Starting with Sytist 3.1 is a new & best way for doing pre-order sales. The new way allows you to use your price lists that you use for your galleries and customers will order the products like they would from a gallery but without any photos.
Some highlights of using this method for pre-orders are:
- Easily create a pre-order page for each school or event.
- You can use the early bird special
- You can require customers to select products out of one product group (like a package) before they can select other products.
- Customers can purchase a la cart items like single prints.
- You can set an expiration date.
- You can view total sales & orders by selecting the Stats / Sales tab in the pre-order page.
- Products will export like products on regular gallery orders
- Ask for additional information like child's name at checkout.
How to set up a pre-order
Create a client gallery
This can be in the section that you would normally create galleries in or you can create a new section for pre-orders. If creating a new section for pre-orders, click client/event galleries in the new section wizard.
Set it to Pre-Order & Select Your Price List
When in the Text & Settings tab in the gallery, on the right side of the page click the Pre-Order option and check the option to enable pre-ordering.You can also select the price list you want to use.
Do Not Password Protect
Since there will be no photos in this gallery while pre-ordering, you don't need to password protect it.
And that is pretty much it.
Additional Options & Information
Ask For Addition Order Information at Checkout
If you want to capture information like child's name, grade, etc... when viewing your price list in Photo Products -> Price Lists, select the "additional order fields / options" link. There you can create additional fields to be filled out when the customer is checking out.
This additional options can also be exported with ordered products. See this page for more information.
Pre-Order and coming back to select photos or not
In your price list settings in Photo Products -> Price Lists -> Edit Settings for the price list, there is an option if the customer will be returning later to select photos for their pre-orders.
If you want them to select photos for the products they purchased when the photos become available, set it to yes. When set to yes, the products they purchased will automatically be added to their cart and will be there for them to select photos for when the photos become available.
How to Require a Selection of a Package Before Other Products Can Be Selected
In your price lists you can create product groups. Have a product group for your packages that they would have to select a package from. Edit that product group and check the option "Require a selection from this group before the can select products from other groups".
Option when editing a product group in your price list.
Exporting Ordered Products
Here is information on exporting products on orders. To export orders just from a certain pre-order page, view that page in the admin and click the Stats & Sales tab then you can export just those orders.