When a preorder is announced by the publisher, most of the time there is a specific timeframe in which preorders are collected. This is indicated with a "Preorder Cutoff Date" or "Final Order Cutoff Date". Publishers and distributors use this timeframe to accumulate orders and gauge interest for the new product. Once the cutoff date has passed, either the publisher determines the "print run" (how many copies will be made) and/or the distributor determines how many copies they will order.
Everything you order before the preorder cutoff date will be honored by the publisher or distributor and thus is considered a guaranteed preorder (see note A).
However, if a distributor or the publisher still has unsold copies available after the preorder cutoff date, the item is still considered for sale, but it has a bigger chance of being subject to allocations (cancellations due to limited quantities).
This means that if you order after the preorder cutoff date, there is still a very good chance your preorder will be filled, but it is considered a late preorder and thus, it is no longer guaranteed. So keep in mind that as long as the publisher and/or distributor is still offering the item, it should still be available (otherwise they would remove the preorder offer), but there is always a chance for allocations.
In our webshop, we try to be as transparent and informative as possible. That is why we clearly indicate when a preorder has reached the cutoff date or not using the Tentative label. When there is no mention of a preorder cutoff at all, this means we ourselves have purchased extra copies so we know how many we will be getting, and we have some unsold copies left for you.
When placing a late preorder, you will be required to acknowledge this fact by checking a confirmation box before placing your order. As is shown here:
Please note: in case a late preorder turns out to be non-deliverable, and you made a payment for it, your money will be refunded. This can be done in the form of store credit if you so wish, but usually we simply refund through the original payment method that you used to make the payment.
In case you're using the Box ordering system and made an advance payment for the item, the money can be used for the other items in your Box. If it was the last item in your Box, and you have no further plans to purchase anything else, please contact us to arrange a refund.
That's it! Now you know everything there is to know about "Late Preorders". If you still have a question, feel free to reach out to us.
Note A: In some cases, previously considered guaranteed preorders are not filled after all. A publisher's production plans may change unexpectedly, or a shipping container gets lost at sea due to a tropical storm, ... But these instances are very rare and extreme. So while a guaranteed preorder is not considered legally binding because of such extreme circumstances, common sense tells us that all wheels are set in motion to provide everyone (you, us, the distributor, the publisher) a satisfactory outcome.