A pre-order is a line that is sold out and still on its way. The date on the line is an estimate, not a promise. If we have not typed one, it is usually 10–14 days from the day the shipment was logged. A fast shipment is 5–8 days. If we have no date, we say it is still to be confirmed.
One checkout, paid upfront.
In-stock lines and pre-order lines go through one checkout and one bank transfer. We email the pro-forma invoice straight away, for the full amount. The order is not paid until that transfer has arrived in our account. We do not take card payment on a checkout that has both.
Please pay within 24 hours of the invoice. Use the payment reference on it so we can match the transfer.
A pre-order on its own is different. We confirm it before we invoice, usually within one working day. Nothing is due until then. Once it is confirmed, that invoice is paid by bank transfer.
Two deliveries.
The in-stock lines can leave once we have seen the transfer. Paid before 1pm UK time on a working day, they go the same day. Weekends and bank holidays are not included.
The pre-order is a later delivery. It ships when that stock has landed and been set aside for you. We email you when it does.
Delivery is worked out per shipment.
Free delivery is £1,000 or more of the goods on that shipment on its own. Otherwise it is £7.00, tracked. The in-stock total and the pre-order total are not added together for this.
The in-stock shipment is free when the in-stock goods are £1,000 or more. Under that, it is £7.00. A level that includes free delivery waives both shipments.
The pre-order shipment is free when the pre-order goods are £1,000 or more. Under that, it is £7.00 now, even when the two shipments together are already over £1,000. We look at that £7.00 again when the stock lands.
Credit back.
Credit back on the in-stock goods is judged on the whole checkout, and it is earned when the order is paid. The pre-order earns nothing at that point.
Credit back on the pre-order delivery is worked out when that stock lands. It covers the pre-order and anything you add to that delivery before 1pm UK time the same day. It is added to the credit from the in-stock goods. It is not a second, separate credit.
We say “credit back” here and do not set the rate out on this page.
When the stock lands.
The landed email tells you the pre-order is in. You can add more in-stock goods before 1pm UK time that same day. Those lines join the pre-order delivery and you pay for them upfront, again by bank transfer.
If the pre-order plus that top-up reaches £1,000, the delivery qualifies for free delivery. The £7.00 already charged is taken off the top-up. If the top-up is too small to absorb all of it, the rest is flagged for us to refund by bank transfer. Nothing is refunded on its own.
If you do not top up, or the landed delivery stays under £1,000, the pre-order keeps its £7.00. Credit back on it is only if that delivery qualifies on its own. If the pre-order goods were already £1,000 or more at checkout, that delivery was free then, so there is no £7.00 to refund.
After 1pm UK time, or on a later day, a further order is separate. It has its own delivery and its own credit back, and it does not change the pre-order.
A top-up does not have to reach the £250 trade minimum on its own. That minimum applies to the checkout.
How much you can pre-order.
Each line has a cap. While a shipment is on the way, you can pre-order up to the quantity coming, less whatever other trade buyers have already asked for. Some lines are opened with a limit we set. When a line is full, the stockroom says so. If you ask for more than is left, lower the quantity before you can check out.
If we cannot fill it.
We still check that we can supply the pre-order. If we can only confirm part of a line, or none of it, the invoice is worked out again for what we can supply.
If you have already paid more than the new total, the difference is refunded by bank transfer. We flag it on the order. It is not sent automatically, and the order is not marked refunded by itself.
If a pre-order on its own is declined before it is invoiced, nothing has been charged.
The trade minimum.
The minimum order is £250 of goods. On a checkout with both, in-stock lines and pre-order lines count together towards it.