Yup. 100% happens all the time in our shop. Unless EVERYONE is aware of the draft order and physically removes the product from in store availability, but still shows in stock online. Simple solution @Shopify_77 . Lets fix this.
Topic summary
Users are frustrated that Shopify’s “Reserve Items” feature on draft orders initially failed to actually deduct inventory, causing overselling issues and poor customer experiences. Customers could add reserved items to their cart and only discover unavailability at checkout.
Core Problem:
- Reserved items remained visible as “in stock” on product pages
- No automatic inventory adjustment when reserving items
- Led to overselling, especially for wholesale orders and special requests
- Thread remained unanswered by Shopify for years (since 2018)
Workarounds Developed:
- Convert draft orders to regular orders using “Payment due later” option (deducts inventory immediately)
- Use third-party apps like “Draft Order Helper” to manually adjust inventory
- Place fulfillment holds after creating orders
Resolution:
- As of recent updates (around 2022), the feature now works correctly
- Reserving items properly decrements inventory when “track inventory” is enabled and backorders are disabled
- Reserved items show as unavailable to other customers
- Includes expiration date functionality to automatically restore inventory
Remaining Limitation:
- System still allows reserving items even when stock is zero or would go negative, bypassing normal inventory checks
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