Pre-orders Don’t Work With Shopify Bundles (Workarounds)

Problem

Merchants sometimes want to sell product bundles as pre-orders (for example, a kit made of multiple products). However, when the product is created using Shopify Bundles or a bundle app, pre-orders typically do not work.

Why This Happens

This is a Shopify platform limitation.

Shopify bundles are not compatible with:

• Pre-orders
• Subscriptions
• Try-before-you-buy

Workarounds

Since the limitation comes from Shopify itself, the typical solution is to avoid using bundle products when you need pre-orders. Below are common workarounds used by merchants.

Workaround 1 — Create a Single Product Instead of a Bundle (Recommended)

Instead of creating a bundle, create a standard Shopify product that represents the bundle. Use this approach if you want to give your customers the option to configure their own preorder bundle.

Native Shopify features used

• Product variants
• Product options

Example

Instead of bundling:

• Coffee Beans
• Coffee Mug

Create one product:

Product: Coffee Starter Kit

Options

Shopify automatically generates variants like:

• Light Roast + White Mug
• Light Roast + Black Mug
• Dark Roast + White Mug
• Dark Roast + Black Mug

Pre-orders can then be enabled for each variant.

Workaround 2 — Sell Items Individually With a Bundle Discount

Instead of creating a bundle product, sell each product individually and encourage customers to purchase them together.

Native Shopify features used

• Automatic discounts
• Discount codes
• Collections

Example

Products:

• Coffee Beans
• Coffee Mug

Create a promotion such as:

Buy Coffee Beans + Coffee Mug together and get 10% off.

You can configure this using a cart automatic discount that applies when both products are in the cart. Each product can still have pre-orders enabled individually.

Workaround 3 — Create a Dedicated Bundle SKU

Another approach is to create a new product that represents the bundle, instead of using the Shopify Bundles feature. This product behaves like a normal Shopify product, so pre-orders can be enabled. Use this approach if your bundle is fixed and not configurable by the customer.

Native Shopify features used

• Standard product listing
• Inventory tracking
• "Continue selling when out of stock" (backorder capability)

Example

Create a product:

Product: Coffee Gift Bundle (Pre-Order)

Description:

Includes:

• 1× Coffee Beans
• 1× Coffee Mug

You track inventory manually for the included items. To allow customers to purchase before stock arrives, enable: Continue selling when out of stock. This allows orders to be placed even when inventory is 0.

Summary

Shopify bundles cannot be used with pre-orders because of Shopify platform limitations.

If you need pre-orders, the most common solutions are:

The single product with variants approach is usually the simplest and most reliable workaround.

Updated on: 10/03/2026