Pre-order

What is the difference between ordering something and pre-ordering it? Can you post-order anything?
— Puzzled, of East Sussex

Well, you could post-order something that had already been delivered despite you not ordering it; but the first question has a sensible answer: if you pre-order something, you’re placing the order at a time when the product is not yet available, whereas if you simply order something, you expect the order to be fulfilled promptly.

There are known unknown potential delays as well as unknown unknown ones. The former is pre-ordering.

What is the difference between ordering something and pre-ordering it?

Ordering refers to you requesting the delivery of something that the supplier has ready to send.
Pre-ordering refers to you requesting the delivery of something that does not yet exist. Call it vapourware if you like, but you believe it will exist.

Well, you could post-order something that had already been delivered despite you not ordering it;

Sounds a bit Readers Digest to me. Do they still do that stuff?

Do they still do that stuff?

Dunno. I wonder how many prominent and unpopular politicians received things they’d never ordered?

I’ve never been very prominent nor, as far as I know, particularly unpopular – and I’ve never received anything mail-ordered maliciously for me. But for a short period about fifteen years ago someone for reasons I’ve never discovered ordered taxis and pizza deliveries to our door. WTF?

Sounds a bit Readers Digest to me. Do they still do that stuff?

Incidences of this practice dropped substantially after the implementation of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 which allowed the recipient of any such goods to “use, deal with, or dispose of the goods as if they were an unconditional gift”.

BTW, it was possible to get your name off the Readers Digest mailing list. My father managed that feat, although he did have to move house 4 times to do it.

I wonder how many prominent and unpopular politicians received things they’d never ordered?

Delivered in a lined “Jiffy bag” to retain the “freshness”?

I was thinking more like the Readers’ Digest Great World Atlas, a snip at £32, return it and pay the postage on it or keep it and pay the £32. What do you mean, you never ordered it sir?

Someone somewhere whistles innocently.

I received an unsolicited Amazon order several years ago. It contained a travel iron and a couple of other random items that I also had no use for. I contacted them and also kept an eye on my orders and bank account more closely for a few months. They weren’t interested in having them back.

I was thinking more like the Readers’ Digest Great World Atlas, a snip at £32, return it and pay the postage on it or keep it and pay the £32. What do you mean, you never ordered it sir?

Ah, but before the regulations of 2000 the law stated that you merely had to contact them to inform them when and they could, collect the unordered item, or alternately, supply a pre-paid return postage label.

Hence the copy of said Atlas that moved house with us some years later.

Clive said it best – pre-ordering is placing an order for something not yet available.
Amazon does this a lot on new books close to their publishing date.

had to contact them to inform them when and they could, collect the unordered item, or alternately, supply a pre-paid return postage label.

Sadly France does not appear to have a similar law, so a company called France Loisirs makes you order from a catalogue every X months or they’ll send you their “suggestion” (usually something large and obnoxious that no sane person would want).

I received something from them last December. Phoned up, they told me I had to pay for it or post it back at my expense. I posted it back using the cheapest tracked method, including a photocopy of my mother’s death certificate and a letter stating that their agreement was not with me so any further items received will be considered promotional gifts and will neither be paid for or returned.

Haven’t heard a peep out of them since. :-)

before the regulations of 2000 the law stated that you merely had to contact them to inform them when and they could, collect the unordered item, or alternately, supply a pre-paid return postage label.

Only if you hadn’t ordered it. Which of course you hadn’t, but Readers’ Digest think you had, when really it was the someone somewhere whistling innocently who filled in the reply prepaid form on your behalf…

So now you’re in dispute with Readers’ Digest, who will actually back down pretty promptly because they know what’s really happened, but they’ll give it a try in the hope that you don’t realize this.