Preorders and backorders: how to sell products before they arrive

You've placed a purchase order with your supplier. Stock arrives in 3 weeks. Can you sell it now?

Yes—if your inventory system supports it. Preorders and backorders let you capture sales before stock physically arrives. But without proper tracking, you'll oversell and disappoint customers.

Preorders vs backorders

Preorder: Customer buys a product that doesn't exist yet (new release, seasonal item, made-to-order). Expected wait time is communicated upfront.

Backorder: Customer buys a product that's temporarily out of stock but on order. They're willing to wait for restocking.

Both mean the same thing for inventory: you're selling against incoming stock, not stock on hand.

The inventory challenge

Without visibility into incoming stock, you can't safely offer preorders.

If you have 0 units on hand but 500 units arriving next week, your system needs to know:

• How many of those 500 are already committed to preorders?
• How many can you still sell?
• When will they arrive?

Otherwise you risk overselling—promising stock to more customers than you'll actually receive.

Key numbers to track

On hand: Physical stock in your warehouse right now.

Incoming: Stock on purchase orders, not yet received.

Committed: Stock already allocated to sales orders (including preorders).

Available: What you can still sell.

For preorders: Available = On Hand + Incoming - Committed

If available goes negative, you've oversold.

How Stockpilot handles this

Stockpilot shows incoming stock from open purchase orders alongside your current inventory. When you create a sales order, it commits stock—whether from on-hand or incoming quantities.

You can see at a glance:

• What's in the warehouse
• What's on order from suppliers
• What's already committed to customers
• What's still available to sell

This visibility lets you confidently offer preorders without overselling.

Best practices for preorders

1. Set clear expectations. Tell customers when to expect delivery. Link it to your PO expected arrival date plus fulfillment time.

2. Don't overcommit. If a PO might be delayed, don't sell 100% of incoming stock. Keep a buffer.

3. Update customers if POs slip. Supplier delays happen. Communicate proactively rather than going silent.

4. Consider channel-specific settings. Some marketplaces penalize late shipments. You might offer preorders on your own store but not on Amazon.

When preorders make sense

• New product launches: Generate sales before production completes
• Seasonal items: Capture demand before stock arrives for the season
• High-demand products: Reduce stockout disappointment by letting customers queue
• Custom/made-to-order items: Collect payment before production begins

Preorders improve cash flow and reduce inventory risk. But only if your system tracks incoming stock properly.