Pre-Order & Sale Information

The amount of items currently on pre-order on our store is at an all-time high. Although many would think that the impact of the last year's events (Covid-19, Brexit, Suez canal incident) are behind us, unfortunately this is simply not the case, and so we have put together this page to try and explain what is going on behind the scenes to give you a clearer understanding of why it's taking longer than usual to receive certain goods in our industry, as well as many others.

Why are you running a sale?

Quite simply, for the reasons outlined below, as a small business we want to express our sincere gratitude for each and every customer that supports us with purchases for stock items and pre-orders alike while we wait for new stock to replenish most of our key lines by running a sale. All pre-orders are fully cancellable at any time and we can also advise on switching to alternative models if your circumstances change and you need a product you pre-ordered sooner.

How do I tell if an item is on pre-order or not?

Items on pre-order will have their yellow ADD TO CART button replaced with a PRE ORDER button. There will also be a message under the large yellow PRE ORDER button on any of the applicable product pages detailing the most up to date information we have about the expected landing date of the next batch of stock.

Why are so many products currently on pre-order?

There are multiple causes. Ordinarily, just one of these causes would be enough to cause disruption. The two main causes are as follows:

1. Changes in consumer behaviour: One of the knock-on effects from covid-19 is that consumer demand is now much less consistent - It can spike suddenly when circumstances in the country change. Most recently in the last few months, due to the final roadmap out of lockdown, we have seen unprecedented demand for mobility products which has drained all of our major manufacturers dry of all stock reserves.
2. Delays in replenishing the drained stock levels: Not only are suppliers drained of stock, but the container ships bringing replacement stock into the country are also suffering serious delays. Brexit requires significantly more paperwork for customs agents at the ports for containers coming from Europe, which has a knock-on impact on containers waiting to arrive from the far east (where most mobility equipment is made). Ports are still also only working at a reduced 50% capacity, meaning it's taking a lot longer than usual to unload stock to get it on route to our supplier's warehouses.

Why are many pre-order dates not precise to the day?

As outlined in point 2 above, the ports that unload our goods are working at 50% capacity, which means long queues of container ships off the coast of Britain, waiting to dock and unload. The reason our pre-order dates are subject to change is that each ship has a booking slot with the dock, that if missed (if the dock can't accept them due to their own delays at the time), means the container ship must re-book an appointment for the following week. When this happens, the ship will often sail to another port in Europe where it has cargo to unload, before coming back for another try and getting into the UK port on its booking slot. This means there is always a 1-2 weeks of potential delays behind any dates that we are given by the manufacturers.

More questions?

If you'd still like to know more, or you want our latest up to date information on a product on pre-order (or otherwise), just give us a freephone on 08000 23 23 35.