Pre-order – How Does That Work?

It is fantastic that Lionheart are doing the L&B in 7mm scale and I will be writing more about that in coming blog posts. This post is expressly to explain pre-ordering for these models.

The Short Version:

You order now, cart is set at zero so you’re not charged at this time, (the prices are shown in the product detail), when the models are imminent, I invoice, you pay, I send model.

Please don’t order if you don’t intend to pay

The Longer Version

The models are due in the Autumn of 2022. They are likely to sell well and ordering in advance is highly recommended. The quantity made is also likely to be determined by pre-orders received.

In an ideal world the process for taking your pre-order would be that the website collected all your payment details and kept them in a safe place until the models are nearly here and then charge your card. I investigated adding this functionality and it went something like this.

• Me:       “Hello, web developer I need this functionality”
• WebDev: ” We can look into that” insert money
• WebDev:    “There is a plugin that will do that” insert more money
• WebDev:    “It’ll need setting up and maintenance”  insert even more money

All well and good but that money they want inserting has to come from somewhere, half the credit/debit cards people use will have lapsed and the payment processors are awkward about stored cards. With the current card rules we can’t store card details ourselves, they are stored behind the bank security. When you actually get to the `pay up’ part of a transaction that takes place between you and the bank, only they see your card details and they send me a `they’ve paid up’ message.

My thought at this time were a) stuff that for a game of soldier and b) I need a plan B

Plan B

Please don’t make me live to regret this but Plan B is that I am going to trust you! Please only order if you fully intend to pay.

Here is what will happen.

1. You order now,
2. The cart is set at zero so you’re not charged at this time
3. The prices are show in the product detail
4. You complete the checkout so I know what you want and how to find you.
5. When the models are imminent, I invoice you giving you options to use a card or bank transfer
6. You pay,
7. I send the model(s) when they arrive.

I’m going to say this again and then explain why. Please only order if you fully intend to pay. I will be ordering your models from Lionheart at the point you order it from me to ensure you get your model. As a new Lionheart dealer my first orders are pro-forma which means I have to pay them before they send me the models. That is why I say I want your money when they are imminent rather than in stock and why I am worried about timewasters turning round and saying `don’t want it now’

I do understand that circumstances change suddenly and I’d ask you to let me know asap if you want to cancel an order.

This process may evolve as the time gets nearer and if you want to pay now then drop me a line and I can take a payment and stash it away until I need to pay Lionheart