Whats the point of pre-order?

I'm just a little miffed that some people i know who never did the beta , preordered about 10mins ago and got the key and download info right away. But i bought it this morning and nothing

IF you're certain you're going to be around the afternoon of launch then you are better off just doing it then.

The point of pre-ordering anything is so that you can fire and forget.

I have Raymond E. Feist's new book on pre-order at Amazon.com.  Does that mean I'll get it first? No. If I absolutely had to have it as fast as possible, I'd be better off running up to the local Barnes & Nobel and grabbing it that morning.

But I don't plan to wait around and do that so I pre-order it.

Sins is no different. 

Live and learn, I guess   

Im still waiting. I would have opted not to pre-order if id have known id be paying to wait.

Gotta say, I'm a software engineer and Stardock would be the only software company I know of that holds that point of view! I'm pritty miffed that people buying it now are getting it before those of us who have pre-ordered!

True Tweedledum!

Just relax guys. They have their best guinea pig powered computers processing our orders. I heard they even upgraded from hamsters just for this.

You didn't pay anything if you don't have the serial number yet You get it as soon as your order is processed, you get the key.

Strange logic. Or maybe its just me? I always had the impression that pre-ordering was done to ensure a copy, and SPEED up the process.

If your not in a hurry to get the game...why pre-order? Like you said above, if your not a hurry to get that book...why not wait till your close by a Barnes and Noble? Or order it later?

Sorry just dont get the point of "Yeah you ordered before lots of people...so now you have to wait". Its seems odd to me.

Well, they know they'll be getting the money off those that pre-ordered. so they make us wait whilst those who are buying it now are able to download it. money money money! if those buying it now can download it, theres absolutely no reason why people who preordered shouldnt be able to download it now also.

and i prordered expecting prioity, not as a means of "firing and forgetting"

pre-ordering a book on amazon is different as that book would be reserved, meaning that someone who DIDNT prorder wouldnt get it, more than likely because there would be a limited number in stock.

pardon me for being a bit pissed off but i got roughly 25 quid floating around sumwhere whilst I havent got anything bak in return. except a wait.

Then they can charge me already!! i know I haven't paid yet but I don't like that idea, those that pre-ordered should be charged on release and be able to download it immediately. especially if people are actually able to BUY it now otherwise.

Which is what you're getting, considering most retail stores aren't putting it on shelves today.

what amazes me is how quickly people can get ticked off by things like this. it's only been a couple of hours

then again, GIMME LAUNCH CODES

It takes time to process that many orders Nothing is instant, unfortunately.

Not considering you can just click buy now...thats priority.

Can you Cancel a pre-order?

^^^^ Makes the point exactly, can someone quantify what exactly I have gained by preordering?

We rnt getting priority coz thos who didnt pre-order can get it before us!
And to get a narkey replay from an official is, well, bloody poor to say the least!! It doesnt matter how stressed we are on release day at work, we are expected to treat the customers with a little respect, what happened to the customer is always right!?

Have to say I'm impressed with both the flawed analogy and the total lack of empathy with the customer base there Frogboy.

Firstly you're comparing ephemeral software to a physical object. One involved you sending an e-mail, one would involve a physical transaction, postage etc. So it's pretty ridiculous to compare the availability like that, added to the fact that us Europeans can't go buy it because you never arranged a European distributor before release (Obviously us yokel Euro's need training in how to use DVD's or some such...)

Secondly, Vaxer raised a perfectly valid point, that no-other software company does things in such a round about manner, and you basically say... If you wanted it faster you should have ordered it on the day, tough. When your company gave no indication it would be back seating pre-orders, a odd choice considering that pre-orders show loyalty to an unreleased product.

If this is Stardocks idea of customer service... well guess I won't bother ordering it at all.

This is what I want to know...

Well, I pre-ordered and I've been playing it since May 2007.

pek

Hey Vexer, thats what I was thinking of doing, but I wouldnt know how to go about it. They could have processed the orders in advance if they knew how long it was going to take. anyway how hard can it be to send emails with serial codes in?

Dont think its hitting shelves for us guys in England, so digital download is the only option I think. And 2 hours is a long time considering its now 7pm and was hoping to download (and perhaps play) before I go out tonight. Aint guna happen now tho ah well, done moaning. I was a bit worried at first but lots of people are in the same boat it seems.

Preorders should be getting it FIRST , not stuck on order accepted its being processed... While alot of others who are buying it now are getting it now!

I might aswell waited for the buy it now

Man, i'm glad my launch code thing worked so well. heh.

From launch day FAQ:

"I haven't received my email yet!" answer: It hasn't been sent to you yet. The pre-orders should complete being processed by 8pm EST.

That time has now come and gone and still no serial!!

Nothing more to say Frogboy? If this is how Stardock treats loyal customers, you should be ashamed!!

8pm EST is not for another 6 hours.

I encourage everyone to take some deep breaths, and realize you're throwing fits because someone might get it an hour or two before you.