Articles on: Preorders

How to Fix Preorder Product Errors in the STOQ Offer Editor

When you add products to a preorder offer in STOQ, you may see a warning banner that says: "Preorder button may not appear on some products." This banner appears in the Products section of your preorder offer and flags variants that need attention before preorders will work correctly. The Status column shows exactly which products have issues so you can fix them quickly.


Understanding the Warning Banner


The warning banner appears at the top of the Products section when one or more variants in your offer have configuration issues. It tells you exactly what needs to be fixed.


The banner can show two types of preorder product errors:


  • Setting: Variants that do not have "Continue selling when out of stock" enabled
  • Inventory: Variants that have the wrong stock level for your offer type


Setting Error: "Continue Selling When Out of Stock" Not Enabled


This error appears for out-of-stock preorder offers (where the inventory provider is STOQ). It looks like this:


Setting: 2 variants do not have 'Continue selling when out of stock' enabled. Update all now, or change in admin


Shopify requires the "Continue selling when out of stock" setting to be enabled on each variant for out-of-stock preorders to work. Without it, Shopify treats the variant as completely unavailable and the Preorder button cannot appear on your storefront.


How to Fix It


You have three options:


  1. Click "Update all now" in the banner — STOQ will automatically enable "Continue selling when out of stock" for all flagged variants at once. This is the fastest option.
  2. Click "change in admin" — This opens the help article on enabling Continue selling with step-by-step instructions for changing the setting in Shopify Admin.


  1. Update individual variants in Shopify Admin — Go to the product in Shopify Admin, scroll to the variant's inventory section, and check the "Continue selling when out of stock" box.
  2. Update individual variants in Products section of the offer - Click on the checkbox next to the variants in the Products section of the offer. Click on "Toggle continue selling", choose the setting to turn on continue selling on the popup and click on "Update"


Note: If your offer is scheduled to start in the future, this warning will not appear. STOQ automatically enables "Continue selling when out of stock" for all products in the offer on the scheduled start date.


Inventory Error: Variants Not Out of Stock


This error also appears for out-of-stock preorder offers. It looks like this:


Inventory: 1 variant(s) are not out of stock. Update in admin



For out-of-stock preorders (inventory provider = STOQ), the Preorder button only appears when a variant's inventory is 0 or lower. If a variant still has stock, Shopify shows the normal "Add to Cart" button instead.


How to Fix It


  1. Click "Update in admin" in the banner — This opens the Inventory page in your Shopify Admin where you can adjust stock levels.
  2. Set the variant's inventory quantity to 0 (or lower) so the Preorder button appears on your storefront.



Tip: If you want to sell preorders while the product is still in stock, consider switching your offer's inventory provider to Shopify (in-stock preorders) instead of STOQ (out-of-stock preorders). In-stock preorders show the Preorder button regardless of inventory level.


Using the Status Column to Identify Issues


The Status column in the products table shows icon indicators for each variant so you can quickly spot which ones need attention.


Each variant shows two icons side by side:


Inventory Icon (First Icon)


  • Green checkmark — Variant is out of stock (correct for out-of-stock preorders)
  • Yellow warning — Variant is not out of stock and still has inventory (needs to be set to 0 or lower)


Continue Selling Icon (Second Icon)


  • Green active icon — "Continue selling when out of stock" is enabled (correct)
  • Yellow warning — "Continue selling when out of stock" is not enabled (needs to be turned on)
  • Blue info icon — Quantity limit reached; "Continue selling" was automatically disabled by STOQ



Tip: Hover over any icon in the Status column to see a tooltip with the exact issue and current inventory count.


In-Stock Preorder Errors


If your offer uses the Shopify inventory provider (in-stock preorders), the errors are different:


  • Inventory: The warning shows "variant(s) are not in stock" — meaning the variant is out of stock but needs to have inventory available for in-stock preorders to work.
  • Setting: The "Continue selling" warning does not appear for in-stock preorders since it is not required.



To fix this, go to Shopify Admin and ensure the variant has inventory of 1 or more.


When Products Are First Added to an Offer


When you add products to an out-of-stock preorder offer, STOQ checks each variant and shows a confirmation dialog if any need "Continue selling" enabled.


You are given two options:


  • Automatically enable "Continue selling" for these products — STOQ turns on the setting for all flagged variants as part of the add process.
  • I'll enable it myself later — Products are added but you will need to fix the setting manually.


If you choose the automatic option, STOQ processes the change in two steps:


  1. Step 1: STOQ adds your selected products to the offer.
  2. Step 2: STOQ enables "Continue selling when out of stock" for the flagged products.



Note: If you chose to enable it yourself later, you can always use the Update all now link in the warning banner to fix all variants at once.


Known Limitations


  • "Update all now" requires processing time — For offers with many variants, enabling "Continue selling" for all variants may take a few minutes. STOQ shows a progress indicator during this process.
  • Inventory changes in Shopify may take a moment to sync — After updating inventory in Shopify Admin, refresh the STOQ offer editor to see the updated Status column.
  • Quantity limit reached variants cannot be fixed — If a variant shows the blue info icon, the preorder quantity limit has been reached and "Continue selling" was intentionally disabled. This is expected behavior, not an error.
  • Bundle products may not work as expected — If you add bundle products to a preorder offer, STOQ shows a separate warning that bundles may not function correctly with preorders.


Troubleshooting


Symptom

Likely Cause

Fix

"Continue selling" warning still appears after clicking "Update all now"

The update is still processing

Wait for the progress indicator to finish, then refresh the page

Inventory warning shows after setting inventory to 0

Inventory change has not synced yet

Refresh the STOQ offer editor page to pull the latest inventory data

Preorder button not appearing even though Status column shows all green

Other issue such as app embed not enabled or theme compatibility

Check that the STOQ app embed is enabled (see How to check if STOQ app embed is enabled)

"Update all now" failed with an error

Shopify API rate limit or temporary issue

Try again after a few minutes, or enable "Continue selling" manually from Shopify Admin

Warning banner does not appear but Preorder button is missing

Offer may be disabled or scheduled for a future date

Check the offer status and schedule settings

Status column shows blue info icon

Variant reached its preorder quantity limit

This is expected — "Continue selling" was automatically disabled because the limit was reached


FAQs


Q: Why does my offer require "Continue selling when out of stock"?

For out-of-stock preorders, Shopify needs this setting enabled so that customers can still add the product to their cart even when inventory is zero. Without it, Shopify blocks the purchase entirely and the Preorder button cannot appear.


Q: Will STOQ automatically enable "Continue selling" when I schedule an offer?

A: Yes. If your offer is scheduled to start in the future, STOQ automatically enables "Continue selling when out of stock" for all products in the offer on the scheduled start date. You will not see the setting warning for scheduled offers.


Q: What happens if I ignore the warnings?

A: The Preorder button will not appear on your storefront for the flagged variants. Customers will either see the normal "Add to Cart" button (if in stock) or a "Sold out" message (if out of stock without "Continue selling" enabled).


Q: Do these errors apply to in-stock preorders?

A: In-stock preorders (Shopify inventory provider) only show an inventory warning if a variant is out of stock — because in-stock preorders require available inventory. The "Continue selling" warning does not apply to in-stock preorders.


Q: Can I fix individual variants instead of all at once?

A: Yes. You can go to Shopify Admin and update "Continue selling when out of stock" or inventory levels for specific variants. The Status column in STOQ will update once the changes sync. You can also click the checkbox next to the product title in the "Products" section of the offer > toggle continue selling.


Q: What does the blue icon in the Status column mean?

A: The blue info icon means the variant has reached its preorder quantity limit. STOQ automatically disabled "Continue selling" for that variant to stop accepting more preorders. This is normal behavior and not an error that needs fixing.

Updated on: 18/05/2026

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