Run a timed product drop

Use this guide if you want a product to open for sale at an exact time, a drop. How you set it up depends on whether you need preorder mechanics, a firm cap you can’t oversell, or the product held shut until the moment it launches.

The catch to know first: STOQ’s Scheduled status hides the Preorder button, but it doesn’t hide Shopify’s Add to cart. So a product that already has stock stays buyable before the drop, whatever STOQ’s schedule says.

What STOQ can and can’t gate

• STOQ schedules when the Preorder button appears and disappears. See Schedule when an offer runs.
• STOQ doesn’t touch Shopify’s Add to cart. While an offer is still Scheduled, a variant that has stock can still be bought at its normal price.
• So gating a stocked product before a drop isn’t something STOQ does on its own. The approaches below each make one tradeoff to get close.

Choose your approach

You want	Set it up	The tradeoff
A preorder that opens right at the drop time	Set inventory to 0 with Continue selling off so the product shows sold out, then run an out-of-stock offer on a schedule. At the start time STOQ turns Continue selling on and the Preorder button appears.	Orders are preorders (they follow the offer’s payment, fulfillment hold, and tags), not immediate sales. A STOQ quantity limit is a soft cap that can overshoot in a big synchronized burst.
A firm cap you can’t oversell	Keep real inventory on the product and use the in-stock button option. Shopify enforces the count as a hard cap at checkout.	You can’t gate it before the drop: with stock available, Add to cart is live early, and scheduling only hides the Preorder button.
Both a gated launch and a hard cap	Keep the product unpublished on your Online Store until the drop, then publish it with stock at launch. STOQ isn’t involved.	It’s a normal in-stock sale, so no preorder deposits, holds, or deferred fulfillment. For a gated hard-cap preorder, contact STOQ support.

Set it up

A gated preorder drop

1. Close the product before the drop

   In Shopify, set the product’s inventory to 0 and turn Continue selling when out of stock off, so it shows as sold out and can’t be bought before the drop.

2. Put it on an out-of-stock offer

   In STOQ, create or open an out-of-stock offer that includes the product. See Configure inventory settings.

3. Schedule the start time

   Give the offer a scheduled start. At that time STOQ enables Continue selling for the offer’s variants and the Preorder button appears, so the drop opens on time. See Schedule when an offer runs.

4. Add headroom to your quantity limit

   If you expect a large burst of orders, set your quantity limit a little below the true number you’ll sell. The cap is counted after orders clear, so a surge can cross it. See Preorder limits during high-volume launches.

A hard-cap drop

1. Keep real inventory on the product

   Leave the product’s Shopify stock in place and use the in-stock button option in Configure inventory settings. The stock count is the cap, and Shopify blocks checkout once it’s reached.

2. Hold it off the storefront until launch

   To keep it from being bought early, leave the product unpublished on your Online Store and publish it at the drop time (manually, or on a schedule if your plan supports scheduled publishing). An unpublished product isn’t on your live storefront, so customers can’t reach it before launch.

Good to know

• The preorder approach gates the launch but its cap can overshoot under a synchronized surge. Positive stock gives a hard cap but STOQ can’t gate it before launch. STOQ can’t do both at once, which is the tradeoff this guide is about.
• Want to collect signups for a product before it launches rather than open a live drop? See Collect waitlist signups before a launch.

Related guides

Schedule when an offer runsStart and stop a preorder offer automatically at the times you choose.

Preorder limits during high-volume launchesWhy an out-of-stock quantity limit can overshoot in a surge, and how to set headroom.

Configure inventory settingsOut-of-stock, in-stock, and Always options for when the Preorder button shows.

Collect waitlist signups before a launchGather Notify me signups for a coming-soon product instead of a live drop.