How to Handle Backorders Without Losing Customers

A backorder happens when someone wants to buy more than you have on hand — demand you can't fill from stock right now. It's a sign your product is selling, which is good. But a backorder handled badly (silence, a vague "soon," a surprise delay) turns an eager customer into a frustrated one. Handled well, it's just a sale that ships a little later.

Decide how you'll handle running out

When stock hits zero, you have a few options, and the right one depends on the product:

• Accept the backorder — let them buy now and ship when you've made more (works like a pre-order).
• Mark it sold out — pause sales until you restock, so no one's left waiting.
• Offer a heads-up — let customers join a restock list so they come back when it's ready.

If you accept backorders, communicate

1. 1Be upfront that the item is made-to-order or backordered before they buy.
2. 2Give a realistic ship date — and pad it slightly so you can beat it.
3. 3Confirm the order and the timeline in writing.
4. 4If anything slips, tell them early, not after the date passes.

Customers will wait for handmade — what they won't forgive is being left in the dark about when it's coming.

Prevent the surprise ones

Planned backorders are fine; surprise stockouts are the problem. The fix is the same as avoiding any stockout: know your stock, set reorder points on the materials behind your best-sellers, and keep one honest count across every channel so you don't oversell.

Know your real stock, everywhere

Most bad backorders come from not knowing you were out until someone bought it. Hivara keeps one finished-stock count that every sale draws from and alerts you before materials run low — so you can choose to offer a backorder on purpose, instead of discovering one after the fact.