How to Limit Products to Single Purchase

Learn how to configure products so customers can only purchase them once. This is useful for introductory offers, one-time onboarding packages, or any product that shouldn't be repurchased.

Before You Begin

• You must be logged in to your account at https://app.joinzipper.com
• You need permission to manage products (typically organization owners and admins have this permission)
• The product must already exist or you're creating a new one

Steps

Step 1: Navigate to Product Settings

1. Log in to your account at https://app.joinzipper.com/auth/login
2. Click Packages in the left sidebar
3. Find the product you want to configure
4. Click on the product to open its settings

What happens next: You'll see the product configuration page.

Step 2: Enable Single Purchase Only

1. In the product settings, find Purchase Settings or Availability
2. Look for the Single purchase only option
3. Enable/toggle Single purchase only
4. Click Save

What happens next: The product is now limited to one purchase per customer.

Step 3: Verify the Setting

To test that the setting works:

1. Find a test customer who has not purchased the product
2. Process a purchase of the product for them
3. Attempt to purchase the same product again for the same customer
4. You should see a message that the customer already owns this product

How Single Purchase Works

For new customers:

• Product is available for purchase
• Checkout proceeds normally
• Purchase is completed successfully

For customers who already own the product:

• Product shows as "Already Purchased" or similar
• Cannot add to cart or proceed to checkout
• Customer can view their existing purchase
• Staff see a notification that purchase is blocked

In the customer's product list:

• Owned products are marked appropriately
• "Already Purchased" label displayed
• Link to view existing purchase/subscription

Use Cases for Single Purchase Products

Introductory Offers:

• First-month discounts
• Trial periods
• New customer specials

Onboarding Packages:

• Starter kits
• New member packages
• Registration fees

One-Time Products:

• Registration or enrollment fees
• Assessment packages
• Orientation sessions

Membership Components:

• Initial setup fees
• Joining fees
• One-time equipment purchases

Tips

• Clearly name products to indicate they're one-time offers
• Consider what happens after the product expires (for subscriptions)
• Use this for introductory offers to prevent abuse
• Combine with invitation-only to control who can purchase
• Test the setting with a staff or test account before going live

Troubleshooting

Problem: Customer was able to purchase the product twice Solution: Check that:

• "Single purchase only" is enabled on the product
• The purchases were for the same customer account
• The setting was saved correctly

Solution: Go to the product settings and verify the single purchase option is enabled and saved.

Problem: Customer can't purchase and they've never bought it Solution: Check that:

• Customer doesn't have a previous purchase (check history)
• There isn't a duplicate customer account with the purchase
• The product isn't also restricted by other settings

Solution: Review the customer's purchase history for duplicates or merged accounts.

Problem: I need to let a customer re-purchase a single-purchase product Solution: Options include:

• Disable "single purchase only" temporarily, complete the purchase, then re-enable
• Create a duplicate product without the single-purchase restriction
• Cancel/refund their original purchase if applicable

Note: Be careful not to create loopholes in your business rules.

Problem: Single purchase setting isn't available Solution: Check that:

• You're editing the right product type
• You have permission to modify product settings
• The feature is available for your plan

Solution: Contact support if you don't see the option but expect to have access.