Not every webshop order should charge a card immediately. Businesses selling made-to-order products, local delivery, installation, wholesale quantities, or price-on-request items often need to confirm details before accepting payment.
What inquiry checkout does
The visitor browses products, adds items to a cart, enters contact details, and submits an order enquiry. The business receives the requested products and customer information, then confirms availability, delivery, customization, and final price directly.
This is not the same as a paid order. The interface must label it clearly so the customer does not believe money moved or stock was reserved.
When inquiry checkout is a good fit
Use it when:
- final price depends on measurements, quantity, installation, or delivery;
- products are made to order;
- stock is confirmed manually;
- the business wants to approve every order before payment;
- a sales conversation is part of the buying process.
When direct card checkout is better
Use a mature ecommerce platform with direct payment when products have stable prices, accurate inventory, known shipping rules, tax handling, returns, and automated fulfilment. A high-volume standard catalog usually benefits from immediate checkout.
What Apex Webshop currently includes
The self-serve Apex Webshop is a hosted inquiry storefront. It includes templates, product images and SKUs, CSV catalog import and export, cart, inquiry checkout, order inbox, email notifications, FAQ content, and Product and Offer structured data.
It does not currently promise direct card payments, inventory tracking, variants, shipping automation, tax calculation, warehouses, or replacement of Shopify or WooCommerce. Those are different product requirements and should be scoped honestly.
How to make the hand-off clear
The submit button should say that it sends an enquiry, not that it pays. The confirmation page should explain when the business will reply and what still needs confirmation. The business should then respond with availability, final price, delivery details, and the next payment step.
Explore the Apex Webshop or use the fit check to decide whether inquiry checkout or an external ecommerce platform is the better match.