Friday, June 24, 2016

Why I Never Pre-Order Books

Friday, June 24, 2016

I have come into a conclusion that I'm probably the only person in this community that's never ever pre-ordered a book. Why??, you might ask. How do you even resist those swags?, another ask. And so, that's why I decide to write a post about it.

Before starting it, let me tell you something : being an international blogger is hard, especially if your country is not an English-speaking one. I couldn't attend a book events or author signing because there's no such thing. I rarely get physical ARCs, and even sometimes got declined for eARCs because territorial things or something I don't understand. I couldn't enter many giveaways (especially the one hosted by publisher, which ironically the most awesome one). In here, we often have to wait for months (or years!) for new books to finally show up. And in here, the bookstore is so small, my house is even bigger than it.

Okay, I'm not here to rant about how being an international blogger sucks since it has some perks too, but it's part of the reasons. Anyway, here's why :




Reasons #1 : I don't understand how pre-order works
I mean, does 'pre-order' means they ship your books a few days before its publication date? Or is that means your book will arrive at your house on the publication date? What's the difference between buying after publication date and pre-ordering? In the end, you got the book, right? I know, it sounds like a stupid questions and I'm probably the only person in this world who doesn't understand about pre-ordering, but that's exactly why I never do it. Because I don't understand and I'm afraid something went wrong then my book never came.

Reasons #2 : The waiting-time is too long
I've bought books from Book Depository before, and do you know how long for the book to arrive at my house? 1 month. I mean, I understand my country is far from UK and it's FREE shipping, but when you pre-order books (which usually done months before publication date, right?), I'll be super wary because I'm afraid they forgot that I've preordered books (I know, I know it's unlikely to happen, but again, I don't know how this preorder works).


Reasons #3 : Because of Reasons #2, there's a chance that my book will be lost (or damaged)
When you buy a book from the Book Depository, you won't get a tracking code. So you will be anxiously waiting for your book to arrive everyday, while praying that your book won't be lost somewhere in this world. Also, since the book will have a really long journey, I'm afraid that it'll be damaged and you know how much I hate that (note : In my few times buying books (not preorder) from Book Depository, my book always arrive safely. But still, there's a chance)

Reasons #4 : Taxes
I will admit, my country is one of the most-corrupted country in this world. Sometimes, when you buy books or other things from outside here, they will ask for taxes, and sometimes not. Once, my mom's friend bought books and they asked for taxes that's more than the price of the books. The rules here about taxes are pretty confusing (for me), so I guess that's why many people use it as the wrong way.

Reasons #5 : Local bookstore didn't do pre-order thingy
Okay, this is not entirely true. My local bookstore did a preorder, but only for a few books, and that book is the popular one. For example, right now is a preorder of The Cursed Child, United as One, The Hammer of Thor, The Fever Code, Harry Potter Illustrated book, The Universe of Us, and that's it. Only 6. Don't hope to see a debut pre-order here.

Reasons #6 : Those gorgeous swags are usually not available for my country
Admit it, part of the reason you preorder books are because of those gorgeous swags. Sadly, most of the times those swags are not available in my country, even if it's international (usually, international means UK and AUS). So yeah, there goes my plan to preorder. Also, I don't understand about the 'receipt' thingy. I mean, if you pre-order online, which part is the 'receipt'? So you have to screenshot it?

So now, you know why I didn't pre-order book. I could get the book a lot faster if it's a popular books, since it usually will show up in my local bookstore 2 days after the release date, or in around 2 weeks after the release date from my local bookstore's online shop. I know that by pre-ordering books, I'm helping said author, and I'd love to help authors, but I'm confused, If someone kindly wants to explain it to me, I'll be extremely grateful! Also, just because I never pre-order book doesn't mean I'm not going to pre-order book for the rest of my life (in fact, I'm planning to pre-order Crooked Kingdom because that book is just <33, but I'm still thinking about it).

Now, tell me, am I the only one who never pre-order books? Are you that kind of bookworm who always pre-order your favorites? If you're an INTL blogger and often pre-order books, tell me your experiences!

15 comments:

  1. I live in the US, and I’ve never pre-ordered a book. I’ve never done it because I often change my mind about what I want to read. I don’t want to pre-order a book and then lose my desire to read it while I’m waiting for it to be released.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Yes! That's why if I ever want to pre-order books, I'll make sure it's a sequel of book I love so there's a high chance I won't lose interest.

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  2. I don't pre-order because my book budget is extremely limited, so I only purchase books that I have already read and know I will want to read again.

    Make New Friends, but Keep the Old: ReReading

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    1. My budget is limited too, so usually I only purchase books I'm really excited for!

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  3. I've never pre-ordered a book because just like you think I know I will eventually get the book. I don't need to buy it early just to get it the day it comes out.

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    1. Yeah, I think people do preorder just for the swags or they're super excited for it

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  4. I rarely preorder books. I can't think of the last time I did. Harry Potter?

    Anyway, I don't actually buy a lot of books in general, due to costs. When I do, I wait for the best price--sales, coupons. But, also, Barnes and Noble and Amazon tend to drop book prices slightly the day right after a book comes out. So if I really want the book, I'll order it then.

    I don't really care about swag. A lot of times it's not something I even particularly want.

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  5. I don't pre-order either because the only option available for me is Bookdepository and I might as well buy the book after release because they send pre-orders after release which is kind of confusing. And don't worry, I live in Slovakia and we can only dream about swag that goes with books but I'm not really complaining. :D But yeah, I just don't care if I'll have the book among the firsts or I'll buy it a month later. But great post, I'm glad I'm not the only who doesn't get pre-ordering. :D

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  6. I'm not sure how Book Depository does their pre-orders, but in the US I use Amazon Prime and they send me the books so that they get to me on release day. I don't pre-order very often, though. As far as swag goes, if you do find pre-order deals that are open internationally, then you can just use a screenshot of your order page as a receipt. I don't think you're missing out on too much by not pre-ordering, though!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  7. I don't pre-order books often. When I do, it's usually from Amazon. When I order from there, the book that I order usually arrives the day that it is released. I like to only do this if I an 100% sure I want to read that book or if it comes out within the next month of my purchase.
    I understand not liking to wait because I'm super impatient.

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  8. It is okay. I don't pre-order much either. Usually I think it is just better to go to the store and pick it up for myself. I find that a lot of my pre-orders tend to just collect dust on my shelves after it finally arrives, but new releases I buy from bookstores tend to get read much faster.

    Chioma @ Blue Books and Butterflies

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  9. I've only ever pre-ordered ebooks. And it's mostly for series that I already know I like, so I know I'm going to want the book. That way I don't have to worry about remembering or writing down any dates, the books just shows up on my kindle when it releases :-)

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  10. So I have pre-ordered books from Book Depository, and I feel you, it's not easy. I have had the following happen: Pre-ordered a book to have it show up a month after the release; pre-ordered a book to have it show up about a week after the release (that I could live with!) and pre-ordered a book only to have it randomly cancelled before the release (this has happened to me several times, and I have no idea why, since the books DO release, and I can buy them then.)

    Now, being in the US I am at an advantage because 90% of the time, I can just order from Amazon, and it will be there on the release day, with tracking. So yeah, that is a definitely HUGE downside to being overseas!

    To answer your question, I pre-order books like a kid in a candy store, and it is BAD. Amazon one-clicking my way through ALL the money is not great. BUT, I can also cancel the order if I change my mind, or hear bad reviews or something, so that's a plus! You can also cancel Book Depository orders, but it's slightly more time consuming.

    OH! And the reason I pre-order is because it's often cheaper, too! Amazon is at least $8 cheaper than any physical bookstore. And sometimes they even have books at lower prices so I will grab them if I see them! GREAT post!!

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  11. You're definitely not the only one who doesn't pre-order. I've never pre-ordered a book, and I don't foresee myself ever pre-ordering a book. Not even for fancy swag! I am pretty stingy though, so I prefer inexpensive paperbacks, or better, waiting for a copy to be available at the library!

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  12. I've only pre-ordered one book. I did so through my local bookstore, and I was so confused, because they got it to me months after it came out! I'd figured something had gotten messed up in the order and had already bought my own copy too. I won't be doing that again. There are thousands of books already in existence that I want to read; I don't need to get a new book instantly. (I do, however, put books on hold at the library early so I can get a chance to read them soon after publication, if it's a sequel I'm eager for.)

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