Josiah
@josiahlau.substack.com
I help build and market products I'd proudly use as a first customer. https://linktr.ee/josiahlau
Early Bird - Preorders, Partial Pay & Back-in-Stock Alerts 🐦
Bloom - Order Delivery Date Picker 🚚
Relay - Custom Slack Notifications 🔔
Early Bird - Preorders, Partial Pay & Back-in-Stock Alerts 🐦
Bloom - Order Delivery Date Picker 🚚
Relay - Custom Slack Notifications 🔔
Jokes aside, I think the endless discounting and lack of pricing research are no different behaviours to how many Shopify merchants run their businesses though...
#Shopify #eCommerce #AI
#Shopify #eCommerce #AI
July 7, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Jokes aside, I think the endless discounting and lack of pricing research are no different behaviours to how many Shopify merchants run their businesses though...
#Shopify #eCommerce #AI
#Shopify #eCommerce #AI
In short, the AI lost money consistently but Anthropic believes this showed AI business managers are coming soon, as long as people put in better guardrails.
I wouldn’t mind if Woolies/Coles (supermarkets in Australia) used this AI right now and have everything on discount t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶s̶ 😂.
I wouldn’t mind if Woolies/Coles (supermarkets in Australia) used this AI right now and have everything on discount t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶s̶ 😂.
July 7, 2025 at 1:15 AM
In short, the AI lost money consistently but Anthropic believes this showed AI business managers are coming soon, as long as people put in better guardrails.
I wouldn’t mind if Woolies/Coles (supermarkets in Australia) used this AI right now and have everything on discount t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶s̶ 😂.
I wouldn’t mind if Woolies/Coles (supermarkets in Australia) used this AI right now and have everything on discount t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶s̶ 😂.
What it did well:
• Found suppliers efficiently (even for weird requests like a Tungsten alloy cube)
• Adapted to customer demands (Started stocking similar items to the alloy cube when it noticed there was a sales trend for this product category)
• Resisted attempts to make it misbehave
• Found suppliers efficiently (even for weird requests like a Tungsten alloy cube)
• Adapted to customer demands (Started stocking similar items to the alloy cube when it noticed there was a sales trend for this product category)
• Resisted attempts to make it misbehave
July 7, 2025 at 1:15 AM
What it did well:
• Found suppliers efficiently (even for weird requests like a Tungsten alloy cube)
• Adapted to customer demands (Started stocking similar items to the alloy cube when it noticed there was a sales trend for this product category)
• Resisted attempts to make it misbehave
• Found suppliers efficiently (even for weird requests like a Tungsten alloy cube)
• Adapted to customer demands (Started stocking similar items to the alloy cube when it noticed there was a sales trend for this product category)
• Resisted attempts to make it misbehave
What Claude got wrong:
• Ignored a $100 offer for $15 worth of products
• Sold items at a loss without researching costs
• Got manipulated into endless employee discounts
• Hallucinated fake payment accounts
• Never learned from its mistakes
• Ignored a $100 offer for $15 worth of products
• Sold items at a loss without researching costs
• Got manipulated into endless employee discounts
• Hallucinated fake payment accounts
• Never learned from its mistakes
July 7, 2025 at 1:15 AM
What Claude got wrong:
• Ignored a $100 offer for $15 worth of products
• Sold items at a loss without researching costs
• Got manipulated into endless employee discounts
• Hallucinated fake payment accounts
• Never learned from its mistakes
• Ignored a $100 offer for $15 worth of products
• Sold items at a loss without researching costs
• Got manipulated into endless employee discounts
• Hallucinated fake payment accounts
• Never learned from its mistakes
PS. If you're looking for deeper insights into your pre-order performance and inventory forecasts, you should pair it with a dedicated software like Profit Peak for advanced analytics.
(Their founders David and Carla are super knowledgable in #eCommerce profitability and inventory forecasting.)
(Their founders David and Carla are super knowledgable in #eCommerce profitability and inventory forecasting.)
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
PS. If you're looking for deeper insights into your pre-order performance and inventory forecasts, you should pair it with a dedicated software like Profit Peak for advanced analytics.
(Their founders David and Carla are super knowledgable in #eCommerce profitability and inventory forecasting.)
(Their founders David and Carla are super knowledgable in #eCommerce profitability and inventory forecasting.)
Our reporting features still have much room for improvement, but for now we’re focused on delivering the best pre-order experience for both our merchants and their shoppers.
What other campaign use cases come to your mind? 🤔
What other campaign use cases come to your mind? 🤔
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Our reporting features still have much room for improvement, but for now we’re focused on delivering the best pre-order experience for both our merchants and their shoppers.
What other campaign use cases come to your mind? 🤔
What other campaign use cases come to your mind? 🤔
Then on the reporting dashboard, you can:
📈 Compare product revenue
📊 View sales breakdown by units sold per variant
👀 Track pre-orders, shipping and deferred payments at a glance
📈 Compare product revenue
📊 View sales breakdown by units sold per variant
👀 Track pre-orders, shipping and deferred payments at a glance
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Then on the reporting dashboard, you can:
📈 Compare product revenue
📊 View sales breakdown by units sold per variant
👀 Track pre-orders, shipping and deferred payments at a glance
📈 Compare product revenue
📊 View sales breakdown by units sold per variant
👀 Track pre-orders, shipping and deferred payments at a glance
🌞 Deposit-based pre-orders for high-ticket items and services (e.g. solar installation, tattoo bookings, nutritional consulting)
🕯️ Weekly or monthly pre-order campaigns for products made in batches (e.g. consumables, hand-poured candles)
👕 Pre-orders when sold out (e.g. books & apparel)
🕯️ Weekly or monthly pre-order campaigns for products made in batches (e.g. consumables, hand-poured candles)
👕 Pre-orders when sold out (e.g. books & apparel)
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
🌞 Deposit-based pre-orders for high-ticket items and services (e.g. solar installation, tattoo bookings, nutritional consulting)
🕯️ Weekly or monthly pre-order campaigns for products made in batches (e.g. consumables, hand-poured candles)
👕 Pre-orders when sold out (e.g. books & apparel)
🕯️ Weekly or monthly pre-order campaigns for products made in batches (e.g. consumables, hand-poured candles)
👕 Pre-orders when sold out (e.g. books & apparel)
But like all startups, our customers showed us what and how they'd use it for their BAU business-as-usual:
🏄♂️ Pre-orders with long shipping times for high-demand products (e.g. collectibles, bikes, surfboards)
🛋️ Unlimited pre-orders for made-to-order products (e.g. custom jewellery & furniture)
🏄♂️ Pre-orders with long shipping times for high-demand products (e.g. collectibles, bikes, surfboards)
🛋️ Unlimited pre-orders for made-to-order products (e.g. custom jewellery & furniture)
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
But like all startups, our customers showed us what and how they'd use it for their BAU business-as-usual:
🏄♂️ Pre-orders with long shipping times for high-demand products (e.g. collectibles, bikes, surfboards)
🛋️ Unlimited pre-orders for made-to-order products (e.g. custom jewellery & furniture)
🏄♂️ Pre-orders with long shipping times for high-demand products (e.g. collectibles, bikes, surfboards)
🛋️ Unlimited pre-orders for made-to-order products (e.g. custom jewellery & furniture)
Our campaign builder was inspired by my time running Meta ads. Instead of a never-ending scrolling UI just to toggle your "Add to Cart" to "Pre-order Now", we designed it for structured, new product launches.
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Our campaign builder was inspired by my time running Meta ads. Instead of a never-ending scrolling UI just to toggle your "Add to Cart" to "Pre-order Now", we designed it for structured, new product launches.
But this is one of our biggest differentiators and our merchants have shown us just how beneficial it is for their sales and operations.
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
But this is one of our biggest differentiators and our merchants have shown us just how beneficial it is for their sales and operations.
That, on top of their ads agency and Klaviyo Partner driving quality traffic to the Earlwood preorder product pages efficiently, led to most of the stock selling out before they've even arrived at the warehouse.
It really does take a good team to execute a campaign perfectly.
#eCommerce
It really does take a good team to execute a campaign perfectly.
#eCommerce
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
That, on top of their ads agency and Klaviyo Partner driving quality traffic to the Earlwood preorder product pages efficiently, led to most of the stock selling out before they've even arrived at the warehouse.
It really does take a good team to execute a campaign perfectly.
#eCommerce
It really does take a good team to execute a campaign perfectly.
#eCommerce
...You can get discounts everywhere, but you can't get reliability and service many places these days, and that's what I've built the brand around. The family feel we also have is just the icing on the cake. :-)"
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
...You can get discounts everywhere, but you can't get reliability and service many places these days, and that's what I've built the brand around. The family feel we also have is just the icing on the cake. :-)"
"Earlwood (Equine) is a trustworthy brand, with a quality product, and I like to think excellent customer service. THAT is what gets people coming back again, more than discounts...
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
"Earlwood (Equine) is a trustworthy brand, with a quality product, and I like to think excellent customer service. THAT is what gets people coming back again, more than discounts...
Recently we worked on some pre-order campaigns for an equestrian brand here in Australia - I love the founder's quote on why sales came in instantly after the campaigns went live:
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Recently we worked on some pre-order campaigns for an equestrian brand here in Australia - I love the founder's quote on why sales came in instantly after the campaigns went live:
✔ Has solid knowledge about their best selling products (i.e. which ones to advertise more of.)
✔ Doesn't rely on discounts to sell pre-orders (otherwise, how much cash flow are you actually securing earlier)
✔ Customers are happy to pay in full upfront
✔ Doesn't rely on discounts to sell pre-orders (otherwise, how much cash flow are you actually securing earlier)
✔ Customers are happy to pay in full upfront
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
✔ Has solid knowledge about their best selling products (i.e. which ones to advertise more of.)
✔ Doesn't rely on discounts to sell pre-orders (otherwise, how much cash flow are you actually securing earlier)
✔ Customers are happy to pay in full upfront
✔ Doesn't rely on discounts to sell pre-orders (otherwise, how much cash flow are you actually securing earlier)
✔ Customers are happy to pay in full upfront
Occasionally we meet merchants who's got it all sorted already:
✔ Understands the importance of distribution (driving traffic to the pre-order pages)
✔ Brings their marketing agency, Klaviyo partner, and our team together to work towards the same outcome
✔ Understands the importance of distribution (driving traffic to the pre-order pages)
✔ Brings their marketing agency, Klaviyo partner, and our team together to work towards the same outcome
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Occasionally we meet merchants who's got it all sorted already:
✔ Understands the importance of distribution (driving traffic to the pre-order pages)
✔ Brings their marketing agency, Klaviyo partner, and our team together to work towards the same outcome
✔ Understands the importance of distribution (driving traffic to the pre-order pages)
✔ Brings their marketing agency, Klaviyo partner, and our team together to work towards the same outcome
We're not the first preorder app on the Shopify App Store, but I dare say we're one of the few who heavily invests in learning how to provide an amazing user (merchant) experience. 😎
February 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
We're not the first preorder app on the Shopify App Store, but I dare say we're one of the few who heavily invests in learning how to provide an amazing user (merchant) experience. 😎
This has been well-received by our merchants since it saves their warehouse and packing teams time to investigate and track each order (also other apps tend to just set their pre-orders simply as "Unfulfilled")!
February 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
This has been well-received by our merchants since it saves their warehouse and packing teams time to investigate and track each order (also other apps tend to just set their pre-orders simply as "Unfulfilled")!
🔒 "On Hold": For certain types of stores, customers tend to prefer to wait for all items to be shipped together. "On Hold" status indicates that the items in their order are reserved, but not ready to be fulfilled yet. Also commonly used for mixed cart orders for unknown fulfillment dates.
February 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
🔒 "On Hold": For certain types of stores, customers tend to prefer to wait for all items to be shipped together. "On Hold" status indicates that the items in their order are reserved, but not ready to be fulfilled yet. Also commonly used for mixed cart orders for unknown fulfillment dates.
📦 "Unfulfilled": These are still pre-orders, but indicates to that the order is ready for fulfillment soon or immediately. Usually for pre-orders where the stock is arriving within a week or two. Commonly used for mixed cart orders (i.e. when a customer orders an in-stock item and a pre-order item).
February 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
📦 "Unfulfilled": These are still pre-orders, but indicates to that the order is ready for fulfillment soon or immediately. Usually for pre-orders where the stock is arriving within a week or two. Commonly used for mixed cart orders (i.e. when a customer orders an in-stock item and a pre-order item).