Early Bird: Preorder & Restock and Preorder | Notify Me Timesact are both Shopify apps that help merchants capture sales through preorders, back-in-stock notifications, and waitlists. Early Bird positions itself as a flexible solution for preorder campaigns, backorders, and automated payment collection, catering specifically to coming soon launches, seasonal drops, and made-to-order items with long lead times. It emphasizes forecasting demand and avoiding inventory costs. Preorder | Notify Me Timesact, on the other hand, focuses on creating hype and capturing presales, with a broader feature set including order tagging, pre-order badges, and countdown timers. Its guided onboarding suggests it aims for users who prefer more hands-on support. The key difference lies in the scale and target audience. Early Bird appears to be geared towards smaller to medium-sized businesses seeking a robust solution for managing complex preorder scenarios, whereas Preorder | Notify Me Timesact seems designed for a wider range of merchants, including those newer to preorders, based on their guided onboarding process. The substantial difference in the number of reviews (38 vs 1647) indicates a significant disparity in user base and market penetration. While both apps offer partial payment options and email notifications, Early Bird highlights automated deferred payment collection and managing shipment delays/early arrivals more prominently.
38 reviews
1,647 reviews
Run preorder campaigns with partial pay, take backorders & send back-in-stock alerts to secure sales
Capture Presales & Build Waitlists with Pre orders, Restock Alerts & Back in Stock Notifications
| Rating | 4.9/5 | 5/5 |
Rating Early Bird: Preorder & Restock4.9/5 Preorder | Notify Me Timesact5/5 | ||
| Reviews | 38 | 1647 |
Reviews Early Bird: Preorder & Restock38 Preorder | Notify Me Timesact1647 | ||
| Key Focus | Complex Preorder Management & Demand Forecasting | Creating Hype & Capturing Presales with Broader Features |
Key Focus Early Bird: Preorder & RestockComplex Preorder Management & Demand Forecasting Preorder | Notify Me TimesactCreating Hype & Capturing Presales with Broader Features | ||
| Payment Flexibility | Partial Pay, $0 Deposits, Auto-Collection | Partial Payments |
Payment Flexibility Early Bird: Preorder & RestockPartial Pay, $0 Deposits, Auto-Collection Preorder | Notify Me TimesactPartial Payments | ||
| Support | Not Specified | Video Call Onboarding, Email & Chat Support |
Support Early Bird: Preorder & RestockNot Specified Preorder | Notify Me TimesactVideo Call Onboarding, Email & Chat Support | ||
| Email Functionality | Shipment Delays/Arrivals, Expected Delivery Dates | Automated Pre Order Emails & Restock Alerts |
Email Functionality Early Bird: Preorder & RestockShipment Delays/Arrivals, Expected Delivery Dates Preorder | Notify Me TimesactAutomated Pre Order Emails & Restock Alerts | ||
| Inventory Control | Implicit through features | Turn pre orders & restocks on/off based on inventory levels |
Inventory Control Early Bird: Preorder & RestockImplicit through features Preorder | Notify Me TimesactTurn pre orders & restocks on/off based on inventory levels | ||
| Target Merchant | Brands with seasonal drops or made-to-order items with long lead times | General e-commerce stores seeking preorder and back-in-stock functionality |
Target Merchant Early Bird: Preorder & RestockBrands with seasonal drops or made-to-order items with long lead times Preorder | Notify Me TimesactGeneral e-commerce stores seeking preorder and back-in-stock functionality | ||
| Badges | Not Specified | Stylish pre-order badges |
Badges Early Bird: Preorder & RestockNot Specified Preorder | Notify Me TimesactStylish pre-order badges | ||
For merchants prioritizing comprehensive preorder campaign management, automated deferred payments, and managing complex shipping scenarios, Early Bird: Preorder & Restock is likely the better choice, despite having fewer reviews. Its focus on forecasting demand and handling unique product cycles like seasonal drops gives it an edge for specialized businesses.
However, for the majority of Shopify merchants seeking a user-friendly and widely adopted solution for capturing preorders and back-in-stock notifications, Preorder | Notify Me Timesact is the preferable option. Its significantly higher number of reviews suggests greater market confidence, and the guided onboarding provides valuable support for new users. It also has more customization options, such as badges and timers.
Preorder | Notify Me Timesact offers guided video call onboarding, suggesting it's designed for ease of setup, especially for less experienced users. Early Bird doesn't mention guided onboarding explicitly.
Early Bird mentions automated collection of deferred payments and supporting $0 deposits, indicating a more robust partial payment system than Preorder | Notify Me Timesact, which only mentions partial payments generally.
With 1647 reviews versus 38, Preorder | Notify Me Timesact has substantially more social proof, potentially indicating greater reliability and fewer bugs.
Early Bird explicitly mentions it's perfect for made-to-order items with long lead times, suggesting its features are tailored for this use case more than Preorder | Notify Me Timesact.
Preorder | Notify Me Timesact is likely better for new stores due to the guided onboarding and larger user base, providing more readily available support and community resources.
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