I honestly don't think I'll be preordering anymore. At least not highly anticipated books that I want to have right on the release date. Want to know why? Because from my experience the books don't get there on time.
I preordered Unremembered by Jessica Brody (the paperback) so that I could read it as soon as possible so I could read my ARC of Unforgotten so I could have reviews posted before Unforgotten's release date. The paperback of Unremembered was scheduled to release on January 28th. It did. Was my book at my house? No... Barnes & Noble hadn't even shipped it yet.
(I'm not specifically calling out Barnes & Noble. I believe other preordering systems work this as well. I've learned from talking to several people that there's a 50/50 chance you'll get your preordered book on the book's release date.)
I didn't even get the 'Your Books Are On Their Way!' until January 31st. Three days doesn't seem like a lot, but when Barnes & Noble promises three day shipping to members and doesn't even ship the book until three days after the release, I'm not example happy. I wasn't too put out by the delay in this order, because I wasn't dying to read the book. Yes, it would've been nice to get the book on the scheduled release date, but what happens, happens.
But then I preordered Cress and Ignite Me, which came out today, and not only are they not on my doorstep, but I haven't even gotten the 'Your Books Are On Their Way!' email yet. I am not willing to pay another ten dollars for the ebooks version when I could be getting my hardbacks any time soon. If I did that, I could've just saved money by going to Barnes & Noble in person.
The reason I preordered was because it was convenient for me, and it was cheaper. I guess the buyer has to sacrifice having their book on the release day in exchange for the convenience and the cheaper price.
Yeah, hopefully I'll get my books soon. (As of writing this post on February 4th, the books have still not arrived. I have no idea if they'll arrive on Thursday, February 7th when this discussion is scheduled to post.)
So what's your take on preordering? Love it? Hate it? What are your experiences? Tell me in the comments! NOTE: Do not spoil Cress or Ignite Me in the comments below. I will most likely hurt you if you do.
I would hate for that to happen! I've never actually preordered a book before. Well, my dad preordered me Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if that counts. I got my book the day after it was released, so I was pretty happy with that considering my dad ordered it from England for some reason. I've thought about preordering in the future, but I'm not sure if I will or not. I guess it depends on if there's a book I really, really love or not.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that preordering through Amazon Prime is AMAZING and that you always get your book on its release date. The only drawback is that Amazon Prime would cost me $80 a year, which is a lot compared to the $25 I pay a year for my B&N membership that gets me free 3-day shipping. :3
DeleteI have both Amazon Prime (because I use my mom's membership) and a Barnes & Noble membership, which I bought. I can definitely say that the Amazon Prime membership is SO much better. Barnes & Noble NEVER gets books to me in the time they say. Sometimes it even takes weeks at a time, when I'm paying for 3 day shipping. It's just really disappointing. I probably won't be renewing my B&N membership. :/ I don't even save that much when I buy in store, which I don't do as much anymore because I can save a ton on books on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteRight now I've only pre-ordered Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen, and Amazon tells me that I'll have it on its release date. We'll see if they actually get it to me on time! I didn't get Cress until yesterday, but I was okay with that. That was mostly because I had an error with my debit card and Amazon had to delay the shipment until that was sorted out. :( But I'd already read the book so I wasn't worried!
So yeah, definite love/hate relationship with pre-ordering. I don't like going in store and risking my chances of getting the book, because sometimes they sell out. So always online ordering for me (and I don't even have to leave the house!). Okay, this comment is getting super long. :B I'm sorry.
I will definitely have to consider Amazon Prime. :3 I just never have any money, and the money that I do have usually goes toward books. Oh, well. I'll have B&N for the rest of the year anyway, so it will have to suffice. xD And I actually love shopping in-store; I just hate it when they don't have the one book I go in for. I usually go in for one book and then leave with four that I didn't even plan on buying. It's a problem.
DeleteI've still pre-ordered Ignite Me, and it still hasn't gotten here. (Tuesday, UPS says.) I haven't pre-ordered anything else. I might pre-order Side Effects May Vary, Panic, and The Forever Song though, so high hopes on those! I hope you get Lady Thief on time. :3 You'll have to tweet me if you do!
Ah, I've only gone into the store once to buy a new release, and it was five days after the official release date so they had a couple. And I don't mind long comments! I actually love them. (: So thank you. <3
I've also had some bad experiences pre-ordering, but mine were all cost related. I'll pre-order a book, thinking I'm getting a good deal and then the book will drop in price a week after the release date. Then I regret not just waiting.
ReplyDeleteWow, that really sucks! I don't think that's ever happened to me. :3 Just getting to my house on time and not a week after its release date is all that I've dealt with.
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