Like subscriptions, pre-orders and try-before-you-buy are Shopify purchase options. Shopify does not allow a product with a purchase option to be used inside a bundle, so in most cases a pre-order product cannot be a bundle component. See Shopify's bundle eligibility and considerations.
Pre-order apps work in one of two ways, and this decides compatibility:
Apps that use Shopify selling plans / purchase options to create the pre-order make the product ineligible as a bundle component. This is the most common approach.
Apps (or app modes) that keep a normal cart line and simply relabel the button, relying on Shopify's "continue selling when out of stock", do not attach a purchase option, so the product can stay bundle-eligible.
Timesact - requires a Shopify selling plan for every pre-order product, even in full-payment mode. See Timesact: creating a selling plan. Not compatible as a bundle component.
PreProduct - uses Shopify deferred purchase options and its own managed checkout. See PreProduct: how pre-orders work. Not compatible as a bundle component.
Preorder Now (by Globo) - offers two modes. Its Legacy Model keeps a normal cart line with no selling plan and may work in a bundle; its Selling Plan Model (and partial payments) attaches a purchase option and does not. See Globo: selling plan and legacy model. Depends on the mode.
Purple Dot - uses its own separate checkout rather than a standard Shopify cart line. See Purple Dot docs. Not compatible as a bundle component.
Note: How pre-order apps work can change and is outside our control. Check each app's own documentation, and contact its support, to confirm whether it uses Shopify selling plans or purchase options (which cannot be used inside a bundle).
You may not need a pre-order app at all. If your goal is simply to keep a bundle available when a component is temporarily out of stock, set that component to continue selling when out of stock in Shopify. This does not attach a purchase option, so the product stays eligible for bundles, and the bundle will not show as sold out for that item. For how bundle availability works, see [How does inventory work with Product Bundles?].
Use a pre-order setup that does not rely on Shopify purchase options (for example Globo's Legacy Model, or Shopify's continue-selling option) if the product must work inside a bundle.
Otherwise, sell the pre-order product separately from your bundles.
Not sure which mode your app uses? Reach out with the app name and your store URL and we will help you check.
