Taking Valentine's Pre-Orders for One Fixed Day

To take Valentine’s pre-orders for one fixed day, decide the number you can make before you open, take payment when the customer orders, show the delivery or collection window on the page, and close the page on a set date with a “sold out” message ready. This guide is for the seller: a florist, baker or gift maker who earns a large share of a month’s sales on one date. Valentine’s Day in 2027 is Sunday 14 February.

If you did a Christmas order book, you have done part of this already. The difference is that Christmas stretches over weeks and Valentine’s lands on one day. There is no slack to spread a late order into, so the cap and the cut-off matter more than anything else on the page.

What do you have to decide before you open pre-orders?

Five things, in this order, and the order matters because each one limits the next.

Most people start with the page and work backwards. Start with the cap, because every other line on the page is a consequence of it.

How many pre-orders should you accept?

Fewer than you think you can manage, because the day itself is when anything that can go wrong will. Here is a worked example with every assumption stated, so you can swap in your own.

Say a one-person florist can make a bunch in about twenty minutes. She has a day and a half of making time before the 14th, after the shop, the school run and restocking. That is roughly nine working hours, or twenty-seven bunches. She takes off a margin of about a fifth for the ones that need redoing and for the walk-in customers she will not turn away, and lands on twenty-two. Twenty-two goes on the page. These numbers are made up to show the method. The answer for your business is yours.

Should customers pay when they order?

Yes, for a one-day order, and in full. An unpaid pre-order is a hope. A paid one is a commitment from both sides, and it gives you the true count of what you have promised. If you have not set up online payment, the guide on taking card payments on your website covers the options for a small seller.

Say plainly, before they pay, what happens if they change their mind. Distance selling gives most customers a right to cancel, and the government’s guidance on online and distance selling says you must tell them they can cancel up to 14 days after the goods are delivered, with no reason needed. For a Valentine’s order that sits oddly with the date, so it is worth knowing there are exceptions.

Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 lists goods “made to the consumer’s specifications or … clearly personalised” and goods “liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly” among the supplies where the right to cancel does not apply. Whether your product counts depends on what it is, so read the regulation against your own goods and, if in doubt, ask Trading Standards. This is a guide to what the rules say, not legal advice.

What happens if a Valentine’s order arrives late?

The customer may be entitled to treat the contract as at an end, because for a date-specific order the date is often essential. Under section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, where delivery at the agreed time is “essential” taking into account all the relevant circumstances when the contract was made, or the customer told you beforehand that it was, they can treat the contract as at an end if you miss it.

Flowers for the 14th are close to the clearest example of a date that is essential rather than preferred. That is why the page should show the date and window beside the price, and why you should stop taking orders while you can still keep the promise. The same section sets a default of no more than 30 days where nothing is agreed, which is no help here. Agree the day.

How do you word a sold-out message?

Write it before you open, while you are calm. Put it on the page when you reach your cap, and keep a copy for messages. Something like this does the job:

It closes the door, gives the reason, and points the customer somewhere useful instead of leaving a dead end. If you would rather not run a list of names in a notebook, a small form on a page of your own does the same job and writes each order down the same way.

What should the pre-order page say?

• The date and the window. “Delivered on Sunday 14 February between 9am and 1pm” beats “Valentine’s delivery”.
• The cut-off. The last day you take orders, written as a date.
• The price, and what it includes. Delivery, wrapping and a card, all stated before payment.
• What happens if no one is in. A short line saves a long message on the day.
• The remaining count. Optional, but a plain “six left” is honest and does more than any urgency banner.

The wider lessons about a cut-off and a capacity are the same ones in the guide to opening a Christmas order book, which is worth reading if you have not set one up. If you are still deciding whether a seasonal page needs a site of its own, start with where to start with a first website.

We build the whole site for free, you look round it, and you only pay if you want to keep it. Setup is from £495, then from £69 a month. If your order window opens in a few weeks and there is nowhere for the orders to land, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Can I let people pay a deposit instead of the full price?

You can, but for a one-day order the full price up front is simpler. A deposit leaves you chasing a balance in the busiest week of your year. If you do take deposits, say on the page what they cover and what happens to them if the customer cancels.

Does this work for Mother’s Day as well?

Yes. It is the same decision with a different date: one day that cannot move, a number you can make, and a cut-off that leaves room for the things that go wrong. Reuse the page and change the dates.