# Inventory policy

> Inventory policy is the setting that decides whether a Shopify variant stops selling at zero or keeps going.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/inventory-policy/
- Also called: Continue selling when out of stock
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Tom Beckwith, Engineer, Store Standards

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Two values. Stop selling at zero, or carry on and let the number go negative.

## The two settings people confuse

[Inventory tracking](https://storestandards.com/glossary/inventory-tracking/) decides whether Shopify
counts at all. Inventory policy decides what happens when the count hits zero.

Turning tracking off to keep a product on sale throws the count away. Changing
the policy keeps it, and lets the number go below zero where you can see it.

## When to allow it

- A [preorder](https://storestandards.com/glossary/preorder/) with a real ship date
- Stock you know is on a van, on a
  [purchase order](https://storestandards.com/glossary/purchase-order/) you have already raised
- Made to order, where there is nothing to count

Negative stock is then a to-do list, not an error.

## Where it goes wrong

It gets left on. A line sells two hundred past zero over a bank holiday,
nobody looks until Tuesday, and there is no supplier delivery that can cover
it. Every one of those is a refund and an apology.

Check which variants allow it before every peak. The other fault is switching
it on to hide a [stockout](https://storestandards.com/glossary/stockout/) rather than to promise a date.
A customer will wait for a date. They will not wait for silence.

## Related terms

- [Backorder](https://storestandards.com/glossary/backorder/): A backorder is an order for something you do not have in stock yet, taken on the promise that it is coming.
- [Inventory tracking](https://storestandards.com/glossary/inventory-tracking/): Inventory tracking is the setting that tells Shopify to count a variant. With it off, Shopify holds no quantity at all.
- [Stockout](https://storestandards.com/glossary/stockout/): A stockout is running out of something a customer wanted to buy. The lost sale is usually the smallest part of the cost.