A preorder is an order accepted before the product is available for immediate shipment or delivery. The seller reserves expected inventory or production capacity and provides a future availability estimate.
How does a preorder work?
The seller lists an unreleased or out-of-stock product, collects an order commitment and may take full payment, a deposit or no payment until shipment. The order is fulfilled when inventory becomes available.
Preorder vs. backorder
A preorder usually concerns a product not yet released or produced for general sale. A backorder concerns an existing product that is temporarily unavailable. Seller policies may use the labels differently, so the promised date and payment terms matter.
What should the customer be told?
- Estimated release or shipment date
- Whether payment is immediate or deferred
- Cancellation and refund rights
- Whether other items ship separately
- Risks that timing or specifications may change
How should inventory be managed?
Separate confirmed supply, forecast supply and customer reservations. Do not promise units based solely on an unconfirmed factory estimate, and define how allocation works if supply is short.
What financial controls matter?
Classify collected cash correctly until revenue-recognition conditions are met, reconcile deposits to orders and retain refund liquidity. Consumer-protection and card-network rules may affect delayed fulfillment.
