Questions and answers

Question 1

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

Two steps. Install Waitly, then press “Add the Notify me block” on the Waitly home page. It opens your theme editor with the block already placed on your product page. Save the theme and test it on a sold-out product. No code, no theme files to edit, and nothing to paste.

Question 2

Does it work with my theme?

Accepted Answer

Waitly uses Shopify theme app blocks, so it works with any Online Store 2.0 theme. The blocks take their spacing from your theme, and you can set the button color, text color and corner radius to match.

Question 3

Will Waitly slow my store down?

Accepted Answer

Waitly’s storefront scripts are plain JavaScript kept to about 10 KB each, with no framework to download. The Notify me form only appears on variants that are sold out.

Question 4

Can I show Waitly in other languages?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every word shoppers see can be translated per language in Shopify’s Translate & Adapt app, including any text you change in the block settings.

Question 5

How does Waitly know a product is back in stock?

Accepted Answer

Shopify tells Waitly every time an inventory level changes. When a product or variant goes from unavailable to available, Waitly treats it as a restock and starts emailing the people waiting for it. You don’t press anything.

Question 6

Do alerts go out by SMS or push?

Accepted Answer

Not today. Waitly sends email only, from alerts@waitly.octabyte.app with your store’s name as the sender and your contact address as the reply-to.

Question 7

What stops a shopper being emailed over and over?

Accepted Answer

After an alert, Waitly gives a shopper 48 hours by default to buy (you can set 1 to 168). If they don’t, they go back on the waitlist and keep their original place in the queue. Once a shopper has had 3 alerts for the same product without buying (you can set 1 to 10), they leave the waitlist. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and addresses that bounce or mark mail as spam are stopped automatically.

Question 8

Does an alert reserve the item for the shopper?

Accepted Answer

A normal alert doesn’t. The email says so plainly: first come, first served. On Pro you can choose “Reserve for the first shoppers”, which holds one unit for each shopper at the front of the line for 10 minutes to 24 hours.

Question 9

What counts as a recovered sale?

Accepted Answer

An order for the item from a shopper Waitly alerted, placed within the attribution window after the alert (7 days by default, adjustable from 1 to 30). Refunds and unpaid cancellations are subtracted from recovered revenue.

Question 10

How do shoppers pay for a preorder?

Accepted Answer

In full, at checkout, through Shopify’s own selling plans. The product page says “Pay in full today. This item ships later.” and Shopify holds the order for fulfilment until you ship it.

Question 11

Can I take a deposit or partial payment?

Accepted Answer

Not today. Waitly preorders are paid in full. We chose that because it keeps refunds, taxes and fulfilment inside Shopify’s normal order flow.

Question 12

Can I stop overselling a preorder?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Set a maximum number of units per product on any policy. Cancelled or refunded preorders give their units back. You can also offer preorder only while a variant is sold out, so it turns itself off the moment stock arrives.

Question 13

How am I billed?

Accepted Answer

Through Shopify, on your normal Shopify invoice. Plans are monthly. Growth and Pro each start with a 14-day free trial.

Question 14

What happens if I reach my plan’s limit?

Accepted Answer

Waitly shows a banner when you have used 80% of a cycle’s allowance. At 100%, further restock alerts are held back rather than sent, and shoppers stay on the waitlist. Nothing is deleted. Upgrade, or wait for the next cycle to begin.

Question 15

Is there an annual plan?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Every plan is billed monthly and you can change or cancel at any time from Shopify.

Question 16

Do you integrate with Klaviyo or Shopify Flow?

Accepted Answer

Not today. Waitly sends its own emails and keeps its own waitlists. You can export any waitlist as CSV on Growth and Pro, and tag customers an alert brought back so they show up in your other tools.

Question 17

What shopper data does Waitly keep?

Accepted Answer

An email address, what the shopper is waiting for, and a record of their consent. That’s the only protected customer field Waitly asks Shopify for. A waitlist signup with no activity expires after 365 days by default, and you can shorten that to as little as 30. Ended signups are deleted after the same period.

Question 18

What happens to my data if I uninstall?

Accepted Answer

Waitly answers Shopify’s privacy requests automatically. When you uninstall, your store’s data is erased 48 hours later.

Questions and answers

Getting started

Back in stock alerts

Preorders

Plans and billing

Privacy

Put a Notify me button on your sold-out products today.