Product Attributes for “out of stock” items

Our dahlia products have been assigned four attributes each, which helps customers narrow down what they are looking for. We have an annual dahlia tuber sale, and we load our inventory prior to that annual sale. Once the inventory has been added and an item appears “in stock”, the attribution sorting option works great. However, when an item becomes “out of stock” the sorting by attributes no longer works. But we continue to show our dahlia products even though it is out of stock, which is the majority of the time. This may be an unusual thing, but it is how we show our customers what we are growing from season to season, and what varieties may be available in upcoming seasons, allowing customers to plan ahead.

Our question – is there a way of making attributes assigned to products work even when an item is “out of stock”. If so, how can that be achieved? It would be great if the sorting by attributes could work even when the items are “out of stock”.

We appreciate any help, and thank you.

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