As many of you are aware, inventory has been a pretty big issue for us this year. Japan cannot supply fast enough and all the shipping delays due to capacity are only making things worse. We also been reading over suggestions from everyone in community as well on how new products don't have much review on them and in the end people will settle for the older, proven items. This then causes the new items to not sell well and we end up discontinuing it.
So we decided that we want to make "Pre-Orders" even more enticing and rewarding for people that are willing to pre-order. Now let us first give you a little bit explanation on what are considered "Pre-Order" products.
Some of you will already know what "Pre-Order" products are have been pre-ordering for a while, but from time to time we still get a few emails from customers asking us: "Why isn't my order shipped yet? It's been a week since I ordered!" Only for us to find out it's a "Pre-Order" product due to arrive next month when we look up their order.
So what is a "Pre-Order" product?
"Pre-Order" products are newly release products in Japan that we don't have in our warehouse yet. We put it up for "Pre-Order" on ToyDemon so that we can gauge demand and interest to ensure we order enough stock.
Here's how you can tell a product is a "Pre-Order" product. First you can access all the "Pre-Order" items through the menu from here:
All the items you see within the Pre-Order section, are "Pre-Order" products.
You can also tell a product is a "Pre-Order" product with the following:
Labels:
"Pre-Order" button instead of "Add to Cart" button:
Almost all "Pre-Order" products are imported by air, so we usually get them within 4 weeks, give or take. You will normally see a time frame mentioned with the product such as Planned ETA 05/01 or Expected 4 weeks from now. These times are based on our average turn around time with the supplier: ordering -> payment -> shipment -> available in our warehouse. As the "Pre-Order" products move through its logistical stages, the note on the product will change to "In Transit" or "Arriving Soon" accordingly, with "Arriving Soon" meaning that it should get here within the week. If something is delayed way beyond our stated time frame, we will send you an email to let you know of status and give you option to cancel.
So why should anyone Pre-Order? Why not just wait till it arrives and buy it?
Most of you reading this will know that stock replenishment has been a big issue. Demand has been high because of the pandemic and Japan can only supply so much at any given time. By pre-ordering, you will be locked in to the initial allotment that we reserved from Japan.
As we mentioned earlier, new products don't have any reviews or much information. It could be the next ZXY or just average. With that in mind, all our "Pre-Order" products will be for sale with following perks:
1. Initial pre-order discount.
2. Extra reward points on top of the regular points.
3. Free standard US shipping (this means even if the sleeve is $20.00 only and doesn't meet our $50 free shipping coupon code, the product itself will provide you with free shipping when you check out.).
4. If your order has both a "Pre-Order" product and a in stock product and you choose "Ship together after all items arrive" at checkout, you will receive an additional 500 reward points once your order is completed.
We hope that this will encourage people to try new stuff as "Pre-Order" IS THE BEST DEAL you will get for our new products.
Why aren't "Pre-Order" products counted towards coupon totals?
As much as we would love to, by offering all "Pre-Order" products with all the extra perks mentioned above, there isn't much room left for us to include them in additional sales. We have also experienced that people would abuse it by ordering a lot of "Pre-Order" products and meeting the requirements to get the free item, free shipping, or any deals going on at the time, and when we ship out the available items, they would then cancel the order with the remaining "Pre-Order" products. So instead, we just don't include "Pre-Order" product into any coupons or deals.
Please remember, this is still a learning process for us and we are still adjusting as we go.
To be frank, we have never dealt with situations like this before. As we look around, all industries are facing similar issues. Shortage of material and supply (graphic cards anyone?), massive shipping delays, everything is delayed yet costing more and more. Though we have been around since 2008, ToyDemon is still a small company and we are trying our best to adjust and hope to come out of this better for you guys and us. Please bear with us with this new structure and it's a work in progress that we will try to improve and update as we go. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us!
