Why I Never Pre-Order Books

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!