A sold-out button is a lost sale, unless the shopper waits or comes back. Many will do neither. Allowing orders for products you do not have in hand converts some of that demand, builds a queue before launch and gives you a real signal of what to buy. It also creates promises that you must keep, often for weeks, with money already taken.
This guide explains the difference between backorders and preorders, when each makes sense, how to design the rules, what to tell customers and which legal points matter. It builds on back-in-stock emails, inventory buffers and order status update messages. It is general information, not legal advice; consumer-protection and payment rules differ by country.
Backorder or preorder?
| Backorder | Preorder | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A normally stocked item is temporarily out | A new item that has not been released or received |
| Customer expectation | A short wait, usually days to a few weeks | A longer wait until launch or arrival |
| Supply certainty | Usually known: a reorder is in progress | May be uncertain: production or release dates can slip |
| Typical purpose | Keep selling during a stock-out | Gauge demand, fund production, create launch momentum |
| Payment timing | Usually charged at order | Charged at order, at dispatch or as a deposit, depending on policy and local rules |
| Main risk | Delays and cancellations | Long delays, date slippage and disputes |
Because of these differences, keep the two as separate inventory states in your system. A single “continue selling when out of stock” switch will not give you dates, caps or tailored messages.
When to allow them
- Allow backorders when supply is reliable, lead times are short and customers value the product enough to wait.
- Allow preorders when you have a confirmed production or arrival plan and a launch date you trust.
- Avoid both when supply is uncertain, when the lead time is long and unclear, or when the product is a commodity customers can buy elsewhere tomorrow.
- Limit quantities to a defensible multiple of confirmed incoming stock.
- Do not rely on backorders to cover chronic stock-outs. Fix the reorder process; see purchase order automation.
Set honest dates and caps
The expected ship date is the heart of the promise. Base it on the supplier’s confirmed date plus receiving and handling time, then add a margin for delay. Showing a range is safer than a single day. If you cannot give a reliable date, say so, and offer a way to be notified. A preorder with a vague “coming soon” attracts few buyers and many complaints.
| Input | Rule |
|---|---|
| Supplier confirmation | Use confirmed dates, not hoped-for ones |
| Receiving and handling | Add the days you need to book in and ship |
| Safety margin | Add time based on how reliable the supplier has been |
| Quantity cap | Confirmed incoming units, or a modest multiple if you expect a second batch |
| Allocation order | First ordered, first served |
| Review points | Revisit the date weekly until stock arrives |
Tell customers clearly, everywhere
Surprise is the enemy. The shopper should know before paying that the item ships later and when. Show it on the product page near the button, change the button label to “Preorder” or “Backorder”, repeat it in the cart and checkout, state it in the confirmation email and mark each item in the order. If an order mixes in-stock and backordered items, say what will ship now and what later, and offer to ship together or in parts, with shipping costs explained.
| Place | What to show |
|---|---|
| Product page | Button text, ship date or range, quantity note |
| Cart and checkout | The same date, per item |
| Confirmation email | Items, dates, what happens if the date changes, how to cancel |
| Order status page | Status and expected date, updated automatically |
| Terms and policy | Payment timing, cancellation and refund rules |
Legal and payment points
Rules vary, but several themes recur. Many jurisdictions expect sellers to ship within a stated time or within a default period if none is stated, and to tell customers promptly of delays. Customers often have a right to cancel and be refunded if the delay is significant. Payment rules matter: taking payment long before dispatch can raise issues with card networks and payment processors, who have policies for preorders and may set limits or require disclosure. In the United States, the FTC’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule requires sellers to ship within the time stated or, if none is stated, within 30 days, and to notify customers and offer a choice when they cannot. Check the rule and your payment provider’s terms. For a sensible approach, state the date, notify of delays, offer cancellation and refund promptly.
Handle date changes
- Detect the slip as soon as you know: a supplier message, a delayed shipment or a missed scan.
- Update the expected date in your system, so that the product page and the order status page change together.
- Send a message to affected customers: what changed, the new date, an apology and the options.
- Offer cancellation with a full refund, and make it easy.
- Track responses and process cancellations quickly.
- Record the cause so that future dates improve.
These messages should be automatic: the trigger is a change in the expected date, the audience is everyone with that item pending and the wording is pre-approved. Our order status updates and workflow automation services build them.
Allocation and fulfilment
When stock arrives, allocate it to the oldest orders first, then release the rest for sale. Do this by rule, not by hand, to avoid disputes about who was first. Split shipments if a customer chose that, and send tracking for each part. Keep backordered stock separate from available stock in your reporting, and do not count incoming units as available until they are received and counted. If you sell on several channels, the same units may be promised more than once, so be strict about limits; see inventory sync.
Platform notes
Shopify allows selling when out of stock for a variant, but richer preorder logic with dates, caps and selling plans often needs an app or the platform’s newer purchase options. WooCommerce has a backorder setting per product with “allow” and “allow but notify” options, and extensions for preorders. Marketplaces have their own rules: some do not allow preorders at all or restrict them to defined formats, and handling-time promises must be met. Check the documentation for each channel before enabling it.
Using preorders to decide what to buy
A well-run preorder is also a research tool. Counting orders before you commit to production shows real demand, by variant, before you pay for it. Use it to set order quantities, drop slow variants and choose which colours to prioritise. Keep the caps and the cancellation promise honest, because the data is only useful if it reflects customers who really intend to buy. Compare the preorder curve with past launches: if the first week usually accounts for half of total sales, double the first-week figure for a first estimate and adjust as the campaign runs. Then share the numbers with the supplier early, since confirmed volumes sometimes improve lead times and price breaks. Our AI demand forecasting service can combine preorder data with history to refine the order quantity.
| Preorder signal | What it tells you | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Sales by variant | Which sizes and colours to buy more of | Adjust the production split |
| Rate of orders over time | Whether demand is front-loaded or steady | Project total demand |
| Cancellation rate | How firm the demand is | Discount for likely cancellations |
| Traffic source | Which campaigns drive committed buyers | Shift launch spend |
| Questions asked | Missing information on the page | Improve the listing before launch |
A worked example
A store runs a launch for a new item with 500 units arriving in six weeks. It accepts preorders up to 600 units, anticipating a second small batch, and shows a ship range of weeks 6 to 8. It sells 540 preorders at $65, or $35,100, and the first shipment arrives one week late. Automatic messages go to all customers, offering a cancellation; 22 cancel, about 4 percent, and the rest ship in order. Without the early message, the store expects more cancellations and disputes, perhaps three times as many, at $65 refunds plus $15 dispute fees each. Savings come to roughly 44 fewer cancellations or disputes, around $3,500. The figures are illustrative.
Mistakes to avoid
- No date, or an optimistic one.
- No cap, selling far more than you will receive.
- Hiding the wait until checkout.
- Silence when dates slip.
- Counting incoming stock as available.
- Mixing preorders into normal stock without separate tracking.
- Ignoring payment provider rules.
Sources and further reading
Figures and rules in this guide come from the primary pages below. Platform limits and prices change, so open the page before you build on a number.
- FTC: Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, shipping time and delay notification requirements in the US
- Shopify Help Center: selling out-of-stock products, continue selling when out of stock
- WooCommerce Docs: managing stock and backorders, stock status and backorder settings