Checkout logic

[86kickz]

I have a question about the checkout process for Shopify stores. I sell multiple products with different stock levels, and I want to make sure that when a product is out of stock (0 inventory), the only available payment method is card payment. This would allow customers to place a preorder for that item. Is this possible? If so, how can I set it up?

[Promer]

Hi @86kickz 

Unfortunately, Shopify’s native checkout doesn’t allow dynamic payment method restrictions based on stock levels. However, you can try these workarounds:

• Use a Preorder App – Apps like PreOrder Now or PreProduct let you customize payment options for out-of-stock items.
• Create a separate product for Preorders – Duplicate the product and label it "Preorder" with only card payments enabled.
• Manually notify customers – If an item is out of stock, update the product description and checkout messaging to inform buyers about preorders.

If you’re not on Shopify Plus, an app-based solution is your best bet

[Jo_EarlyBird]

Hey @86kickz, I'd like to better understand why you'd want card payment as the only available payment? As Promer mentioned - Shopify currently doesn't offer a native way to conditionally display payment methods based on inventory status.

I run a preorder app (Early Bird), so thought I'd add context about Promer's comment on using a preorder app to customize payment options for out-of-stock items.

Pre-orders currently only work with Shopify Payments or PayPal Express. Doesn't work with accelerated checkouts or Buy Now Pay Later services. So this isn't really conditionally displaying payment methods, it's moreso a payment method limitation between in-stock and pre-order items.

PayPal allows customers to pay using their PayPal account balance, linked bank accounts, OR credit cards for their pre-orders. Alternatively if you deactivate it, it will affect all online transactions and not be available to any customers, not just preorders. 

So it's a long way to say it probably won't solve what you're looking for - unless the preorder app actually has the ability to do payment customization.

If you're on Shopify Plus, maybe you could use Checkout Blocks to create payment method customizations that hide PayPal specifically for preorder products? If you're not, the simplest solution would be to deactivate PayPal altogether. (But best to check how many of your customers actually use this payment method.)

If you're B2B and selling high-ticket items, Draft orders could also work as a manual workaround. If a product is out of stock, you could create a draft order and send an invoice, or accept only credit card payments for these preorders and avoid other payment methods completely. The downside is this isn't automated.