When creating a listing, if clicking the pre-order button fails to add an item to your cart or checkout, there are a variety of possible reasons. Here are some common reasons why this might happen, along with suggested solutions to ensure a smooth pre-order experience on your Shopify store.

Inventory Settings #

• Issue: The product’s stock level is set to 0, and the “Continue selling when out of stock” option is not enabled.
• Solution: Ensure the “Continue selling when out of stock” checkbox is selected in your product settings to allow pre-orders for items without inventory.

Missing Purchase Options #

• Issue: Required purchase options are missing at the time of adding the item to the cart. PreProduct automatically adds these options when you create a listing, but issues can arise if they are removed from the bottom of the Shopify product admin area.
• Solution: Do not manually remove the purchase option via Shopify’s product admin. Listing/de-listing products for pre-order in PreProduct handles this automatically.

Sales Channel Availability #

• Issue: The product has been removed from the online store’s sales channel.
• Solution: Check the product’s availability settings and ensure it is listed under the appropriate sales channels at the top of the Shopify product admin.

Payment Gateway Configuration for Deferred Charge Pre-Orders #

• Issue: Attempting to use deferred charge pre-orders without having Shopify Payments or PayPal configured.
• Solution: Ensure that Shopify Payments or PayPal is set up correctly to accept deferred charge pre-orders. These payment methods need to be active and properly configured to process these types of orders.

Conflicts with Other Apps #

• Issue: Another app, such as a discount app, is interfering with the cart functionality.
• Solution: Investigate if disabling other apps or altering the redirect to checkout settings resolves the issue. Sometimes, app conflicts can prevent items from being added to the cart properly.

Bogus Checkout Settings #

• Issue: Bogus checkout is enabled, which can interfere with normal checkout processes.
• Solution: Testing should be conducted with Shopify Payments in test mode to avoid conflicts caused by bogus checkout settings. For more information on testing Shopify Payments, refer to the official Shopify documentation.

Shipping Profile Configuration #

• Issue: The item is not configured to ship to the user’s country, which can prevent customers from completing their pre-order.
• Solution: Ensure that your shipping profiles are correctly set up to include all the countries you wish to ship to. To adjust your shipping settings, visit the “Shipping and delivery”. For more detailed guidance on setting up and managing your shipping profiles, refer to the official Shopify doc: Setting up and managing your shipping.

By addressing these potential issues, you can get to the underlying issue quickly. If problems persist, as always feel free to reach out.