HOW TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHO MISSED THE PREORDER

“Can you print up 1-2 more? I had two stragglers miss the preorder!” The short answer to that question is no. But, we have some options:

Option 1: You tell them "No, sorry". We all dread saying no to clients. It makes my stomach churn just thinking about it. The idea of saying no is frightening because we’re always worried about the “backlash” and having to answer “why not?”. 

The issue is this: if you say yes, you defeat the purpose of the preorder. Remember, the preorder isn’t just about locking in sizes and prepaying. The preorder is primarily about creating scarcity and limited edition designs that force people to act. If you say yes and constantly cater to stragglers, you are undermining the preorder strategy. 

Option 2: You take on inventory and buy a few extra in each size. To take on inventory the preferred way, create an incentive. Preordered items are $24.99. Inventory items are $29.99. Let price do the talking. You need to compensate yourself properly for the risk of taking on inventory.

Don’t discount to 19.99 and then sell the shirts for 24.99. That is way too cheap and doesn’t give you the right margins. Re-read that sentence. We’re not saying to discount the items. We’re telling you to compensate yourself properly for the risk of taking on inventory. 

If dealing with stragglers is a consistent issue, you can check out: 6 QUESTIONS TO FIX YOUR PREORDER