I'm starting this topic because of a recent experience I personally had with Pre-Ordering. I would like this topic to be a positive thing. I don't want this to be only a place to rant about negative pre-order experiences, I'd like to hear about positive ones too.
If something was done right you should give credit where it is due , and if something was done wrong you should give Constructive Criticism aimed at making companies aware of a possible better way to do something.
I'll start:
One problem it seems to me is companies need to be straight forward, no excuses just the truth. If there was 1000 more pre-orders than expected then tell us honestly what happened and what you are doing to fix it.
Secondly (and to me one of the most important) Ship Pre-orders out IN THE ORDER YOU RECIEVED THEM!! It seems to me that companies accepting pre-orders are making an obvious office mistake: lets say I'm the first person to pre-order this great new effect, when the company prints out my order someone takes it and puts it on a table, then pre-order number two gets printed and placed on top of mine, then three and four ....then five hundred and six etc. When the product is finally ready to start shipping someone goes to this pre-order pile and grabs the top one and starts working their way down.!! As the first person to pre-order you end up being among the last to recieve the effect. This is not right.

I hope Some company personnel read this and take notes.
Likewise I hope to see other examples of what companies should do and should not do
from other magicians on this site.

My ultimate goal for this thread is to inform anyone looking to pre-order something of the possible complications and or good aspects of pre-ordering.
Which companies have the worst record for pre-order nightmares, and which have the best record for pre-order compliments.
I Also want this to be a thread that companies come to see what others (and maby they themselves ) have been doing wrong and what might be done differently to fix these problems.

I just want to be part of a solution, not just part of the problem.
Can't wait to hear from the rest of you out there.

Sincerely,
Ocha

Well one company I have never had a problem with is Bigblinbmedia...
they always send out a e-mail of there upcoming effects...
give great offers for pre-order, as well as the dvd's themselves being great,
and they always deliver to the day, on the date they say....
so a big thank you to Bigblindmedia...and let's hope more follow there lead.

john.

That right there is exactly what I started this thread for, I and others now know that one company does a great job with their pre-orders. Thank you for the post flekka. And Great Job Bigblinbmedia (or is it Bigblindmedia??).

ocha

Ooopsss.....spelling mistake.. it is .. Bigblindmedia...

My personal philosophy is that until the dealer gets word that the product has shipped to them, they should not be offering pre-sales - too many times I've been burned with pre-orders where the manufacturer delays the release multiple times and I may or may not have already been charged.

I can honestly say that I have never had a pre-order that I got on time. On the contrary, I have usualy ended up waiting quite a while (months in some cases).

I wish I had something positive to tell you about my pre-ordering experinces but unfortunatly, I just don't. (I have never pre-ordered from Bigblindmedia though).

I have decided not to pre-order anything anymore....ever. This decision has come after the last pre-ordering disaster I went through. (Got my product almost six months late).

Anyway...Sorry about the negitivity. I just can't recomend pre-ordering to anybody right now. I'm sure that there are companys out there who handle pre-orders just fine. It's just that I have not found them.

Tim

What's the POINT of a pre-order? To get your money faster.

I simply wait if I want an item. Haven't been turned away yet.

J

I do see both sides of the argument but some times in pre orider you get deals or discounts etc. Pre order is a good thing when handled right like Big blind media.

Unfortunately, pre-orders have become a bad thing. Dealers use them to "beat out" the competition and sell it to you first, and manufacturers use it to get the money to pay for their unfinished items. Unfortunately, it is VERY rare when either delivers on time as promised.

Back in the 70's, I actually sold The Book of John on a pre-order basis and was, frankly, using the upfront money to pay for the huge printing bill I would have coming in. Those who pre-ordered got a discounted price as a thank you for ordering ahead of time and helping me out. But, I advised the printer that the books absolutely MUST be delivered on the promised date and made him contract for a penalty of $50 for each day it was late. That was ALOT of money back then. My books were delivered ahead of time and the pre-orders actually got their books BEFORE the promised date. I also offered a full money-back guarantee if anyone was dissatisfied for any reason with the book for all pre-orders since they were pretty much buying blind. Ironically, I got one request for money back...the buyer thought it was a religious book and did not realize it was a magic book (Book of John.)

That wasn't too uncommon a practice back then and many publishers used it. The pre-order price was almost always well discounted as the "be the first on the block to have one" theory was not much of an enticement to buyers back then. However, it was a VERY uncommon practice back then to fail to deliver on time and that's what made it work. Times have changed. Today I wouldn't even think of taking payment for something unless I had the actual product in my hands ready to ship. Welcome to the 21st century of Magic.

Well I'm certinly geting an education on pre-ordering, many aspects I hadn't thought of. I do agree that either pre-orders shouldn't be taken unless either the product is Ready to ship or the purchaser is guaranteed to reciev it BEFORE it is available to the general public, i.e. shipped to the pre-orders before it is shipped to the magic shops for distribution.
So far I've only seen one compliment for a company that does pre-orders. That is a SAD thing. I hope there are more, but I'm begining to loose faith.

ocha

Yes..Thats one of my biggest pet peeves about the whole pre-ordering thing. I have not, In any of my pre-orders so far, Seen one time that I received my pre-order before the dealers where already shipping the product out.

This, To me at least, Negates the reason for pre-ordering at all.
And sadly, It seems like you actually spend more for your pre-order than if you had ordered from a dealer. So... Not only do you get it faster from a dealer, You also save money.

Now, some will argue that the creator makes more from purchases made directly from them so its better to do so. (Support the creator) But I would think that if that where the case, The creators would want to get the pre-orders out first as sort of an incentive to the buyer.

Thoughts?

Tim

I totaly agree, 100% on every point. Hopefuly some company will read this and take notes. As for Me I'll be following your advice and wait to get items from the dealers (faster AND cheaper!!) There seems to be no better incentive to Pre-order.

Thanks,
ocha


P.S. I do still hope some company proves us wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

I Placed a pre-order with Card-Shark in August.No order no reply to E-Mails.I can now buy his products from my local magic shop in the UK.By the way the gypsy Deck I purchased from my LOCAL Magic shop Is super.Good work Card-Shark,but no more pre-orders for me

I'd like to hear from some of the companies who offer pre-orders. Usualy there are two sides to every story, but since none have tried to defend their actions I'm starting to think maby I've already heard the only side to this perticular story......?????

Well.....Any takers?????

Ocha

An aside note, Please forgive the horible spelling in some of my posts, I'll try to take my time and do a better job.

Ocha

I just thought that I would make one more request that a company who takes pre-orders post and give us there side of the story.

Anybody?

Tim

When Charlie and I released "Prohibition" we took pre-orders for the DVD. Our expected release date was pushed back due to a replication delay. I kept in touch with all of our customers about the delay and in the end sent each of them a bonus manuscript from Charlie for their delays.

There does seem to be a lack of customer service these days, I think it's due to many of us being a one man company. This should not trickle down to the customer level, but unfortunately it does some times. I absolutely agree that if a dealer offers somethin on pre-order, that their loyal customers should receive the product way in advance of magic stores. This is only common courtesy.

Jeff Pierce Magic

Thank you Jeff, hopefully you won't be the only one to post your side. I am glad you agree about pre-orders receiving the product first, I only hope some of the other companies start thinking the way you do.

Ocha

Good for you Jeff!

Thanks so much for the response Jeff. I don't really have a problem with a delay. Things come up that throw plans out of whack and as long as its communicated its not a big deal. I'm with you though on the pre-orders being satisfied first. Nothing worse that reading a review on a product from someone that ordered from a dealer after the release and still not having the one that you pre-ordered two months before.

I hope some others take notice of what you have written.

Tim