Partial payment for bespoke products, phone orders and invoices

Sell bespoke products on Shopify using deposits


Collect a deposit before production begins on custom, bespoke and made-to-order products. This guide covers three ways to do it: draft orders, checkout links and unlisted product pages. Commonly used by jewelry brands, bridal designers and furniture makers.


On this page


Overview


Choosing a method


Method 1: Draft orders


Method 2: Deposit checkout links


Method 3: Unlisted product pages


Phone orders and sales-assisted checkout



Overview


Many Shopify brands sell bespoke or custom products that require a deposit before production begins. Common examples include:


  • Custom engagement rings and fine jewelry
  • Wedding dresses and bridal wear
  • Made-to-order furniture
  • Personalized or commissioned goods


All three methods in this guide let you:


  • Collect a deposit before work begins
  • Store your customer's payment method for the remaining balance
  • Keep orders and payments fully tracked in Shopify
  • Avoid duplicate orders and manual discounting


Shopify B2B (company) orders aren't supported. Contact us with your use case so we can submit a feature request to Shopify.


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Choosing a method


Method

Best for

Draft orders

Quotes and phone orders you build in your admin, where the customer never needs to visit your storefront.

Checkout links

Sending a customer straight to checkout by email, SMS or DM, with no product page needed.

Unlisted product pages

Giving your customer a real product page to review before they pay, kept hidden from your storefront.


Method 1: Draft orders


Build the order in your Shopify admin, send your customer a secure link to add a card, then charge the deposit and the remaining balance from the order page. No checkout is needed.


This is the closest match to how most bespoke brands already quote, since you can add custom line items, shipping and discounts before anything is charged.


Read the full walkthrough: Deposits and partial payments on draft orders.


Your Downpay deposit purchase options don't apply to draft orders. You choose the deposit amount when you charge it.


If you're not on Shopify Plus, Shopify authorizes the full order total before capturing the deposit, so large orders can fail. The guide covers the workaround.



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Checkout links are the fastest way to collect a deposit at checkout without creating a public product page.



Downpay integrates with the Checkout Links app to generate custom checkout URLs that include a deposit. You can:


  • Preload the exact product
  • Apply discounts or incentives
  • Have the deposit purchase option already selected
  • Send a single link by email, SMS or DM


Read the Checkout Links integration guide.



Some merchants enable a private checkout link button inside an unpublished theme so their sales team can generate deposit checkout links without leaving Shopify.


For an overview, watch this video walkthrough.


Interested in this workflow? Contact us for setup assistance.


Method 3: Unlisted product pages


Use this when you want your customer to see a real product page, with photos and details, before they pay.


You create a product that:


  • Feels bespoke to your customer
  • Is hidden from your storefront and search engines
  • Has a deposit purchase option attached via Downpay
  • Is shared only with the intended customer


Create an unlisted product


  1. Create a new product in your Shopify admin.
  2. Set the product status to Unlisted.
  3. Add a product tag such as downpay.
  4. Click Save.


Unlisted products aren't indexed by search engines, don't appear in collections or storefront search, and can only be reached through their direct URL.


Some third-party apps may still surface unlisted products. See Shopify's documentation for details.


Create a deposit purchase option in Downpay


This section assumes Downpay is already installed and enabled on your theme.


  1. Open the Downpay app in your Shopify admin.
  2. Click Create purchase option.
  3. Name it something like Bespoke deposit.
  4. Select Tags as the product selection method.
  5. Choose the downpay tag.
  6. Set your deposit amount and type.
  7. Configure the remaining balance due date.
  8. Click Save.


To reuse this purchase option across all bespoke products, set the due date to a number of days after checkout, such as 90 days. You can adjust the checkout messaging using Downpay's date language tools.


Share the product with your customer


Before sharing, preview the product to confirm the deposit option is visible, and confirm the product isn't publicly accessible.


  1. Open the product in your Shopify admin.
  2. Click Share.
  3. Send the private product link to your customer.


Once your customer checks out, the order appears in Shopify as partially paid, their payment method is stored, and you can collect the remaining balance later.


After checkout, you can archive or delete the bespoke product if you want.


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Phone orders and sales-assisted checkout


You have two options for phone orders.


  • Draft orders. Build the order in your admin and email your customer a link to add their card. Best when you're building a custom quote. See Method 1.
  • Checkout on their behalf. Place the order through your storefront yourself using a checkout link or unlisted product. Best when the product already exists and you have their card details in hand.


Both store your customer's payment method so you can charge the remaining balance later.


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Updated on: 17/09/2026

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