Sell a preorder in batches - STOQ Help Center

Batches let you sell a single preorder offer in sequential waves, each with its own quantity limit and ship date. Instead of building a separate offer per tranche and swapping them by hand, you define the whole schedule up front on one offer, and STOQ moves customers through it. A fast-selling variant can be on a later batch while a slow one is still on the first.

Note

Batches is experimental, and available on request. You'll see the Batches section in the editor either way, so you can look before you ask. To switch it on for your store, click the purple chat icon at the bottom left of the app and choose Talk to a human.

Before you begin

Turning batches on changes two things about the offer, so it doesn't combine with:

Market-specific offers. You can't turn batches on while the offer targets specific markets.
Per-product ship dates. Batches use one shared shipping schedule, so turning them on switches the offer to a single shipping setting for all its products. Each batch then carries its own ship date instead.

Batches also replace the offer's single quantity limit: each batch sets its own limit, so the standard Preorder limits setting doesn't apply while batches are on.

Set it up

On a phone, this menu is collapsed. In the Shopify mobile app, tap the STOQ logo at the top of the screen to open it, then choose the section named below. There is no hamburger icon. See Finding the STOQ menu.

Open Batches

In the left menu bar of the STOQ app, click Preorders, then the Offers tab.
Click the offer to open its Overview tab, then click Customize.
In the editor sidebar, click Batches.

Choose a selling mode

Under Selling mode, choose one:

Sell all units at once: the standard behaviour, using your normal quantity and shipping settings. This is the default.
Sell this offer in sequential batches: turn batches on. STOQ starts you with two batches.

Set up each batch

For each batch, fill in:

Quantity limit per variant: how many units each variant sells in this batch before moving on. The limit is per variant, not per offer, so a limit of 50 across three variants means each variant sells 50 in that batch. (This field only appears in automatic mode, below.)
Shipping: the shipping text customers see for this batch, for example "Ships April 30".

Click Add batch to add more, or the delete icon to remove one (you always keep at least two).

Warning

Deleting a batch that already has orders keeps those orders' items, but removes the batch and renumbers the rest. It can't be undone.

Name your batches

Batches are called Batch 1, Batch 2 by default. In the batch Settings, change Label each batch to anything you like, using {{ n }} where the number goes, for example Wave {{ n }} or Drop {{ n }}. The new name shows everywhere: the storefront, the admin, POS, and order tags.

How batches advance

In the batch Settings, under How batches advance, choose:

Automatically: a variant moves to the next batch on its own the moment it hits the current batch's quantity limit. Each variant runs its own schedule, so a fast-selling size can be on Batch 3 while a slow one is still on Batch 1.
Manually: quantity limits become optional and batches stay open until you close them. You open the next one yourself from the offer's Products section, one variant at a time or several selected together.

What customers see

The product page shows the full schedule as a timeline, not just the current batch. Each row has its batch name, its ship date, and a status word:

Finished batches are ticked and marked Sold out.
The current batch is marked Live, with a progress bar showing how full it is.
Upcoming batches are marked Coming soon.

Those three status words are yours to change in the batch Settings. A customer can see the whole plan before ordering, and knows exactly which batch and ship date they're buying into.

On the order

The batch a customer bought into is recorded on the order line and shown to your team. You can also tag orders by batch: go to Limits → Order tags and use {{ batch }}, {{ batch_position }}, or {{ batch_ship_text }}. Selling in person works too: the POS confirmation screen shows staff which batch the item goes into, with its ship date.

When the last batch fills

On offers where STOQ manages the quantity, a variant stops selling once its final batch reaches its limit.
On offers that sell against your Shopify inventory, your real stock decides when a variant sells out, not the batch limits. Stock the total across every batch, or the later ones are never reachable.

Track progress

The offer's Products section shows each variant's current batch and how far through it is, with a breakdown per batch. If you chose manual advance, that's also where you open the next batch: use Start next batch on a variant, or select several variants and advance them together.

FAQ

Is the batch quantity limit per variant or per offer?

Per variant. A limit of 50 on a batch means each variant in the offer sells up to 50 units in that batch, then moves to the next one.

Do all variants advance together?

Not in automatic mode. Each variant advances on its own when it hits the current batch's limit, so different variants can be on different batches at the same time. In manual mode, you choose which variants to advance and when.

Can I change what the batches are called?

Yes. Set a label format like Wave {{ n }} in the batch Settings, and rename the three status words (Sold out, Live, Coming soon). The names show on the storefront, in the admin, on POS, and in order tags.

I sell against my Shopify inventory. Why aren't later batches selling?

When the offer uses Shopify inventory, your real stock decides when a variant sells out, not the batch limits. If you only stocked enough for the first batch, the later ones are never reachable. Stock the total across every batch.

What happens to orders if I delete a batch?

Orders already placed in that batch keep their items. The batch is removed and the remaining batches are renumbered. This can't be undone.

Why can't I turn batches on?

Batches don't combine with market-specific offers, and the feature is available on request. If the section is there but the controls are locked, contact support to switch it on.

Set preorder quantity limits

The single-limit setting batches replace, for offers not sold in waves.

Ship a preorder in stages

Split one order across several ship dates, a different kind of staging.

Tag preorder orders

Set up the order tags that can carry each order's batch.

Sell preorders on Shopify POS

How the POS confirmation screen shows the batch to staff.