Offering preorders can be a game-changer for your online business. It allows you to generate sales even before your products are physically in stock, helping you gauge demand and secure revenue early. This guide walks you through the complete setup process, from enabling the app embed to creating your first preorder offer and testing it on your store.

Before You Begin

Make sure your store is using an Online Store 2.0 theme, you have STOQ installed, and you’ve selected the products you want to offer for preorder.

Note: STOQ preorder features require Online Store 2.0. If you’re using an older theme, you’ll need to upgrade first.

Note: STOQ requires an Online Store 2.0 theme. If your store uses an older theme, you will need to upgrade before using STOQ's preorder features.

Step 1: Enable the App Embed

The first step is to enable STOQ's app embed in your theme. This allows the preorder button and other features to appear on your product pages.

Accessing Theme Settings

1. Open STOQ from your Shopify admin. If you see the app embed prompt, click it to open your theme’s App embed settings.

Enabling the Embed

1. In the theme editor, navigate to App embeds in the left sidebar. and find STOQ in the list of app embeds.
2. Toggle the switch to enable the STOQ app embed and click Save to apply the changes.

Tip: If you don't see the app embed option, make sure your theme is an Online Store 2.0 theme. Older themes do not support app embeds.

Step 2: Create Your First Offer

A preorder offer defines how customers can preorder your products, including payment options, shipping information, and display settings.

Navigating to Preorders

1. From your Shopify admin, open the STOQ app.
2. Click Preorders in the left navigation menu.
3. Click Offers to view your preorder offers.

Creating a New Offer

1. Click the Add new offer button.
2. STOQ will create a new offer and open the offer editor.

Setting Up the Offer Name and

1. In the offer editor, you'll see the Offer name field at the top.
2. Enter a name for your offer that customers will see (e.g., "Pre-order - Ships in 2 weeks").
3. Optionally, set an Internal name to help you identify this offer in your dashboard. This name is only visible to you, not customers.

Tip: Use descriptive internal names like "Holiday Collection Preorder" or "New Product Launch" to easily identify offers when you have multiple.

Step 3: Configure Basic Settings

The offer editor has several sections to customize your preorder offer. Here are the essential settings to configure.

Button Settings

The Button tab controls how the preorder button appears on your product pages.

1. Click the Button tab in the offer editor.
2. Set the Button text (e.g., "Preorder", "Pre-order Now", "Reserve Now").
3. Optionally, add a Disclaimer to display below the button explaining preorder terms.

Fulfillment Settings

The Fulfillment tab lets you set shipping and delivery expectations.

1. Click the Fulfillment tab.
2. Choose how you want to display fulfillment information:

• Specific date: Set an exact shipping or delivery date
• Date range: Set a range of dates
• Text: Enter custom text like "Ships in 2-3 weeks"

3. Configure the fulfillment text that customers will see.

Payment Settings

The Payment tab controls how customers pay for preorders.

1. Click the Payment tab.
2. Choose your payment option:

• Full payment: Customers pay the full amount at checkout
• Deposit: Customers pay a percentage or fixed amount upfront, with the remaining balance collected later
• Pay later: Customers reserve the product without paying (payment collected when product ships)

Note: Deposit and Pay later options may require additional setup and are available on certain plans.

Step 4: Add Products to Your Offer

After configuring your offer settings, you need to add products that will be available for preorder.

Choosing Product Selection Mode

1. Click the Products tab in the offer editor.
2. Choose how you want to select products:

• Specific products: Manually select individual products or variants
• All products: Automatically enable preorder for all out-of-stock products

Adding Specific Products

If you chose "Specific products":

1. Click Add products or Browse products.
2. Search for and select the products you want to add to this offer.
3. Click Add to include the selected products.

Enabling Continue Selling

For preorders to work, products must have the "Continue selling when out of stock" setting enabled in Shopify. This allows customers to purchase products even when inventory is zero.

If any products don't have this setting enabled, STOQ will notify you:

1. You'll see a warning indicating which products need the setting enabled.
2. Click the option to Enable Continue Selling for these products.
3. STOQ will automatically update the setting for you.

Alternatively, you can enable this setting manually in Shopify:

1. Go to Products in your Shopify admin.
2. Select the product you want to update.
3. Scroll to the Inventory section.
4. Check Continue selling when out of stock.
5. Click Save.

Step 5: Enable and Save Your Offer

Once you've configured your offer and added products, you need to enable it.

Enabling the Offer

1. At the top of the offer editor, find the Enabled toggle.
2. Turn the toggle on to enable the offer.
3. Click Save to save all your changes.

Your preorder offer is now active! Customers visiting the product pages will see the preorder button instead of the regular "Add to Cart" button.

Step 6: Test Your Preorder Setup

Before announcing your preorder to customers, test the setup to ensure everything works correctly.

Placing a Test Order

1. Visit your store as a customer would.
2. Navigate to a product page with the preorder offer.
3. Verify the preorder button and any disclaimer text appear correctly.
4. Click the preorder button and complete a test checkout.

Tip: Use a 100% discount code or Shopify's Bogus Gateway to complete test checkouts without processing real payments. See our article on testing preorder offers for detailed instructions.

Verifying in STOQ Reports

1. After placing a test order, return to the STOQ app.
2. Go to Preorders > Reports.
3. Verify that your test order appears in the preorders list.

Next Steps

Now that you've set up your first preorder offer, consider these additional configurations.

Customize the Customer Experience

• Add preorder badges: Display badges on product cards to highlight preorder items
• Enable confirmation emails: Send automatic emails when customers place preorders
• Show payment widgets: Display deposit and discount information on product pages

Manage Your Preorders

• View preorder reports: Track all preorder orders in one place
• Collect remaining payments: For deposit-based preorders, collect the balance when ready to ship
• Send shipping updates: Notify customers when their preorder is ready to ship

Create Additional Offers

You can create multiple preorder offers for different products, collections, or campaigns. Each offer can have its own settings for payment, fulfillment, and display options.

Known Limitations

Setting up preorders has some constraints to be aware of.

• STOQ requires an Online Store 2.0 theme. Older themes do not support app embeds.
• Products must have "Continue selling when out of stock" enabled for preorders to work.
• Some payment options (deposits, pay later) may require specific Shopify plans or payment providers.
• Preorder offers apply to the entire product. You cannot have different preorder settings for individual variants of the same product within the same offer.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while setting up preorders, use this guide to identify and resolve common problems.

FAQs

Here are answers to common questions about setting up preorders.

How many preorder offers can I create?

The number of offers you can create depends on your STOQ plan. Higher tier plans allow unlimited offers, while lower tiers may have limits. Check your plan details in the STOQ app.

Can I have different preorder settings for different products?

Yes, you can create multiple preorder offers with different settings and assign different products to each offer. This allows you to have different payment options, fulfillment timelines, and display settings for different product groups.

Do I need to set products as out of stock for preorders?

By default, preorders are designed for out-of-stock products. However, STOQ also supports preorders for in-stock products if you want to offer preorders before a product launches or for made-to-order items. See our article on setting up preorders for in-stock products.

What happens when a preorder product comes back in stock?

When a product comes back in stock, the preorder button will automatically switch back to the regular "Add to Cart" button (for out-of-stock preorder offers). Existing preorders remain in your reports and can be fulfilled normally.

Can customers cancel their preorders?

You can enable or disable the option for customers to cancel their preorders. When enabled, customers receive a cancellation link in their confirmation email. See our article on enabling/disabling preorder cancellations.

How do I collect the remaining payment for deposit-based preorders?

When you're ready to ship, you can collect the remaining balance from STOQ's Reports section. You can collect payments individually or in bulk. See our article on collecting preorder payments.

Updated on: 21/01/2026