What is a pre-order?

You've probably heard people advertising pre-orders, especially amongst the indie-biz community. But what exactly is a pre-order?

Basically, with a pre-order you agree to buy a product before it has been created or officially released, and often your money will go towards the production of the thing you'll be buying.

Pre-orders are brilliant ways for small businesses to find out how popular their product idea is before investing a lot of money in it.

So if you support a small business pre-order, you'll be helping a business that likely doesn't have the money to waste. And that's a great feeling, right?!

But that might not be the only reason! Pre-orders are also a great way to build hype and momentum around a product or release. Some businesses may choose to give something extra to anyone who purchases through a pre-order, or the thing you are buying might be a limited edition. Make sure you check the details of the pre-order before you purchase, to make sure it's what you were expecting.

Remember when buying things in a pre-order, you won't be getting your items straight away. You'll either get them sent to you as soon as the pre-order closes, or in most cases a little bit afterwards (to allow for time to create and post the product). So make sure you check the expected delivery date to avoid disappointment. Also be prepared for the delivery date to be an estimate only, because often production times can get affected and this is out of the control of the people you have bought from. Either way, companies with great customer service will keep you up to date if there are any delays of changes to the expected due date.

So that's it in a nutshell. Not very complicated, but a great way for you to get an exclusive, a limited edition, or to help a small business on their way to success!