---
title: "Take Pre-Orders Now, Decide Prices Later: How to build flexibility into your pre-sales"
slug: "take-pre-orders-now-decide-prices-later-how-to-build-flexibility-into-your-pre-sales"
date: "2025-07-22T16:22:56+00:00"
modified: "2025-07-29T08:58:05+00:00"
author: "admin"
canonical: "https://preproduct.io/take-pre-orders-now-decide-prices-later-how-to-build-flexibility-into-your-pre-sales/"
---

> 28.7 % of pre-orders processed with PreProduct were taken as “capture-only” ([ref: One Million Pre-orders report](https://preproduct.io/one-million-pre-orders#preorder-methods)). It’s popular amongst our Japanese merchants, as well as hobby stores. Prefer a video? here’s [one of Oli](https://youtu.be/jg0U0QYYhQc) explaining capture-only pre-orders.

If you’ve ever eaten a surprise cost increase or watched freight rates spike *after* locking in prices, you know the pain. This guide breaks down the two types of 100% pay later pre-order —**Charge-Later** and **Capture-Only,** so you can decide the best fit for your business.

#### TL;DR

- **Charge-Later** pre-orders convert best but lock your price in — often fine, but riskier in volatile markets.
- **Capture-Only** safeguards margin by splitting the flow into (1) placing a reservation and (2) completing checkout later.
- **43.8 %** of all PreProduct pre-orders run Charge-Later.\*
- **28.7 %** run Capture-Only.\*

\*Source: [PreProduct — one million pre-orders](https://preproduct.io/one-million-pre-orders/#preorder-methods)

![pre-order](https://preproduct.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pre-order-landscape.png)

### Why “locking-in” the price can come back to bite you

- **Supplier volatility:** quotes expire in days, not months; delays and surprise surcharges are now the norm.
- **Freight roulette:** sea-freight rates swung from roughly $2.4 k to $8 k per FEU on key routes in 2025 ([Freightos index](https://www.freightos.com/freight-blog/freight-rates-and-quotes/shipping-delays-and-cost-increases/)).
- **Tariff whiplash:** US and EU duties can change mid-production.

[**Charge-Later** pre-orders](https://preproduct.io/docs/types-of-pre-orders/) vault the card and lock the price the moment a shopper checks out—great for conversion, but prices and orders are fixe.

[**Capture-Only** pre-orders](https://preproduct.io/docs/types-of-pre-orders/) flips that flow. The reservation sits outside your ecommerce platform until you’re ready; then a payment-link email drops customers into a pre-filled checkout with the *final* price.

### Types of ‘pay later’ pre-order

#### 1️⃣ Charge-Later Pre-orders (Vaulted Credit Cards)

1. Product is [listed in pre-order app](https://preproduct.io/docs/listing-a-new-product/) as **charge-later**.
2. Shopper completes checkout; With PreProduct’s Shopify/Woo/BC integration, a order is locked in at today’s price.
3. You manufacture or receive goods.
4. You [trigger charges](https://preproduct.io/docs/triggering-pre-order-fulfillment/) from the pre-order app; the vaulted card is charged at the locked-in price.

**Gotchas**

- Any cost increase comes straight off your margin.
- Editing price fields post-order breaks the flow.
- Cancelling and re-invoicing is messy

![charge-later pre-order](https://preproduct.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ezgif-5-07aab53ffe.gif)

#### 2️⃣ Capture-Only Pre-Orders (Wish-List-With-Teeth)

1. Product is [listed in the pre-order app](https://preproduct.io/docs/listing-a-new-product/) as **capture-only** (reservation mode).
2. Shopper reserves with name + email — no checkout, no card data.
3. You tally demand, then lock in supplier, freight and duty costs.
4. When ready, batch-send payment-link emails from the app; shoppers hit a pre-filled one-click checkout that reflects the **current** price.
5. Paid orders sync into Shopify / Woo / BigCommerce and run through your normal fulfilment flow.

**Gotchas**

- Lower overall conversion than charge-later (some shoppers ghost at the payment-link stage).
- Zero cash-flow until links are clicked.
- Reminder cadence matters — drop-offs spike if you don’t nudge.
- Needs crystal-clear messaging that *price is finalised later* to avoid surprises.

![pay now pre-order](https://preproduct.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/pay-later-pre-order.gif)pay now pre-order

#### Pros, Cons & When to Use Each

**Charge-Later****Capture-Only****Conversion rate**⭐⭐⭐⭐ (no further action needed from customer to pay)⭐⭐⭐ (not all customers will complete payment link checkout)**Cash-flow boost**⭐⭐⭐ (none until you trigger charges)⭐⭐⭐ (none until payment link)**Price flexibility**⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐**Risk profile**Medium (prices are locked in, but cancelling pre-orders doesn’t accrue refund fees, as no money has changed hands yet)Low (Easy to change price, as well as cancel/edit)

#### Ideal Use-Cases for Capture-Only

- **Pricing in flux:** tariffs, commodity costs, or bespoke customisations.
- **Long lead-times:** luxury furniture, custom bikes, Kickstarter-style runs.
- Particularly risk adverse merchants

#### Pro-Tips for Smooth Capture-Only Launches

1. **Communicate the process.** “We expect to ship in 2–6 months. Estimated price €45–€55 depending on freight.”
2. **Send follow-up payment links.** Use your pre-order app’s [follow-up feature](https://preproduct.io/docs/sending-follow-up-payment-links/) to remind customers their slot is expiring if they haven’t clicked the link.

### Quick-Start on Shopify / BigCommerce / Woo

1. **Install [PreProduct](https://preproduct.io/).**
2. **[Create a pre-order listing](https://preproduct.io/docs/listing-a-new-product/)** for a test product in **Capture-Only mode** to check the flow and integration.
3. **Test-purchase** the listing end-to-end.
4. **Launch for real.** Market the new “Pre-Launch” to your list and socials.

### Next Steps

Grab PreProduct’s Starter plan or a **7-day free trial** of any fixed-cost tier. Weigh up Capture-Only versus Charge-Later for your own launch, then pick the flow that protects your margins. Questions? Ping me (Oli) anytime—keen to hear how you’re handling pre-orders this quarter.

---

![](https://preproduct.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/oli-bio.png)Oli Woods

Co-founder @PreProduct