Preorder Policy
A preorder is a promise about something that does not exist yet, so the terms matter more than they do on an in-stock order. All of them are here, including the ones that are not in our favour.
When you are charged
Your card is charged in full at checkout, not on release day.
That payment is what reserves your unit against our distributor allocation. Distributors require us to commit to quantities well before release, and we are paying for that commitment at the time you place the order.
If you would rather not pay months ahead of delivery, do not preorder. Wait for release and buy from stock. We would rather say that plainly than have you find out at the wrong moment.
When it ships
Sealed product cannot legally leave a distributor before the publisher's street date, so nothing ships early, from us or from anyone. We dispatch as soon as stock reaches us, which is normally release day or the business day after.
Every preorder listing states the release date where the publisher has announced one, and an expected dispatch window. Delivery then takes the usual time for your destination — see the Shipping & Delivery page.
Price
You pay the price shown on the day you order, and it does not change. If the market price rises before release, yours is fixed. If we lower the price before release, we refund you the difference without being asked; you do not have to notice and email us.
If the publisher moves the date
Release dates slip, and that decision belongs to the publisher, not to us. When a date moves we email everyone holding a preorder with the new one as soon as we have it.
You can then wait, or cancel for a full refund. There is no penalty for cancelling because of a delay, and there is no time limit on that choice: as long as it has not shipped, you can change your mind.
If our allocation is cut
Distributors sometimes reduce what they send us after preorders have opened, particularly on sets that sell through hard. If that happens and we cannot fill your order, we refund you in full and tell you as soon as we know rather than waiting to see whether more stock appears.
We never substitute a different product without asking you first, and we never quietly convert an unfillable preorder into store credit. A refund goes back to the card you paid with.
How we decide who gets a reduced allocation is set out on the Allocation Policy page.
Cancelling
Email us at any point before your preorder has been dispatched and we will refund the full amount to your original payment method. No fee, no restocking charge, and no explanation required.
Once a preorder has shipped it is an ordinary order, and the standard 14-day return terms on the Refund & Return Policy page apply instead.