> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pocketsflow.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pre-orders & waitlists

> Launch before your product is ready: collect a waitlist, or take pre-orders that unlock on release day.

You don't have to wait until a product is finished to start selling it. Every
one-time product has an **Availability** setting with three options:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Available now" icon="bolt">
    The default. Buyers pay and get the product straight away.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pre-order" icon="calendar">
    Buyers pay now at the normal price. The content unlocks on the release
    date you set.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Waitlist" icon="envelope">
    No checkout. The product page shows **Coming soon** and collects emails
    instead of payments.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Set it in the product editor, under **Availability**. Existing products stay
**Available now**; nothing changes until you pick something else.

## Waitlists

Use a waitlist to test demand or build an audience before you've priced or
built the product.

* The product page and its storefront card say **Coming soon**. The buy button
  is replaced by a **Join the waitlist** email form. There is no checkout.
* Visitors can also tick a box to get your newsletter. Only those who tick it
  are added to your audience (tagged `waitlist`); everyone else is on the
  product's waitlist only.
* The waitlist is in the editor, under **Availability**: the count, every
  signup with its date, and **Export CSV**.
* When you switch the product to **Available now** (or **Pre-order**), everyone
  on the waitlist gets one email with a link to the product page. You can also
  press **Notify waitlist** at any time after that. Each person is emailed at
  most once, however many times you press it.
* Addresses that bounced, reported spam, or unsubscribed from your emails after
  joining are skipped. Each email has a link to leave the waitlist.

## Pre-orders

Use a pre-order to get paid while you finish the product.

* Pick **Pre-order** and set a **release date** (in the future, at most two
  years away). You can save a pre-order before you've uploaded the file; you
  just can't release it without one.
* The product page and checkout say **Pre-order — available** followed by the
  date. Buyers pay the normal price, and their receipt says when the product
  will be ready.
* Until release, buyers see the purchase in **My purchases** as **Available
  on** the release date. Files, links and course lessons stay locked; the
  lock is enforced on our servers, not just hidden in the page.
* On the release date the product switches to **Available now**, the content
  unlocks, and every pre-order buyer gets one **Your pre-order is ready**
  email with a link to their purchase.
* Ready early? Press **Release now** in the editor (or pick **Available now**
  and save) to release it straight away.

<Note>
  Pre-orders are for one-time products. Subscriptions start billing the day
  someone subscribes, and a credits pack is a balance granted at purchase, so
  neither can be pre-ordered.
</Note>

## Over the API

Products carry two fields in the [REST API](/api-reference/endpoints):

| Field | Type | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| `availability` | `available` \| `preorder` \| `waitlist` | Defaults to `available` |
| `releaseAt` | ISO 8601 date-time | Required when `availability` is `preorder` |

Create or update a pre-order with both fields:

```bash theme={"system"}
curl -X POST https://api.pocketsflow.com/products/update/PRODUCT_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"availability": "preorder", "releaseAt": "2026-11-20T09:00:00Z"}'
```

Set `availability` to `available` to release a pre-order or open a waitlist.


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