#everything-marketing
Thread
A QUESTION ABOUT PRE-ORDERS:
Good news: We are almost sold out of product on our site! 🎉
Bad News: Our next order doesn't arrive til September 😞.
Question: How far out is it acceptable to do pre-orders? Can I pre-sell a product that will not be here for 90 days? Or should I wait until it's under 60 days or 30 days?
I do not want to pause my ads that are working but I don't want to piss off our customers.
Thoughts or examples on how to handle this?
For context, it's for our brand .
Just be transparent with your customers and let them decide
good call. Transparency is key
- frequent updates / communication
As everyone says Transparent is key, Communicate with them via mail and maybe u can try partial payment for pre order
When we did our pre-order last summer, customers had to wait until December to get their product. Here is what we learned:
- It's OK for anyone to wait 6+ months as long as you communicate clearly.
- Make sure you capture screenshots and all email communications on record in case there's any dispute arises in future, e.g. chargebacks.
- Not sure if it's doable for you, but we offered a "no questions asked full refund" if any customer want to cancel their pre-order during those months.
- Refunding via PayPal after 3 months can be tricky - it didn't always work via Shopify. You may want to check further.
- It's important to switch language from "Buy Now" and "Order Now" to "Pre-Order" on your storefront to avoid getting complaints.
- We have a customer community to keep everyone informed and continue to build the hype, if it makes sense for you to have a community, definitely helpful.
Almost forgot - during those 6 months, many folks would have moved / changed their address. So we had a round of comms to "confirm delivery address" right before we ship, to give customers a chance to validate their address.
This was so helpful @Belle Liu - thank you