A guide for anyone who teaches
How to add a waiting list for a full class on Shopify
A full class is good news, until the same three people email to ask if anyone dropped out. A waiting list turns those emails into a short list you can act on, and it often fills the seat that a late cancellation would have left empty. This guide covers how to add a waiting list for a full class on Shopify by hand, how to keep it fair, and what to do when a seat opens. The last part shows how Still Works Class Booking runs the list for you.
1. What plain Shopify does with a full class
When a class date runs out of seats, Shopify marks it sold out and the button stops working. That is all. Shopify has no built-in waiting list and does not send "back in stock" emails. The guest leaves, and you never learn they wanted in.
This only works at all if the seats are counted. Open the class product, and on the date's variant make sure Track quantity is on, the quantity is your seat count, and Continue selling when out of stock is off. Without that, a full class keeps selling.
2. Collecting names
The simplest list is a line on the product page and a form. In your admin, go to Online Store, then Themes, then Customize, and open the class product template. Add a text block under the buy button that says something like: "Sold out? Tell us which date and we will email you if a seat opens." Link it to your contact page, or add a contact form section, and ask for three things:
| Ask for | Why |
|---|---|
| Name and email | So you can reach them the moment a seat opens. |
| Which date | A list for "any Saturday" is hard to use. One date per request keeps it clear. |
| How many seats | A couple cannot take one open seat. Knowing this saves an awkward email. |
Each request lands in your email. Copy it into a sheet with the date, the time it came in, and the seat count. The time matters, because it decides who hears first.
3. When a seat opens
- Cancel or refund the guest who dropped out, from their order in Orders.
- Add the seat back: open the class product and raise that date's quantity by one.
- Email the waiting list for that date.
For step 3 you have two fair choices. Pick one and say which on the product page, so nobody feels skipped.
| Way | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| First in line | Email only the first person and hold the seat for a set time, like until 6 pm. If they pass, go to the next. | Small lists, when you can watch your email. |
| Everyone at once | Email everyone waiting with the link. The first to buy gets it. | Busy weeks, and seats that open the day before. |
Holding a seat in plain Shopify means keeping its quantity at 0 until the person replies, then raising it, or making them a draft order with Orders, Drafts, and sending the invoice. Both work, but both take your time, and a seat that opens the night before is often gone before you see the email.
4. A long list is a new date
If eight people are waiting for one seat, the seat is not the answer. Add a new date, then email everyone on the list with the link before you post it anywhere else. They asked first, so they hear first.
The same steps in Still Works Class Booking
In Still Works Class Booking, the waiting list is part of the date picker on the product page. When a date fills, it shows as full and cannot be picked. Below the picker, the guest sees that the date is full and a button, Tell me if a seat opens. A guest who is signed in to your store just presses it. Anyone else types their email first. They are told: "You are on the list. If a seat opens, we email you." If several dates are full, they choose which one.
A seat opens when a guest cancels from their booking inside your cancel window, moves to another date, has their seats refunded in full or their order cancelled in Shopify, or when you raise the seats on that date under Change this date. Each hour the app checks every full date with people waiting. When there is room, it emails everyone waiting on that date once, with the subject "A seat opened" and a link to the class. It is first come, first served at your checkout, so you never have to hold a seat or chase a reply. Someone who misses out can ask again and gets a new turn. The list only runs while that date is still selling, so nobody is told about a seat after your cutoff.
You can see the list too. On the class's page under Classes, each date shows how many are waiting and their emails, with an Email them link that opens your own email with everyone in the BCC line. That is the quick way to fill a new date. Today shows the same count next to each class. When a guest cancels, the email the app sends you says the seat is back on sale and the waiting list will be told within the hour.
The waiting list is on every plan, including the free plan for up to 4 class dates a month. The app is on the Shopify App Store.
Related guides
Where to go from here
The Still Works Class Booking page has the plain description of what the app does and does not do. If something here does not match what you see, email the studio and it gets fixed the same business day.