Types of Pre-Orders

Alongside PreProducts most common listing type: Shopify pay later pre-orders, there are 2 other type of pre-orders that you can utilise with PreProduct. Pay now pre-orders, and deposit pre-orders. The three types of pre-orders are explained in more detail below.

Pay now Pre-Orders #

Payment is processed straight away at checkout when you use this method of pre-order, exactly like a normal customer order. The ‘buy now’ or ‘add to cart’ button will change to say ‘pre-order’ and additional information will be displayed explaining the longer than usual delivery time.

Pros:

• Great for cashflow as you get paid up front.
• Allows you to capture orders for products that are currently out of stock.

Cons:

• May not be appropriate for lengthy lead times as the customers have paid upfront, and this could negatively impact brand reputation and be customer service intensive due to increased customer enquiries/communication.

Pay later Pre-Orders #

Just like ‘pay now’ pre-orders, Shopify pay later pre-orders involve the ‘buy now’ or ‘add to cart’ button being swapped out for a ‘pre-order’ button. The difference with this method is that pre-orders are kept separately from normal orders in a different system until you are ready to collect payment. When you are ready to collect payment, you can send out payment links to customers, which will allow them to finalise their pre-order through your online store.

Pros:

• Allows you to acquire orders for upcoming products, as customers aren’t sent payment links until you’re ready.
• Allows for testing out new products/variants by listing a pre-order, then only sending out payment links to customers and committing to production if you receive enough orders.
• Lets you send out payment links to customers when you choose, this can be before or after you order from your suppliers.
• Pre-orders are kept in a different system, which is separate from all normal orders (until paid).
• PreProduct offers an email campaign for each product which can be used to communicate updates, delays, and send payment links out.

Cons:

• Not all pre-orders will convert when payment links are sent out.
• Payment isn’t collected straight away.

Deposit Pre-Orders #

Deposit pre-orders allows you to charge a portion of the transaction up-front, securing the pre-order for both you and the customer.

Pros:

• Increases the window of time that you can acquire orders, as can start pre-selling before stock is available or produced.
• Receive cash-flow before the product is available.
• Customers have a larger tendency to finalise the order when payment links are sent out as they have already paid a deposit.

Cons

• Customers may need to go through checkout twice, once at time of pre-order and again at final payment.