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The pleasures of pre-ordering

August 11th, 2021 · Posted by Skuds in Life/Music · No Comments · Life, Music

In the last year or two I have been discovering the joys of pre-ordering stuff online. I know that some pedants have issues with the term ‘pre-order’, but we all know what it means: ordering something before it is released. I guess you could call it ‘pre-release ordering’.

In general I do not actually buy physical product very much, certainly nothing like the way I used to. I tend to use Netflix/Prime for watching movies, Spotify for listening to music, and e-books for reading. This is partly for convenience but also partly for reasons of space.

The exceptions are mostly; films I want to watch now and not wait for them to end up on streaming services, old TV shows that are unlikely to end up on streaming services (for example, Shelley), music that has 5.1 mixes on SACD or Blu Ray Audio, books by a few select authors, and CD box sets that add something you aren’t going to get by streaming.

This may only amount to about as many books or CDs in a year that I used to buy each month, but when I do get these things it is usually because it is something special  that I am anticipating and so it is available to pre-order well in advance. If possible I will get them from place like Burning Shed or Cherry Red or the artist’s own website rather than Amazon, even if it costs a little bit more.

The best hting about the pre-order is that it is like a little present for your future self. And if you are as forgetful as I have been getting it can even be a surprise present for your future self. It is fantastic when you get a parcel and at first you think “I didn’t order anything, I wonder what it can be?” and then you open it up to find that new Rick Wakeman album in pop-up packaging that you had ordered 4 months ago and forgotten about, or the box-set re-issue of an old 70s or 80s album with a little booklet, disc of videos and various extras.

I know I am spoling the surprise for myself by reminding myself now (but I’ll probably forget again soon enough) but I think I have four things ordered a while ago that are due to arrive some time this year: Toyah’s new album Posh Pop, the new Ambrose Parry novel in hardback, volume two of the Genesis story (the Phil Collins years), and the album of new material from Yes.

It probably would have been nice to have had some of these in the last month or two, to see me through hospital stays and recoveries, but I still have 4 happy days to look forward to this year.

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