Shopify pre-orders: take a deposit or charge in full?

Most Shopify stores charge the full price when a customer places a pre-order. It is the simplest setup: the money is in, and you ship later. But it is not always the best one for sales.

When full payment works

1. The item ships within a couple of weeks.
2. The price is low enough that paying early is not a big decision.
3. You have a reliable ship date.

When a deposit works better

1. Lead times are long: group buys, print runs, made-to-order goods, imports.
2. The price is high, so paying everything months ahead is a real barrier.
3. Dates can move. If a release slips, refunding a 20% deposit is much easier on everyone than refunding the full price.

A deposit also tells you who is serious. A customer who put money down is far more likely to complete the purchase than one who only signed up for a notification.

Pre-order at $0

There is a third option: reserve the item with nothing paid today and charge the full price when it is ready to ship. The card is saved at checkout. It removes almost all friction, but you carry more risk if the card fails later, so it suits lower-priced items.

How to set it up

Shopify supports split payment at checkout through deferred-payment selling plans, so the deposit and the balance stay on one order. With Depozy you create a plan (for example 20% now, the rest when it ships), attach it to the pre-order products, and Depozy can also switch on "continue selling when out of stock" for those products so the Pre-order button appears.

When you mark the order as shipped, the balance is charged automatically. If the card fails, the customer gets a payment link.