Need help coming up with a customized product order workflow, collecting 10-30% deposit, need ideas

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A merchant wants to create a workflow for customized bulk products (minimum 50 cases) that collects a 10-30% deposit plus a one-time plate charge fee upfront. The goal is to ship inventory equivalent to the deposit amount first, then allow regular reorders for remaining stock.

Key Requirements:

  • Custom product landing page displaying real-time inventory counts
  • Automated reorder reminders when stock reaches certain thresholds
  • Prevent customers from switching products before completing their initial order

Proposed Solution:

  • Deposit collection: Use apps like Split, Depo, or PayWhirl to handle partial payments
  • Inventory display: Implement custom pages using PageFly/GemPages with Shopify’s inventory tracking or EasyStock app
  • Reorder alerts: Deploy back-in-stock notification apps to trigger customer reminders
  • Order management: Use draft orders to separate deposit-paid inventory from remaining stock, potentially automating with Mechanic app
  • Loyalty enforcement: Apply order management tools to restrict product switching mid-order

The discussion remains open for implementation details and specific app recommendations.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

So basically I want a customer to be able to customize specific product. First time order and reorders once stock gets low at least 50 cases.

there will be a 10-30% to be collected and a one time plate charge fee. then I’ll create a custom product landing page for customer showing product and stock count. Question, can they see the inventory in stock and set a reminder to reorder once it reaches a stock level?

when goods come in whatever 10-30% is converted to cases, is what I ship to customer first. For the remaining inventory, customer would just place order regularly.

please let me know if you have any better idea for this. I also want to make sure customers don’t switch until they finish the order.

2

Hi @evry1lovej

I totally get what you’re trying to do—you’re setting up a custom product workflow where customers can place initial and repeat orders with a deposit, while also keeping track of inventory levels and ensuring they don’t switch products mid-order. That’s a smart approach, especially when dealing with bulk orders like cases.

Here’s How You Can Set This Up:#### 1. Custom Product & Deposit System

Since you’re dealing with customized orders and deposits, Shopify alone won’t fully support this natively. You’ll need a deposit app like:

  • Split – Partial Payments (lets customers pay a deposit upfront)
  • Depo – Partial Payments (works with Shopify Payments)
  • PayWhirl Subscription Payments (if you want to automate reorders)

These apps allow you to charge the 10-30% upfront and then collect the remaining balance later when the full order is ready to ship.

2. Custom Product Landing Page & Inventory Tracking

For your custom product landing page, you can use:

  • Shopify’s Custom Pages & Metafields (to display stock levels)
  • PageFly or GemPages (for better customization)
  • Bundler – Product Bundles (if you want to offer bulk case discounts)

To show live stock counts and let customers reorder when stock is low, you can use:

  • Stock Sync (syncs inventory in real-time)
  • Notify Me – Back in Stock Alerts (lets customers set reorder alerts)

Yes, they can see the inventory levels on your product page if you enable Shopify’s inventory tracking. You’ll need to tweak the theme code or use an app like EasyStock to display stock directly on the page.

3. Reorder Reminders & Stock Threshold Alerts

Customers should be able to set a reorder reminder when stock hits a certain level. Some apps that can do this:

  • Back in Stock – Restock Alerts (lets them set alerts)
  • ReStock Alerts (sends email/SMS notifications)

Alternatively, if you want to automate reorders, you could set up a subscription model (even if it’s not a monthly subscription, just a recurring order) with Seal Subscriptions.

4. Managing Orders & Preventing Product Switching- Once they commit to a product, you’ll need to restrict changes until the order is completed. Shopify doesn’t have a native way to do this, so you’d need a custom rule via Shopify Scripts (Shopify Plus) or an order management app like Order Limits & Restrictions.

  • If you’re manually handling these, you could also set tags on customers who are mid-order to track their progress.

5. Shipping Partial Orders Based on Deposit

You mentioned that whatever the 10-30% deposit covers, you ship first, and the rest is a regular order. The easiest way to handle this:

  • Set up draft orders in Shopify for deposits and convert them to final orders once inventory arrives.
  • Use Multi-Location Inventory to separate deposit-paid stock vs. remaining stock.
  • Automate this with Mechanic (Shopify app) if you want to make this seamless.

**Best Approach?**1. Use a Deposit App to charge 10-30% upfront.

  1. Set up a custom product page with stock tracking (via metafields or an app).
  2. Enable reorder alerts so customers get reminders.
  3. Restrict order switching with order management tools.
  4. Ship deposit-covered stock first and let them reorder as needed.

This setup keeps things smooth while ensuring customers don’t switch orders mid-way. Let me know if you need specific app recommendations or code tweaks to show inventory on the product page!

If you need extra help, just let me know asap. Thanks!
Daisy.