📦 How Preorder Campaigns Work in Essential Preorder

Essential Preorder lets you sell products before they are in stock. You can decide when the Preorder button appears, based on your product’s stock level. This article explains the 3 main settings for preorder campaigns and how they work.

1️⃣ Show Preorder When Product is Out of Stock

This option works well for products with limited stock or made-to-order items.

What happens when the campaign starts (published)?

✅ The app automatically turns on “Continue selling when out of stock”.

✅ The app also turns on “Track quantity”.

What happens when the campaign ends (unpublished)?

❌ The app turns off “Continue selling when out of stock”.

What your customers see

• The Preorder button appears when the product runs out of stock (stock = 0).
• Once you add more stock, the button automatically changes back to “Add to Cart”.

Optional: Set a Preorder Inventory Limit

• You can set a maximum number of preorders allowed when a product is out of stock.
• After reaching this limit, the app turns off “Continue selling when out of stock”, and the preorder button disappears.
• When stock is replenished, the product becomes available for preorder again.

2️⃣ Always Show Preorder

This is great for made-to-order products, where you only produce the item after the customer orders.

What happens when the campaign starts (published)?

✅ The app turns on “Continue selling when out of stock”.

✅ The app also turns on “Track quantity”.

What happens when the campaign ends (unpublished)?

❌ The app turns off “Continue selling when out of stock”.

What your customers see

• The Preorder button always shows for published campaigns, no matter how much stock you have.

3️⃣ Show Preorder When Product is In Stock

This option is useful for building hype (like a product launch) or managing customer expectations if shipping will take longer than usual.

What happens when the campaign starts (published)?

✅ The app turns on “Track quantity”.

What happens when the campaign ends (unpublished or deleted)?

✅ The app does not change any settings in Shopify.

What your customers see

• The Preorder button appears when stock is greater than 0.
• When stock runs out, the button changes to “Sold Out”.

🔎 Quick Comparison Table

🎯 Which Option Should You Choose?

• Use Show Preorder When Out of Stock if you want to keep selling between restocks.
• Use Always Show Preorder if you make products after customers order.
• Use Show Preorder When In Stock to build excitement for launches or to set clear expectations for long shipping times.

If you need help choosing the best setting for your store, reach out to our support team - we're here to help!