“100% alerts used” email from STOQ: what it means and what to do next
If you received an email from STOQ saying "100% of your alerts limit has been used" or "100% of preorder limit used", it means your store has reached the maximum allowed by your current plan for this billing cycle. STOQ sends this email for two types of limits — back-in-stock alerts and preorders. This article explains both scenarios and walks you through your options.
What the Email Means
Every STOQ plan includes limits for both back-in-stock notifications and preorder orders. When your store hits 100% of either limit, STOQ sends you an email. The email you receive depends on which limit was reached.
Back-in-Stock Alerts Limit
This limit covers all notification channels — email, SMS, and push notifications combined (on per-month plans) or per channel (on legacy per-channel plans). What happens next depends on whether overage notifications are enabled for your store:
- Overage enabled: Notifications continue sending without interruption. You are charged an overage fee for each notification sent beyond your plan limit.
- Overage not enabled: Notifications stop sending until your limit resets at the start of your next billing cycle or you upgrade your plan.
In both cases, customers can still sign up for restock alerts on your storefront. Their signups are saved — they just may not receive notifications until you take action.
Preorder Limit
This limit controls how many preorder orders your store can process each billing cycle. What happens depends on your plan type:
- Paid plans (Lite, Standard, Premium): STOQ continues processing preorders beyond the plan limit at an additional fee per preorder. You do not need to take any action — preorders are never paused on paid plans.
- Free/Start plans: Preorders will be disabled for your store within 24 hours of hitting the limit. You need to upgrade your plan to continue selling preorders, or wait until your limit resets on the next billing cycle.
Check Your Current Usage
To see how many notifications or preorders you have used this month and how close you are to your limits:
- Open the STOQ app in your Shopify admin.
- Go to Plans (from the left sidebar).
- The Usage section at the top shows your current notification count and preorder count alongside your plan limits.
- Click the notification count to expand a breakdown by email, SMS, and alert template.
If you have exceeded your plan limit and overage is enabled, the expanded view also shows the number of overage notifications sent and the per-notification fee charged. For preorders, the dashboard shows how many preorder orders have been placed this cycle.
What to Do Next
You have several options to resolve this depending on your situation.
Option 1: Upgrade Your Plan
Upgrading to a higher plan increases your monthly notification limit immediately. This is the best option if you regularly hit your limit before the month ends.
- In the STOQ app, go to Plans.
- Review the available plans and their notification limits.
- Select a plan with a higher limit and confirm the upgrade.
After upgrading, STOQ shows a banner offering to send blocked notifications — these are alerts that were queued but not sent because you were at your limit. Click the banner to send them now.
Option 2: Enable Overage Notifications
If you want notifications to keep sending even after you hit your plan limit, enable overage notifications. This way, STOQ never stops sending alerts — you simply pay a per-notification overage fee for anything beyond your limit.
- In the STOQ app, go to Plans.
- Scroll to the Back in stock notifications section.
- Select Continue sending beyond plan limit.
- Click Save.
Overage notifications require verification from the STOQ team before they take effect. Until verified, notifications will still stop at your plan limit.
Option 3: Wait for Your Limit to Reset
Both your notification limit and preorder limit reset automatically at the beginning of each billing cycle (monthly). If you are close to the end of your cycle, you can wait for the reset without taking any action.
For back-in-stock alerts, customers who signed up during the pause will still receive their notifications once your limit resets and the product is back in stock. For preorders on free plans, the preorder button will reappear on your storefront once the limit resets.
Option 4: Resend Blocked Notifications Manually
If notifications were blocked because you were at your limit, you can resend them after upgrading or once your limit resets:
- In the STOQ app, go to Reports.
- Find the product that was restocked while you were at your limit.
- Click into the product to view signups.
- Use the Resend option to send notifications to customers who were blocked.
How Alert Limits Work
Understanding how STOQ counts notifications helps you plan your usage effectively.
What Counts Toward Your Limit
Each individual notification sent to a customer counts as one alert. If one customer receives an email alert and an SMS alert for the same product, that counts as two notifications toward your limit.
The following notification types count toward your limit:
- Back-in-stock email alerts
- Back-in-stock SMS alerts
- Reminder alerts (follow-up emails sent after the initial alert)
What Does Not Count Toward the Alert Limit
- Customer signups (someone subscribing for a restock alert)
- Preorder confirmation emails
- Merchant alert emails (like the "100% alerts used" email itself)
What Counts Toward the Preorder Limit
Each preorder order placed by a customer counts toward your preorder limit. If a customer places one preorder, that counts as one preorder against your limit.
Per-Month vs. Per-Channel Plans
- Per-month plans (current plans): All notification types — email, SMS, and push — share a single combined limit.
- Per-channel plans (legacy plans): Email, SMS, and push notifications each have separate limits.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
Received the 100% email but overage is enabled | Notifications are still sending. The email confirms you have passed your plan limit and overage charges now apply. No action needed unless you want to upgrade to reduce overage costs. |
Customers say they did not receive alerts | If overage is not enabled, notifications stop when the limit is reached. Upgrade your plan or wait for the limit to reset, then resend blocked notifications from Reports. |
Upgraded plan but blocked notifications were not sent | Look for the banner on the Plans page that offers to send blocked notifications. If the banner does not appear, go to Reports and resend manually for the affected products. |
Overage enabled but still pending verification | Overage notifications require manual verification by the STOQ team. Until approved, notifications stop at your plan limit. Contact support if verification is taking longer than expected. |
Want to stop overage charges | Go to Plans > Back in stock notifications and select Stop at plan limit. Notifications will pause when you reach your limit instead of incurring overage fees. |
Not sure which plan to upgrade to | Check your current usage on the Plans page. Choose a plan where the notification limit comfortably exceeds your average monthly send volume. |
Received a preorder limit email on a paid plan | No action needed. STOQ continues processing preorders on paid plans and charges a per-preorder fee beyond the limit. You can upgrade to increase your included limit and reduce per-preorder costs. |
Received a preorder limit email on a free plan | Preorders will be disabled within 24 hours. Upgrade to a paid plan to continue selling preorders, or wait for your limit to reset next billing cycle. |
FAQs
Q: Do my customers lose their signups when I hit the limit?
A: No. Customer signups are always saved regardless of your plan limit. If notifications are paused because you reached your limit, the signups remain in STOQ. Once your limit resets or you upgrade, those customers can still receive their alerts when the product is back in stock.
Q: When does my notification limit reset?
A: Your limit resets at the beginning of each billing cycle, which is monthly. You can check the current month's usage on the Plans page in the STOQ app. Use the month picker to view usage from previous months.
Q: How much do overage notifications cost?
A: The overage fee varies by plan. You can see your plan's per-notification overage fee on the Plans page under the Back in stock notifications section. Overage charges are billed through Shopify's usage billing and are non-refundable.
Q: Can I use a discount code to upgrade?
A: Yes. The 100% alerts used email includes the discount code UPGRADE which gives you up to 20% off any higher plan for 6 months. Enter this code on the Plans page when upgrading.
Q: Will STOQ automatically send blocked notifications after I upgrade?
A: STOQ shows a banner on the Plans page after you upgrade, offering to send notifications that were blocked by your previous plan limit. Click the banner to send them. For older blocked notifications, contact STOQ support.
Q: Does the Notify Me button disappear from my storefront when I hit the limit?
A: No. The Notify Me button remains visible on your storefront and customers can continue signing up for restock alerts. Only the outgoing notifications (email, SMS, push) are affected when you reach your plan limit.
Q: I'm on a free plan — can I enable overage notifications?
A: No. Overage notifications are only available on paid plans (Lite, Standard, and Premium). On free and Start plans, notifications stop when the limit is reached. Upgrade to a paid plan to access overage notifications.
Q: Will preorders stop working when I hit the preorder limit?
A: It depends on your plan. On paid plans, STOQ continues processing preorders beyond the limit at an additional per-preorder fee — preorders are never paused. On free and Start plans, preorders will be disabled within 24 hours of hitting the limit. Upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle to resume.
Updated on: 29/04/2026
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