PreProduct has 4 types of pre-orders. Capture only pre-orders,  charge later pre-orders, deposit upfront pre-orders, charge upfront pre-orders. They are all explained in detail below.

Capture only Pre-Orders #

Shopify capture only 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 solely in PreProduct 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.

Charge later Pre-Orders #

Just like ‘capture only’ pre-orders, however, the customer goes through checkout at the time of pre-order and agrees to a deferred charge. Shopify will then ‘vault’ this card and charge it once the merchant triggers the deferred charge.

Pros:

• High conversion rate for short-medium term pre-orders as the customer doesn’t need to do anything. The card-charge is triggered by the merchant.

Cons:

• Can be vulnerable to customers changing addresses or expiring cards. 

Deposit upfront 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.
• Can use a deferred charge for the outstanding amount of the order, making for a high-conversation rate.

Charge upfront 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.