Pre-Order Meaning: Shopee Example & How It Works [2026]

What does pre-order mean? A pre-order is a purchase made before a product is available to ship — the buyer pays now and receives the item once stock arrives, usually 7-30 days later. On Shopee, a pre-order listing is marked with a Days to Ship (DTS) of 7-15 days so the buyer knows dispatch is delayed; on Lazada it’s flagged as “Pre-Order” with an expected shipping date. The pre-order meaning is the same across ecommerce: buy first, ship later — used by sellers to validate demand, secure revenue upfront, and avoid dead stock.