What is EZ Preorder & Back In Stock?
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock is a Shopify app that lets a store sell products before they are in stock (preorders) and lets shoppers sign up to be emailed when a sold-out product is back (restock alerts, also called back in stock alerts or Notify Me). It replaces your theme's add to cart button with a preorder button, can take a deposit now and charge the balance later, and sends restock alert emails automatically when inventory returns. It is built by Casual Ecommerce Apps, carries Shopify's Built for Shopify badge, and has a free plan; paid plans cost $10, $20, $30 or $50 a month.
Available on: All plans, including Free. Some features need a paid plan; each one is listed below.
Where to find it: EZ Preorder & Back In Stock on the Shopify App Store. After you install it, it appears in your Shopify admin under Apps as EZ PreOrder.
What EZ Preorder does
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock does two jobs for a Shopify store:
- Preorders. Shoppers buy a product that is out of stock, not yet released, or made to order. They pay at your normal Shopify checkout, in full or as a deposit. The order is tagged
preorderso you can find it and fulfill it when stock arrives. - Restock alerts. When a product is sold out, shoppers click a Notify Me button and leave their email address. When the product's inventory goes back above 0, EZ Preorder emails each of them a link back to the product.
You can use either one alone or both together. Each product is set up as a preorder or as a restock alert product, depending on whether you want to take orders now or collect a waitlist.
Who EZ Preorder is for
EZ Preorder suits Shopify stores that:
- Launch new products and want to take orders before release. See Launch a new product with preorders.
- Sell out regularly and want to keep selling while stock is on its way (backorders), instead of losing the sale.
- Make products to order and want a deposit up front. See Sell made-to-order products with deposits.
- Run limited drops and want to cap the number of preorders.
- Want a waitlist for sold-out products, to measure demand and win back shoppers when stock returns.
Features of EZ Preorder & Back In Stock
| Feature | What it does | Lowest plan |
|---|---|---|
| Preorder button | Replaces the theme's add to cart button on preorder variants. | Free |
| Three preorder rules | Always, Sold out (only when inventory is 0 or less) or Specific inventory level (a set number of preorder units). Set per variant. | Free |
| Custom note | Text or HTML shown above the preorder button, per variant and language. | Free |
| Button text and translations | Your own preorder button label in every published language. | Free |
| Preorder confirmation and shipment update emails | Tell customers their order contains a preorder, or that its ship date changed. | Free |
| Fulfillment hold | Puts new preorder orders On hold in Shopify until you release them. | Free |
| Restock alerts | Notify Me button and automatic back in stock emails. | Free |
| Bulk actions | Add every product or whole collections, and change settings for the whole list at once. | Core |
| Scheduled preorders | Start and end dates per product; preorders switch on and off by themselves. | Growth |
| Preorders by country or market | Offer a preorder only in selected countries, and show it as sold out elsewhere. | Growth |
| Collection page button and badges | Preorder buttons on product cards and a "Preorder" badge on product images. | Growth |
| Featured preorder section | A theme section that features one preorder product anywhere in your store. | Growth |
| Custom preorder page | One page that lists every product currently on preorder. | Growth |
| Partial payments | Take a percentage or fixed deposit; the balance is charged automatically on a date you choose. | Professional |
| Preorder discounts | A percentage or fixed discount on every preorder item. | Professional |
| Free gifts | A free product added to the cart with preorder items. | Professional |
| Direct to Checkout | The preorder button goes straight to checkout. | Professional |
Full plan details are in What each EZ Preorder plan costs and includes.
How EZ Preorder works in your store
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock works through your Shopify theme and your normal Shopify checkout:
- The app embed called Pre order theme extension loads EZ Preorder on your storefront. You turn it on once in Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds. See How to install EZ Preorder and enable the app embed.
- Your Preorder List in the app holds the products and variants you sell as preorders, each with its rule. See How to manage your Preorder List.
- On the product page, EZ Preorder swaps the add to cart button for the preorder button whenever a variant's rule matches its stock. The item goes into the cart with the line item property
type: preorder. - At checkout, Shopify accepts the order because EZ Preorder turns on Continue selling when out of stock for variants with the Always and Sold out rules.
- After the order, EZ Preorder tags it
preorder, can put it on hold and email the customer, and counts it toward your plan.
The full lifecycle is in How preorders work in EZ Preorder. Restock alerts work through a separate theme block, EZ PreOrder - Notify Me; see What are restock alerts and how do they work?.
EZ Preorder plans at a glance
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock has five plans. Prices are in USD and billed by Shopify every 30 days. There is no free trial on paid plans; the Free plan is the way to try the app.
| Plan | Price | Preorders included | Restock alert signups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | First 10 preorders or $400, lifetime | First 30, lifetime |
| Core | $10/month | 50 or $2,000 per billing cycle | 250 per billing cycle |
| Growth | $20/month | 150 or $5,000 per billing cycle | 750 per billing cycle |
| Professional | $30/month | 300 or $10,000 per billing cycle | 1,500 per billing cycle |
| Scale | $50/month | 500 or $20,000, then a 1% usage fee | Unlimited |
On Free, Core, Growth and Professional, preorders switch off when you reach either the preorder count or the revenue amount, whichever comes first. What counts and what happens next is in What counts toward your EZ Preorder plan limits.
Requirements and compatibility
- Shopify Online Store. EZ Preorder shows its buttons on your Online Store theme. The Notify Me, Free Gifts and Preorder Featured Product blocks need an Online Store 2.0 theme, which supports app blocks.
- Themes. EZ Preorder includes settings presets for 358 themes, including Shopify's free themes such as Dawn. Most themes work without changes. See What Shopify themes work with EZ Preorder.
- Inventory tracking. Preorder rules and restock alerts read Shopify inventory, so turn on Track quantity for those products.
- Deposits. Partial payments work with Shopify Payments and PayPal Express. See How to take deposits and partial payments on preorders.
- Markets and languages. Preorders can be limited by country with Shopify Markets, and the button text and custom note can be translated into each published language.
- Admin languages. The EZ Preorder admin is available in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.
Limitations
- EZ Preorder changes your Online Store only. It does not add preorder buttons to Shopify POS, draft orders or other sales channels, though an order from another channel is still tagged
preorderif the variant matched its rule. - The Preorder List works best with up to about 600 products at once.
- Partial payments are one store-wide setting, not set per product.
- Turning a preorder off does not turn off Continue selling when out of stock. Check that setting so the product does not keep selling. See Why a product still sells after its preorder is turned off or ends.
Getting help with EZ Preorder
The Support page in the app has Ask Ada, an AI assistant that can check your setup, plus Send a message to reach the team (replies usually come within a few hours). You can also ask Shopify Sidekick about your preorders. See How to get help and contact EZ Preorder support.
Frequently asked questions
Is EZ Preorder & Back In Stock free?
Yes, EZ Preorder & Back In Stock has a free plan that covers your first 10 preorders or $400 in preorder revenue and your first 30 restock alert signups. Paid plans cost $10 (Core), $20 (Growth), $30 (Professional) and $50 (Scale) every 30 days.
Does EZ Preorder work with my Shopify theme?
EZ Preorder works with most Shopify themes, including Dawn and the other free Shopify themes, and has presets for 358 themes. If the button does not appear, pick your theme in Configuration → Theme Settings → Theme Selector, or contact support. See What Shopify themes work with EZ Preorder.
Can EZ Preorder take a deposit on preorders?
Yes. On the Professional and Scale plans, EZ Preorder can take a percentage or fixed deposit at checkout and charge the remaining balance automatically on a set date or a number of days after checkout. Deposits work with Shopify Payments and PayPal Express.
Does EZ Preorder send back in stock emails?
Yes. Restock alerts are included on every plan. Shoppers sign up with the Notify Me button on a sold-out product, and EZ Preorder emails them when the product's inventory goes back above 0.
Does EZ Preorder change my checkout?
No. Shoppers pay at your normal Shopify checkout. EZ Preorder adds a type: preorder line item property, and, when you turn them on, a deposit purchase option or a preorder discount, all of which Shopify checkout shows natively.
Who makes EZ Preorder & Back In Stock?
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock is made by Casual Ecommerce Apps, which also makes EZ Bundles & Discounts, Process Wholesale and EZ Affiliate Referral Loyalty. The app launched on the Shopify App Store on 11 July 2023.
Related articles
- How to set up your first preorder: get your first preorder live in a few minutes.
- How preorders work in EZ Preorder: the full path from button to fulfilled order.
- What are restock alerts and how do they work?: the Notify Me button and back in stock emails.
- What each EZ Preorder plan costs and includes: prices, limits and features by plan.
- What Shopify themes work with EZ Preorder: theme presets and compatibility.
- EZ Preorder FAQ: short answers to common questions.