Transparent Pre-Orders: How Our Pre-Order System Works
Pre-orders are hard to get right. You pay now for something months away, on a schedule manufacturers change and nobody in the chain fully controls. We can't fix that part, and we're not going to pretend otherwise.
What we can work on is transparency. You shouldn't have to wonder about the date, the money, or what happens if something goes wrong. Everything below is live on the site today.
Why we can take your pre-order
An official partner of the manufacturers
P-Rex Hobby is listed by Good Smile Company as a Partner Shop and by Bandai as a Recommended Hobby Store. Both links above go to the manufacturers' own lists, so you can check for yourself.
That official relationship is what lets us offer pre-orders on new Bandai and Good Smile releases. It does not mean unlimited stock: quantities are allocated to us, and if an allocation falls short we tell you and you choose between the next wave and a full refund.
1 · Time
The date follows the order, from product page to doorstep
While you browse
New pre-orders are grouped by batch, newest first
Our New Pre-Order page is arranged by manufacturer batch, with the most recent batch at the top, so items that opened for pre-order together sit together.
Before you order
The ETA is on the product page, before you spend a cent
The estimated arrival month sits right next to Add to Cart, with the cut-off and release dates in the details.
When stock arrives in batches
First come, first served, and you can see your place
Popular items often reach us in more than one shipment, and we fill orders in the order they were placed. Where our supplier shares batch quantities, the product page lists each incoming batch with its arrival month, marked either fully reserved or new orders join this batch, so you know which shipment you would be in before you order.
After you order, your account shows the arrival month for your own order and your place in line, not just a single date for the product.
When you order
Your confirmation email carries the dates with it
Each pre-order item shows its arrival month under the product name, so months later the answer is already in your inbox.
While you wait
All your pre-orders on one page
Sign in and open Orders. The page opens with a Pre-order arrivals summary: every pre-order you have, sorted by arrival month, each linking to its order.
If it changes
We try to tell you before you have to ask
If a manufacturer pushes your date back by more than a month, you get an email: old date, new date, which order. When a date passes with no word from the manufacturer, the same system flags it for us to chase, and your account shows the item as running late until we have a real answer.
Arrival months are estimates based on the manufacturer's current schedule and can change.
2 · Money
We try to settle the whole number before you commit
No surprise bills at the door. US orders ship duty-prepaid: nothing collected on delivery, no courier invoice weeks later. Canadian orders ship domestically. And there are no storage fees while your pre-order waits in our warehouse.
Full Payment: product and shipping paid today, with any pre-order discount applied at checkout. No balance invoice later.
Deposit: pay a deposit now and the balance when your order is ready to ship.
Oversize pieces: too big for a generic rate table, so those product pages quote live carrier rates for your address before you commit.
Size not published yet: a few pieces open for pre-order before the manufacturer releases packed dimensions, so we can't quote exactly. If the shipping falls short, we email you the number and ask first. We never charge your card without your agreement.
3 · Promise
What we commit to, in plain terms
- Nothing to manage while you wait. Your order ships automatically once everything in it has arrived.
- If we can't get your item, you get a full refund, deposit included. Or stay on the waiting list for the next wave. Your call.
- Changed your mind? Cancel before the cut-off date shown on the product page. Orders paid in full: a 15% fee, or the full amount as store credit with no fee. Deposits are non-refundable.
The full terms are in our Pre-Order Policy.
We want to get pre-orders right, and we'd rather hear it from you than guess. If anything could work better, tell us. The same goes for questions about an order you've already placed.