A backorder is an order accepted for an item that is not currently in stock, to be fulfilled when supply arrives. It is a commercial choice rather than an error: you are asking a customer to wait in exchange for not losing the sale. Whether it works depends almost entirely on whether you give them a real date and keep them informed.
In more detail
The decision to accept backorders is a trade. You keep revenue you would otherwise lose and take on an obligation with a date attached, plus the support load that comes with it.
It goes wrong in a predictable way. The order is accepted, nothing visible happens, the customer assumes it is coming, and by the time anyone communicates the relationship has already deteriorated. The delay is rarely what causes the complaint; the silence is.
Backorders on an item with an unknown restock date are usually worse than declining the sale. A date you cannot give is a date the customer will invent, and theirs will be sooner than yours.
Where people get it wrong
- Accepting them without a supplier date. If you cannot say when, you are not offering a backorder, you are holding money against a hope.
- Not distinguishing them in the fulfilment queue. They look like normal unfulfilled orders and age quietly.
- Charging in full immediately without saying so. Legal in most places, and a common source of disputes when unexplained.
- No cancellation route. A customer who cannot easily cancel raises a chargeback instead, which costs you more.
Common questions
Is a backorder the same as a stuck shipment?
No. A backorder is stock that does not exist yet, so the constraint is supply and the conversation is about a date. A stuck shipment is stock that exists and has left but is not arriving, so the constraint is the carrier.
Should I take backorders?
Only when you can give a real date from the supplier and can flag the order distinctly in your queue. Without both, declining the sale usually costs less than the support load and disputes that follow.
When should the customer be told?
Before they order if possible, and the same day if not. Give the expected date and an easy way to cancel. Silence is what turns a delay into a complaint.