about creating urgency for pre-orders.

Did you know humans are roughly 2.5 times more sensitive to losses than we are to gains of similar size? In this article, we’ll cover three psychology-backed ways to generate urgency for your pre-order campaigns — and why they work.

Core Idea

Urgency in pre-order campaigns can boost conversions when it’s rooted in psychology and applied ethically, not through manipulative pressure. The goal is to help customers make decisions with confidence, not to trick or overwhelm them.

Why Urgency Works (Psychology)

Loss Aversion

  • Quote: “We are roughly 2.5 times more sensitive to losses than we are to gains of similar size. A message framed as a potential loss might therefore be more persuasive.”
  • Ref: Daniel Kahneman (pioneer of loss aversion in behavioral economics) Link
  • What is it: Loss aversion is the tendency to prefer avoiding a loss over acquiring an equivalent gain. The pain of losing $100 feels stronger than the pleasure of gaining $100. Customers are motivated to avoid missing out.
  • Application: Frame your pre-order incentives around what customers might lose if they delay. For example, offer a limited-time discount or bonus for pre-ordering. Countdown timers or showing a limited quantity available reinforce the idea that the opportunity is slipping away.
  • Example: Many Kickstarter campaigns use early-bird pricing tiers available only to the first X backers or for a limited period. This taps into buyers’ fear of missing out on a better deal, driving a surge of early pledges.
    Another example of Loss Aversion is Booking.com, who often displays messages like “Only 2 rooms left for your dates”.
Kickstarter tier limits
Kickstarter tier limits

Scarcity Principle

E-commerce deal pages often highlight limited time and quantity to trigger urgency. When customers see a ticking countdown or low-stock warning, they perceive the product as more valuable and feel pressure to act before it’s too late.

  • Quote: “Simply put, people want more of those things they can have less of.”
  • Ref: Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Link
  • What is it: The scarcity principle says that limited availability increases perceived value. Easily available products feel like commodities; rare products seem special and desirable.
  • Application: Launch your next pre-order as a limited drop with a finite number of units or a clear deadline. Communicate that only a certain number of customers will get the product. Just make sure the scarcity is real — fake sell-outs can damage trust.
  • Example: Streetwear brand Supreme mastered scarcity by releasing limited quantities that fans would line up for hours to buy. You can create your own version of this hype by positioning your product as a limited-edition pre-order drop.
Supreme limited edition drop
Supreme limited edition drop (ref: story.capetown)

Social Proof and Trends

Crowds lining up for a new iPhone release are a powerful example of social proof. If so many people are eager to buy, it signals that the product must be good. In e-commerce, you can mimic this by showing indicators of high demand — like “500 customers already pre-ordered” or live purchase notifications.

  • Quote: “Especially when they are uncertain, people will look to the actions and behaviors of others to determine their own.”
  • Ref: Robert Cialdini, Influence Link
  • What is it: Social proof is when people look to others’ behavior to guide their own decisions. A popular product feels safer and more appealing.
  • Application: Highlight activity and reviews to show that others are buying. Use live notifications, customer photos, or counters (“Over 500 pre-orders so far!”) to reinforce demand.
  • Example: This combines social proof with scarcity. Similarly, you might highlight “Join 300 others who have pre-ordered this item.” Even McDonald’s classic “Over 100 million served” is social proof in action.
Mila UGC reviews
Mila UGC reviews

Summary

Creating urgency for pre-orders is about tapping into three core psychological triggers: loss aversion (we hate missing out), scarcity (we want what’s rare), and social proof (we follow the crowd).

When used authentically, these tactics can significantly boost your pre-order conversions. The key is to apply them transparently and ethically:

  • Clearly communicate limits or timeframes.
  • Back up popularity claims with real evidence.
  • Build trust by delivering on promises.

By using urgency as a positive force, you can generate excitement, prompt faster action, and increase pre-orders — all while strengthening customer trust.


Oli Woods

Co-founder @PreProduct

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