Frequently asked questions

Does Rentshelf work with every Shopify theme?

Yes. The rental picker is delivered as a theme app extension, so it works on any OS 2.0 theme (Dawn, Horizon, Studio and every paid theme from the Theme Store). You can enable it as an app embed (recommended — zero theme edits) or drop the Rental Picker block directly into the product template.

If you use a custom Vintage theme, contact support — we’ll help you place the picker manually.

What happens to the product’s native price?

When a product is configured as a rental, the customer sees the rental price (daily × days + add-ons) instead of the theme’s native price. Rentshelf can hide the native .price element automatically so there’s no double-price confusion. You control which CSS selector gets hidden from Rental Picker → app embed settings → “Hide native price selector”.

Does this use Shopify subscriptions / selling plans?

No. Rentshelf uses regular Shopify orders. Every booking is a standard order with rental dates and prices carried as line-item properties. That means refunds, taxes, shipping rates, discounts, fulfilment apps and analytics keep working exactly as before.

Can the same product be rented and bought?

Yes, with the Predefined rental durations mode. The rental picker can show Rent/Buy tabs and switch between modes on the product page.

In Manually-selected mode the product is rental-only while the picker is visible.

How is inventory handled?

Each rental product has a totalUnits field (default 1). When a rental is booked for dates X → Y, those dates count against that product’s available units. If you rent 2 bikes, someone can book both at the same time but a third customer picking overlapping dates will see “unavailable”.

Shopify’s native inventory is not decremented — bookings are tracked in the app. This is by design so inventory is freed back automatically after the end date without manual intervention.

Can I block specific dates (holidays, maintenance)?

Yes. Use the Calendar screen in the admin to create blackout dates per product or across your whole store.

Can I add seasonal pricing?

Yes. Seasonal pricing is available on Starter and Growth. Use it to adjust rental prices for holidays, peak seasons, weekends, school breaks or low-season discounts.

See Seasonal pricing.

Can I search, link or unlink products in bulk?

Yes. The Rental products page includes search for linked rental products, and the Link products popup can search Shopify products and filter by collection.

For large catalogs, link products in smaller batches so the admin remains responsive. You can also select multiple rental products and unlink them in bulk without deleting the Shopify products.

See Bulk product linking.

Can I customize the Rent Now or Add to cart button?

Yes. You can control rental product buttons from Rentshelf → Settings or from Shopify Theme Editor → Rental Calendar Widget → Rental product buttons.

Rentshelf can rename the theme Add to cart button for linked rental products, show a Choose rental dates message until valid dates are selected, and hide or keep dynamic checkout buttons such as Buy it now. Non-rental products are unchanged.

See Rental product buttons.

What if a customer cancels?

Cancelling the Shopify order cancels the related booking automatically (via the orders/cancelled webhook). Dates immediately become available again.

Can I sync rentals with Google Calendar / iCal?

iCal export is on the roadmap. For now, use the in-app Calendar screen or export bookings as CSV.

Does it work with Shopify POS?

Storefront bookings flow to Shopify as standard orders, so POS merchants can view rental details inside the regular order view. The rental picker itself is storefront-only.

My picker shows on products I didn’t link. Why?

The app embed is enabled on every product page, but it auto-removes itself if the current product isn’t configured as a rental. If you see the picker on a product you didn’t link, either:

1. The product is linked in the app (check the Products screen), or
2. The storefront is caching an old rental config — reload the page.

The customer is seeing an error when adding to cart.

Two common causes:

1. Another rental app is installed. Conflicts with IzyRent, Appointment Booking, Sesami or similar apps can break the cart flow. Uninstall the competing app from Settings → Apps and sales channels.
2. You’re testing from the Shopify theme preview. Shop Pay can’t load inside the preview iframe, causing a cross-origin error. Test from a real browser tab with /products/<handle> on your live store domain.

How do I get help?

• Crisp live chat: bottom-right of the docs or admin panel (UK business hours)
• Email: info@rentshelf.app
• Book a call: we offer a free 15-minute onboarding call — book one from the banner on your admin dashboard.

Why do I need to verify my support email?

Rentshelf asks merchants to verify the support email before sending customer emails. This prevents someone from entering an email address they do not control and using it as the customer-facing contact.

After verification, Rentshelf can send booking confirmations, pickup reminders, return reminders and test emails with the merchant support email as Reply-To.

Can I send test emails from Settings?

Yes. Open Rentshelf → Settings, verify the support email, then enter a destination address in Send test emails to.

The field is blank by default so private Rentshelf support addresses are not exposed inside merchant stores.

When are reminder emails sent?

Pickup and return reminder emails follow the store’s notification schedule. You can set how many days before pickup or return the email should be sent, and the send time used in the store timezone.