How do you feel about product pre-orders?
I don’t mind them when they’re used by smaller brands to gauge how much they should restock, and in general, as long as they’ll be fulfilled in the next four weeks or so.
— Christine
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15 Comments
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I honestly don’t care about them. I rarely buy anything as soon as it hits the shelf. As I’ve entered my 40s I’ve discovered that “new” is rarely new in cosmetics. I like to read reviews, take stock of what I already have, and treat each new item I purchase as filling a void. With inflation it’s painful to spend $40+ dollars on a mediocre product.
I don’t mind them, if it’s in a reasonable time frame, BUT I do think some brands use preorders to create false demand because everything is *super limited edition* now. So it can start to feel a little sketchy.
I don’t partake in them. If you can only get something in a presale, I’m not wasting my time to try to get it. I have enough makeup I don’t need to be bothered with that game. If you can get it after the presale, I’ll just wait for it then. No makeup is exciting or special enough for me to bother with that mess. It’s gross consumption/capitalism imo. It’s makeup & at the end of the day not that important. I like makeup but I also have more than enough!
Same here! I don’t want to waste my time (and possibly money) on makeup that’s not worth it or that I may not even like or use. I’ll wait for reviews and swatches and if it’s only available through preorder that’s just too bad. At the end of the day I have enough makeup and there’s enough choice out there without the preorder hassle.
If I know I really want it I’ll pre-order although lately I’ve been hesitant….The last time I ordered a pre-order from PML it took 3 weeks to get to me and by that time it had been in stock at Sephora for 2!!!
It’s annoying to see it on shelves before you receive your pre-order……What’s the point?
Theoretically they are a good idea to eliminate waste by not overstocking or overproducing, or a great idea to support new or small brands launching products. But personally I buy products when I need them so I am not willing to wait.
It sounds like a good idea, but I keep hearing about preorders that go awry, like from people who never get what they paid for, even after another preorder is launched! The two brands that come to mind are Hipdot and Glamlite.
Then again, it’s easier to remember a 💩show than all the times things go smoothly. I can’t recall any complaints about preorders from, say, Clionadh.
Eh. If I’m going to buy it, I’m going to buy it. Pre-order or straight off the shelf makes no difference to me.
I don’t mind them. I have long dealt with pre-orders in crafting and mixed media that I do so I was familiar with them. I also appreciate that a new and smaller brand might want to gage interest. I much prefer that to hyping their product on social media and then only having 10 when the demand is for 100. It frustrates me having to wait for a restock on a first run product. I recognize the need but it is sometimes hard to wait for a restock. I have been on the list for a restock of one of Lisa Eldridge’s eye shadow palettes since practically the beginning and still no restock. I know she likely has to pay for another run with money made from her previous run and I know it takes time but sometimes it is ridiculous the wait. Her financial backing is likely going to develop new products and new shades of existing products but I would prefer a disclaimer that when they are gone, they are gone and then after initial disappointment, I can move on!
Not a fan. I’m ok if they ship in a month or less. The worse was the c brand where I waited over 5 months. It got super annoying. I didn’t even like the es after I finally got them.
I did purchase a glamtrix palette after that it took around a month. I forgot about it. So I was over it. It was nice but I was over it.
I might preorder from terra moons but that’s it.
My limit is a one month wait to ship personally. Beyond that, feels to risky and doesn’t seem worth it.
I have personally never pre-ordered any beauty product, mostly because very few items have been limited edition and those beauty retailers that ship internationally (Beautylish, Beauty Bay, Camera Ready, SG, PMG etc) generally have enough stock.
I much prefer to see the review here, a true picture of the shades and then make a judgement about whether I really like/love the product enough to purchase.
I don’t really preorder anything after having done it with PMG a long time ago and it was a frustrating experience.
I might preorder a restock from say Clionadh or SG though, then I have already seen the review here and I do trust those two brands. Same goes for Lethal Cosmetics.
I’ll preorder from indie brands because I know they need to have stock interest to get their order numbers right.
I’m used to preordering in other area of my life were I collect items that I have waited over a year to get my preordered item so waiting isn’t something I mind! As long as they deliver what is promised in a decent time frame I’m ok with it.
I’ve never done it and while I’m of the “never say never” camp generally, I think I can safely say I never will. For the same reason I don’t like to shop online except for replacement items, I won’t buy something that I’ve not been able to see or swatch or sample for myself, in person.