Timpano Percussion
Timpano Percussion needed a more reliable way to manage stock availability across a catalogue with varying pre-order lead times. Across several Shopify development projects, we refined their pre-order setup, automated product template switching and rebuilt their availability badges and filters. The result was a more joined-up, Shopify-native system that responds to inventory changes, communicates product availability more clearly and reduces manual catalogue management.
The challenge.
Managing availability was more complex than simply marking products in or out of stock. Timpano Percussion needed to offer six different pre-order delivery estimates, ranging from 1–2 weeks to 5–6 months, while ensuring unique, second-hand and genuinely unavailable products were never incorrectly offered for pre-order. Parts of the existing setup relied on legacy product tags and custom JavaScript, creating inconsistent availability badges and unreliable filtering, particularly between collections and search results. The challenge was to connect product templates, inventory, badges and filters into a dependable workflow without disrupting the live storefront or introducing more manual administration.
Built to
last.
Flexible pre-order templates and lead times
We extended the existing pre-order setup to support six distinct estimated delivery windows, from 1–2 weeks through to 5–6 months. A custom product metafield lets the team select the appropriate pre-order template for each product, providing a structured way to manage different lead times without continually editing theme code or manually switching templates.
Inventory-driven template automation
We developed Shopify Flow automations that use inventory changes and product metafield values to assign the correct Shopify product template. Products can move between their standard purchasing experience and their selected pre-order template as availability changes. We also refined the fallback rules to prevent standard sold-out items, including one-of-a-kind and second-hand products, from becoming available for pre-order unintentionally.
Availability badges customers can trust
When the existing pre-order badges began showing inconsistent information, we traced the issue to outdated product tags and conflicting Flow configuration. We rebuilt the badge logic around each product's assigned Shopify template instead of legacy tags, aligning the storefront labels with the automated pre-order workflow. This removed the need for manual pre-order tagging and helped ensure customers see the appropriate pre-order or sold-out status.
Reliable, Shopify-native availability filtering
We replaced an unreliable custom JavaScript filtering implementation with native filters configured through Shopify Search & Discovery. A dedicated product availability metafield now powers three clear choices: In Stock, Pre-order and Out of Stock. We connected that metafield to Shopify Flow so the value responds to inventory changes, and created a temporary bulk-update workflow to populate existing catalogue data. The approach also addressed the earlier collection-only limitation that caused inconsistent results on search pages.
Careful rollout and ongoing guidance
Across the engagements, we diagnosed conflicts between inventory settings, templates, product tags and custom code. Changes were implemented and tested using duplicate themes before being introduced to the live store. We also advised the team on inventory tracking, overselling permissions, metafield configuration, safe removal of obsolete tags and the considerations involved in carrying customisations forward to newer theme versions.
The outcome.
Across projects completed between January 2025 and March 2026, we turned a fragmented availability setup into a more maintainable Shopify workflow. Inventory-driven automation now supports multiple pre-order lead times, product template changes and availability labels, while native Search & Discovery filters help customers distinguish immediately available products from pre-orders and sold-out items. For the Timpano team, the changes reduce repetitive template and tagging work and provide a clearer foundation for managing future stock changes. No unsupported revenue or conversion improvements are claimed.
More to explore.
Have a similar project in mind?
Whether you need a new store, a custom feature or ongoing Shopify support, we'd love to hear about your project.
Start a project