Only show pre-order option when product/variant is not in stock - Empire Theme

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

Empire 8.1 shows all variants as pre-order when the pre-order template is used, even if some variants are in stock. The goal is to display pre-order only when the selected variant’s inventory is at or below zero.

Proposed app-based options:

  • Use a pre-order app (e.g., Preorder Now) to manage variant-level pre-order behavior without coding.
  • Another option suggested is K1 PreOrder, which can auto-switch buttons when a variant hits zero stock.

Proposed code-based approach:

  • No built-in Empire setting for variant-level pre-order. Edit the product template (product-template.liquid or main-product.liquid) via Online Store → Themes → Actions → Edit code.
  • Add Liquid (Shopify’s templating language) conditions using variant.available to toggle add-to-cart vs pre-order, and include JavaScript to update the button when customers change variants.

Trade-offs: Code edits require development effort and maintenance across theme updates; apps offer automated control.

Status: Unresolved; actionable paths provided (app vs theme customization).

Summarized with AI on December 11. AI used: gpt-5.
1

I have the Empire 8.1 Theme, and the theme has the pre-order product template available. However with certain products that have multiple variants, some of these variants are in stock and others are not. When I select the pre-order template it will show every variant as a pre-order, even though some of them are in stock. How can we get the pre-order template to only display when the product/variant is less than or equal to 0 on hand?

Any help would be appreciated.

2

Hello @rkoski

You can try using the below app : https://apps.shopify.com/preorder-now

I hope the above is useful to you.
Best regards,
GemPages Support Team