Waitlists (Backorder)

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Waitlists let you collect customers who want an out-of-stock or unreleased product, then notify them and create orders for them when stock arrives.

Turn on Waitlists

1. Go to Settings › General › Parameters.
2. Find the Waitlists section in the left column.
3. Tick Enable Waitlists.
4. Fill in Waitlist message title. This is a short label only — maximum 25 characters.

Caution

Waitlist message title is not the message your customers receive. It is a title of 25 characters or fewer. You write the actual message in your Waitlist utility template — see Write the notification message below.

How many waitlist entries you can hold

Plan	Maximum waitlist entries
Enterprise	Unlimited
Business	200
Other plans	50

Write the notification message

The message customers receive is a Facebook Utility Message template, so it can reach customers who have not messaged you in the last 24 hours.

1. Go to Settings › Messaging › FB Utility Messages Templates.
2. Select the Waitlist message type.
3. Write your message and submit it for Facebook approval.

You can use {{customerName}} and {{waitlistKeyword}} in the template, and optionally add an Order now button that takes the customer straight to the product.

See Facebook Utility Messages for the full walkthrough.

Caution

The template must be approved by Facebook before it can be sent. Set it up before you start collecting waitlist entries.

How customers join a waitlist

Step 1 — Allow backorder on the keyword

1. Open the keyword for the product.
2. Tick Allow Backorder.

This lets customers order even when stock is zero.

Step 2 — The customer orders an out-of-stock item

When a customer orders an item that has no stock left:

• The system tells the customer the product is out of stock.
• The customer is added to the Waitlist automatically.

No action is needed from you at this stage.

Step 3 — View the waitlist

Go to Others › Waitlists to see everyone waiting, along with the keyword and quantity they asked for.

Notify customers when stock arrives

Notifications are not sent automatically when you restock. You choose when to send them.

1. Go to Others › Waitlists.

2. Tick the customers waiting for the restocked product.

3. Click FB in the bulk actions toolbar that appears.

   

4. In the Send FB waitlist follow-up dialog, turn on Use custom keyword if you want the message to point at a different keyword.

5. Click Send.

Note

The bulk actions toolbar only appears after you tick at least one row.

Convert waitlist entries into orders

Instead of waiting for customers to order again, you can create the orders yourself.

1. Go to Others › Waitlists and tick the customers you want.
2. Click Convert in the bulk actions toolbar.
3. Choose how the keyword should be applied (see below).
4. Click Start.

This is useful during live selling or when releasing limited stock quickly.

Option 1 — Waitlist

Use the original keyword that created the waitlist entry.

Use this when:

• The restocked item is exactly the same.
• You want to keep the original product setup.
• Pricing and configuration have not changed.

Option 2 — Manual Assign

Pick a different keyword for the order, then type it in the Keyword field.

Use this when:

• The item has a new keyword.
• The original keyword is inactive.
• You want to change the price or stock source.

Before you convert

Make sure:

1. The keyword is active.
2. There is enough stock available.
3. Quantity limits on the keyword are valid.

Caution

If any of these conditions are not met, the conversion fails.

Caution

A successful conversion removes the entry from the waitlist. Send your notification first if you still need it.

How converted orders are treated

The system processes a converted waitlist entry the same way it processes a comment order. All keyword rules apply, including stock validation and quantity limits.

See also:

• Use Waitlists as Event Notifications
• Facebook Utility Messages
• Promotions & Customer Retention Overview