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Hi there.
I am very happy with the products/service of Paizo though I am alittle confused as to the "preorder" system on paizo.com.
Usually, in my experience, when shops offer a preorder system it results in some sort of boon for the purchaser - a bonus, a discount or something to that effect. Other than the Pathfinder subscriptions, I am puzzled as to why it appears that the purchaser is disadvantage - problems with shipping costs and use of discount codes.
I understand that preordering guarantees, if there are not too many preorders, the item but would it not be the odd case where the items sells out like limited editions.
I am more gently questioning than criticising and hope that I can have the system explained.
I second the question, I have never understood the purpose in placing a pre-order myself.
Chief Technical Officer
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I second the question, I have never understood the purpose in placing a pre-order myself.
Preordering something ensures that we'll get a copy to you as soon as it's released to us; if you don't preorder a non-Paizo product, odds are good you'll be waiting a few days longer. (It's mostly a "gotta be the first on my block" thing.)
For our own products, it also potentially helps us gauge how successful a product might be (but that will never be our only data point). Nevertheless, when setting print runs for something, one of the questions asked is often "how many preorders do we have?"
And, of course, for limited-availability products, it helps ensure you get one at all.
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Here's a good example of the value of preordering at Paizo.
I preordered this book almost as soon as it was announced, and when it was at the $55 mark.
As a result, I will recieve a signed copy at $10 under the current unsigned price, saving me $30 over purchasing an autographed copy today.
That is an awesome discount, especially for this particular book!
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Here's a good example of the value of preordering at Paizo.
I preordered this book almost as soon as it was announced, and when it was at the $55 mark.
I would suggest that is unusual... hbut a good example. Generally, preordering or ordering the day it comes off preorder status is no difference.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Generally, preordering or ordering the day it comes off preorder status is no difference.
Usually not in terms of money, it's true. And, in the rare cases where preorders will get something extra, we'll usually let folks know with e-mails or blog posts while there's still time to preorder.
But in terms of time, there *is* a difference in those two cases. If you place your order for a non-Paizo product the day it goes off preorder, you'll probably get it several days after somebody who preordered it. *Their* copy is already in stock, but *your* copy probably hasn't even been ordered from our distributor (unless it's something we're expecting to be very popular).
Ditto, thanks for the info.