backorders and lead times

Resolved Megunticook
(@megunticook)

4 years, 8 months ago

I need to set up my WooCommerce store to allow the store manager to configure both simple and variable products to display lead times for out of stock products. What’s the best way to do this? Is there a recommended plugin?

And can I also configure things so that if a product is out of stock it shows lead time and gives the customer the option of placing a backorder?

I’ve read through WooCommerce documentation and looked through my inventory settings pretty thoroughly and it looks like the “off the shelf” version of Woo Commerce can’t do both of these things together.

Looking for any advice on best practices for accomplishing this. Thank you. I’m plenty comfortable adding custom PHP functions to functions.php in my child theme but thinking that may not be the best approach here since I need to provide the store manager with a simple, easy process for designating lead times on specific products.

Thank you.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

witchystitchy
(@witchystitchy)

4 years, 8 months ago

I can’t help with this but opened this support question as I’ve got a similar problem.
But we decided to not do what you’re trying to do. Lead times due to Covid are all over the place. For eg UPS has stopped parcel deliveries to Australia completely – how do we put a lead time on that?
We decided that if we put a lead time on it the Customer would actually get more upset if it didn’t come in precisely that time frame.
We ended up putting a blanket notice on the front page of the website stating there was an issue, place a back order if you like and if you’re not happy waiting then we’re happy to refund you.
We’ve found Customers are EXTREMELY grumpy atm waiting for goods.

I know this doesn’t answer your question … just another perspective

Mirko P.
(@rainfallnixfig)

4 years, 7 months ago

Hi @megunticook,

There isn’t a built-in way to do that with WooCommerce. In this case, you can use a customized solution or a plugin. I found the following plugins that may interest you:

– Estimated Delivery Date & Time for WooCommerce
– WooCommerce Lead Time Plugin

Note that I haven’t tested those plugins, but you can get in touch with the plugin authors to ensure they meet your needs. For the plugin Estimated Delivery Date & Time for WooCommerce, since it’s a product sold in the WooCommerce.com marketplace, you can ask your questions here: https://woocommerce.com/contact-us/#sales-form.

Alternatively, you can consult with a developer who can help you create a custom solution.

I hope that this helps point you in the right direction. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Thread Starter Megunticook
(@megunticook)

4 years, 7 months ago

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll check out those plugins and report back with results.

Thread Starter Megunticook
(@megunticook)

4 years, 7 months ago

I ended up going with the “WooCommerce Lead Time” plugin and so far it’s testing out well.

One unresolved question: I’d like most products (and variations) to continue to show in the catalog when inventory reaches 0. So I’ve unchecked the box in WooCommerce Settings>Inventory labelled “Hide out of stock items from the catalog.”

But what if I still want certain products or variations to disappear when they’re out of stock? Is there any way to do that without using the global setting? I’m fine adding a PHP function to functions.php if that’s the best method.

MayKato
(@maykato)

4 years, 7 months ago

Hi @megunticook

what if I still want certain products or variations to disappear when they’re out of stock?

I’d ask the developer of WooCommerce Lead Time as there may be a way to hide specific products and variations when they are out of stock: https://barn2.com/support-center/

MayKato
(@maykato)

4 years, 7 months ago

Hi @megunticook

We’ve not heard back from you in a while, so I’m marking this thread as resolved. If you have further questions, please feel free to open a new topic.

Thread Starter Megunticook
(@megunticook)

4 years, 7 months ago

OK, thanks for your help.