Purple Dot is winding down its self-serve pre-order product as of February 25th 2026. If you’re a Purple Dot merchant looking for a new home for your pre-orders, this guide walks you through the transition to PreProduct, step by step.
PreProduct runs pre-orders through Shopify’s native checkout, so your discounts, shipping profiles, payment methods, and checkout apps all work normally. Orders appear in your Shopify admin immediately (but with a fulfilment ‘hold’ status), and there’s no third-party branding on your storefront.
This guide is fairly detailed, but in many cases swapping from Purple Dot to PreProduct should be quick and painless. This guide offers details around live pre-orders, 3rd party systems and how the features compare. If you hit any bumps during the migration, our team is here to help, just email us at hello@preproduct.io.
Before you start: Handle outstanding pre-orders #
This is the most important step. If you have pre-orders sitting in Purple Dot’s system that haven’t been charged or fulfilled yet, you need to resolve those before (or alongside) switching.
If inventory is available or arriving soon: Charge your outstanding pre-orders in Purple Dot and export them to Shopify for fulfillment as soon as possible. This is the cleanest path, your customers get their orders, and you close out your Purple Dot obligations.
If inventory isn’t available yet: Keep your Purple Dot account active until you can charge and fulfill those pre-orders. You don’t need to rush this. Take new pre-orders through PreProduct, but continue managing existing pre-orders through Purple Dot until they’re resolved.
If you’re unsure about timelines: Consider emailing your pre-order customers proactively. Let them know the product is still coming and give them the option to cancel for a full refund if they’d prefer not to wait. Transparency builds trust, and most customers will appreciate the communication.
How Purple Dot concepts map to PreProduct #
Before starting, here’s how the key concepts translate:
| Purple Dot | PreProduct | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Separate Purple Dot checkout | Shopify’s native checkout | Your existing checkout features (discounts, shipping profiles, payment methods, checkout apps) all work for pre-orders |
| Orders held in Purple Dot’s vault | Orders created in Shopify immediately (on hold) | Pre-orders appear in your Shopify admin right away with an “on hold” fulfillment status |
| Purple Dot processes payments | Shopify processes payments | You use your existing Shopify payment provider (Shopify Payments, PayPal, etc.) |
| “Waitlist powered by Purple Dot” branding | No third-party branding | Your pre-order buttons and checkout look like your regular store, but with pre-order messaging. |
| Purple Dot Merchant Portal | PreProduct app in Shopify admin | Manage pre-orders from within Shopify, via the PreProduct Shopify app. |
| Purple Dot self-serve customer portal | PreProduct customer portal | Customers can still view and manage their own pre-orders |
| Waitlist | Pre-order listing (capture-only) | The product you’ve set up for pre-order. Purple Dot’s waitlist model, where customers join and commit without paying, is closest to PreProduct’s capture-only payment model. Customers enter their order details (name, email, product selections) without any payment. When you’re ready, PreProduct sends them a payment link that takes them to Shopify’s native checkout with their order pre-loaded. |
| Export to Shopify | Release fulfillment hold | How you move pre-orders to the fulfillment stage |
Note: Purple Dot’s payment models (escrow, split payments) don’t map 1:1 to PreProduct’s models. See Step 2 below for a detailed breakdown of which PreProduct payment model matches your current setup.
Step-by-step guide #
Step 1: Install PreProduct #
- Visit the PreProduct Shopify app listing and click Add app
- Approve the permissions and install
- PreProduct will attempt to auto-install into your theme. If you’re using a particularly custom theme or headless setup, our team can help, email helo@preproduct.io
Step 2: Choose your payment mode #
Purple Dot offers escrow-based payment handling and split payments. PreProduct offers four payment models*, pick the one that best matches what you were doing:
| If you were using… | Use this in PreProduct |
|---|---|
| Purple Dot 100% pay upfront (escrow) | Charge upfront, Customer pays the full amount at checkout. The order is created in Shopify immediately with a ‘hold’ status. |
| Purple Dot charge on ship | Charge later (vaulted card), Customer goes through checkout and their card is securely saved. You charge them when you’re ready to ship. |
| Purple Dot split payment (deposit + rest on ship) | Deposits, Charge a custom percentage upfront. The remaining balance is charged later when you’re ready to fulfill. |
| Purple Dot waitlist | Capture only, Takes the name, email address and order; but they don’t go through checkout until later when you send out payment link emails. |
*PreProduct also lets you offer customers other payment options, such as pay early and multi-step payment plans.
Key difference: Purple Dot escrows funds and handles payment processing directly (including all processing fees within their transaction fee). With PreProduct, payments flow through Shopify’s native payment processing. This means you use your existing payment provider and its associated fees, but you also get out-the-box compatibility with any Shopify tax, shipping, discount and checkout preferences.
A note on escrow: Purple Dot’s escrow model holds customer funds on the merchant’s behalf until fulfillment. PreProduct doesn’t use an escrow model. With “Charge upfront,” payment is collected immediately by Shopify and settled to your account on Shopify’s normal payout schedule. With “Charge later,” no payment is collected until you trigger it. Both approaches can be compatible with FTC pre-order requirements, they just handle the timing of funds differently.
Step 3: Create your pre-order listings #
For each product you want to offer on pre-order:
- Open the PreProduct app in your Shopify admin
- Click the “New listing” menu item and select a product or the “bulk lister” near the bottom of the screen.
- Select the product(s) from your Shopify catalogue
- Choose your payment model (see Step 2)
- Set estimated shipping dates, pre-order limits, and any other details
- Save and activate
PreProduct will automatically convert your product’s “Add to Cart” button to a “Pre-order” button on your storefront. When the listing is finished or deactivated, the button reverts to normal.
Automation: PreProduct’s listing manager automation can auto-create pre-order listings based on their stock level and its templates feature. This can save significant manual effort if you have a large catalogue. PreProduct also has an API and a large Shopify flow integration with pre-built templates if you need something more custom.
Step 4: Configure your emails #
Purple Dot handles its own transactional emails for pre-orders. With PreProduct, you have two options:
PreProduct’s built-in emails: Pre-order confirmation, upcoming charge reminders, payment failure notifications, and fulfillment updates are all included.
Klaviyo integration: If you use Klaviyo, PreProduct sends 10+ events that you can use to build custom email flows for pre-orders. This gives you full control over the customer communication experience.
Step 5: Check shipping and tax #
Because PreProduct uses Shopify’s native checkout, your existing Shopify shipping profiles and rates automatically apply to pre-orders. There’s nothing extra to configure here, which is one of the advantages of the native checkout approach.
If you had custom shipping rates configured in Purple Dot that differ from your standard Shopify rates, you’ll want to verify your Shopify shipping settings cover your pre-order scenarios.
Step 6: Test your setup #
Before going live:
- Place a test pre-order on your storefront
- Verify the pre-order button displays correctly
- Confirm the order appears in your Shopify admin with “on hold” fulfillment status
- If using charge-later or deposits, test the charge flow from the PreProduct app
- Check that you’re happy with the emails.
- Verify that any third-party ERP, 3PL or WMS software respects Shopify order fulfilment holds, as well as the releasing of the holds. We have specific guides on ERPs and 3PLs, but generally when fulfilment holds aren’t respected, we recommend
Step 7: Go live #
Once you’re satisfied with testing:
- Stop creating new waitlists and pre-order listings in Purple Dot, Direct all new pre-orders through PreProduct
- Remove Purple Dot’s integration from your storefront, Follow Purple Dot’s docs to remove their display components
- Keep Purple Dot active for outstanding orders, Continue managing existing pre-orders in Purple Dot until they’re all charged and fulfilled
- Once all Purple Dot pre-orders are resolved, you can fully disconnect Purple Dot
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FAQ #
Will my Shopify discount codes work for pre-orders now?
Yes. Because PreProduct uses Shopify’s native checkout, your existing discount codes will work. Some automatic discounts aren’t compatible such as buy-x-get-y, there’s an official list of pre-order limitations on Shopify’s site.
Can customers still self-manage their pre-orders?
Yes. PreProduct includes customer portals where buyers can view their pre-order status, see payment schedules, and manage their orders.
What happens to my Purple Dot analytics data?
Your historical data stays in Purple Dot’s system for as long as your account is active. Going forward, because PreProduct creates orders directly in Shopify, your pre-order analytics will be unified with your regular order data in Shopify’s reporting.
Do I need to be on a specific PreProduct plan?
No, you can start with the free Starter plan to test the integration. For commission-free pricing at scale, the Scale Plus plan ($259.99/month with 0% commission) is the most popular choice for Shopify+ stores.
I have a complex setup or a large number of outstanding pre-orders. Can you help?
Absolutely. Email us at hello@preproduct.io and we’ll work through the migration with you. We offer migration assistance as part of our support.
What about FTC compliance?
FTC compliance depends on your operational practices, not your software choice. The FTC requires you to clearly identify pre-orders, state shipping timeframes, keep customers updated, and offer cancellation if there are delays. PreProduct provides all the tools for this: customisable pre-order messaging, shipping date displays, email automation, and customer portals where buyers can see order status and request cancellations.
Need help?
Our team has helped many merchants migrate from other pre-order solutions. If you need any assistance during your transition, reach out:
- Email: hello@preproduct.io
- Start your free trial: PreProduct on the Shopify App Store
