Should I reserve inventory when the Shopify pre-order is placed or when it's fulfilled?

Early Bird gives you control over when the Shopify pre-order inventory is deducted from your available stock. This setting is in the Fulfillment section when creating or editing a pre-order campaign.

You have two options:

  1. Reserve when the pre-order is placed
  2. Reserve when the pre-order is fulfilled

The option you choose depends on your business model and how you manage inventory.

Reserve when the pre-order is placed

How it works: When a customer places a pre-order, the inventory quantity decreases immediately - just like a regular order.

Example:

  • You have 100 units in stock
  • Customer pre-orders 1 unit
  • Your available inventory drops to 99 immediately
  • The unit is "reserved" for that pre-order customer

When to use this:

  • You have confirmed stock with your supplier or warehouse
  • You want to prevent overselling across all sales channels
  • You need accurate inventory reporting across multiple markets or fulfillment locations
  • You're running a product launch with limited stock
  • You want clean reporting where "available inventory" always reflects uncommitted units
  • You're working with a 3PL that needs accurate allocated counts

Benefits:

  • No risk of overselling - regular customers and pre-order customers pull from the same accurate inventory pool
  • Cleaner fulfillment workflows - your warehouse sees exactly what's committed
  • Better reporting - you always know how many units are truly available vs. committed

Important: If you're using stock limits in your campaign, you must use this setting.

Reserve when the pre-order is fulfilled

How it works: When a customer places a pre-order, the inventory quantity stays the same. It only decreases when you mark the order as fulfilled in Shopify.

Example:

  • You have 100 units in stock
  • Customer pre-orders 1 unit
  • Your available inventory stays at 100
  • When you fulfill/ship the pre-order, inventory drops to 99

When to use this:

  • You're dropshipping and don't physically control the inventory yet
  • You're running made-to-order or custom production where you don't have finished goods yet
  • You're taking deposit-only pre-orders and expect high cancellation rates
  • You want flexibility to gauge demand before committing to production quantities

Trade-offs:

  • Higher risk of overselling - if regular customers buy while pre-orders are pending, you might commit more units than you have
  • You'll need to manually monitor committed pre-orders vs. available inventory
  • Less accurate reporting until fulfillment happens
  • Your 3PL won't see accurate allocated inventory

How to test your setting

To verify your inventory reservation setting is working correctly:

  1. Note your current inventory level in Shopify admin
  2. Place a test pre-order through your storefront
  3. Check your inventory in Shopify admin:
    • If "reserve on placement", your inventory should decrease immediately
    • If "reserve on fulfillment", your inventory should stay the same until you fulfill the order
  4. Cancel or fulfill the test order to restore inventory

Need help?

If you're not sure which setting to use for your specific Shopify pre-order situation, reach out to us at support@shopside.com.au - we're happy to walk through your setup and recommend the best approach!

Related Articles