Raise prices automatically as stock runs low with Stock-based Pricing
Turn on Stock-based Pricing to charge more for a product as its remaining stock falls, with a live preview of what the ladder charges right now.
Scarcity sells. Stock-based Pricing raises a product's price step by step as its stock runs down, so the last few units of something popular sell for more than the first few – automatically, everywhere it's sold.
How the ladder works
You set one or more steps: a stock threshold and a percentage the price rises by once a variant's remaining stock falls to or below it.
| When stock is at or below | Price rises by |
|---|---|
| 20 | 10% |
| 5 | 25% |
A variant with 30 in stock sells at its normal price. Once it drops to 20, it jumps 10%. Once it drops to 5, it jumps 25% (not 10% + 25% – only the tightest step that applies counts). Each lower threshold has to raise the price further than the one above it, so the ladder always climbs as stock shrinks.
Turn it on
Stock-based Pricing is included on the Pro plan at no extra cost. On a lower plan, opening the settings page prompts you to upgrade instead.
Open Settings → Modules → Stock-based Pricing. There's one rule per store.
Choose which products it applies to
- All products – every product in your catalog.
- Selected products – pick specific products by hand.
- Selected collections – every product in the collections you pick. Only manual collections can be targeted this way – if you try to switch a targeted collection to a dynamic one (variant-values, newest, or dynamic-price), YNS blocks it until you remove the collection from the rule first.
Pick at least one target, or the ladder applies to nothing.
Build your price steps
Add a step for each threshold: when stock is at or below a number, price rises by a percentage. Thresholds can't repeat, and a lower threshold must charge more than the one above it – the form flags it if a step breaks the order.
Preview before you save
The Preview table shows exactly what the saved rule would charge right now: variant, current stock, base price, price now, and the next step (with how many more units can sell before it kicks in). It only reflects what you've already saved – changes you haven't saved yet aren't included. A variant that doesn't get a price change shows why: stock isn't tracked for it, its price is set automatically, it's a bundle or set, or it's sold only by subscription.
What's never stepped
- Bundles and sets – priced from their components, so stepping one would double-count.
- Subscription-only products – every line is charged at the plan price, which the ladder never touches.
- Variants with an automatically set price (for example, gold-priced jewelry that repriced daily) – that price is already the answer for the moment.
- Untracked stock – there's no stock number to measure against.
Where the ladder applies
Once a product is targeted and its stock hits a step, the raised price is what shoppers see everywhere: product pages, collections, the cart, and checkout. It replaces the base price before volume-pricing tiers, promotions, and coupons are applied, in every currency you sell in.
The price is locked in the moment a shopper starts paying, so a step crossed between them starting checkout and the payment completing can't change what they're charged – the order is written at the price that was live when payment started.
Stores using the storefront API get two extra fields on a targeted product's variants: nextStockPrice (what it'll cost once the next step hits) and unitsLeftAtCurrentPrice (how many units remain before it does) – handy for an "only 7 left at this price" message on a custom storefront.
The ladder's price changes are also recorded in your daily EU Omnibus price history, the same as any other price change – see Meet EU compliance requirements.
FAQ
Does the price go back down if stock goes back up?
Yes – restocking a variant above a threshold takes it off that step, back to its base price or the step it now qualifies for.
Can I use it alongside volume pricing?
Yes. Stock-based Pricing changes the base unit price first; volume pricing tiers then apply on top of that.
Why isn't a product I picked showing a raised price?
Check the Preview table's reason column – it's usually a bundle, a set, sold only by subscription, priced automatically, or its stock isn't tracked. Untracked or automatically-priced variants are never stepped, whatever the rule says.
Can I target a smart collection?
No – only manual collections can be targeted, since the rule needs a fixed list of member products. Add the products to a manual collection instead, or target them directly.
Does it cost extra?
No separate charge – it's included on the Pro plan. See Manage your plan & billing.
What's next
- Track the stock levels the ladder reacts to in Manage inventory.
- Stack it with quantity-based discounts in Offer bulk discounts with volume pricing.
- See how price changes are logged for compliance in Meet EU compliance requirements.