I understand the confusion, and would like to respond to a number of queries noted above.
When a delivery arrives at Adorama the units are booked in, so the website will show the units as being in stock. Anyone who places an order at this time will receive an automated confirmation that the order has been received.
However, when an item is heavily back-ordered (because we don't charge until an
order actually ships), all the back-orders have to be filled first, and the
units are removed from the shelves by our warehouse team, and packaged for shipping.
At the exact moment that the final back-ordered unit is removed from stock, any customers with unfulfilled orders will receive an automated email indicating that the unit is on back order.
Our website does not update in real time, to allow for order cancellations - the bulk of which typically occur within the first 30 - 45 minutes of placing an order eg because a customer has had a change of heart, or because his wife walks into the room at the exact moment that he places his order......... :)
This explains why, when you place an order, it could appear from the site that there are still units in stock - when in fact they have already been allocated to customers who placed their orders during the previous week or two.
Now, this can also change to youyr advantage; because we don't charge until an order actually ships, we are aware that many customers place multiple pre-orders across a number of retailers. We often send a shipping email only to find that a customer has purchased elsewhere but forgotten to let us know and cancel his open order. So other customers suddenly find themselves moving up the list!
We operate a very strict procedure which ensures that orders are fulfilled in the order in which they are received.
Knowing how heavily back-ordered new releases can be,(and that I don't think any manufacturer ever sends sufficient units to fulfil all of a retailer's back orders immediately, pre-ordering is the most reliable way to ensure that you are in line for early allocation.
Remember, Adorama does NOT charge your cc until we actually ship your order. So you can order with confidence - and if you find the item somewhere else sooner, a quick call to our friendly CS team, or an email to me: HelenO@adorama.com, and your order can be cancelled immediately!
Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
If you enjoyed the service you received today, we'd love to hear about it on Twitter
http://twitter.com/HelenOster
