View source for Shipping/backorders/available but not in stock

[[Available but not in stock]] means:
* We don't have the item on hand and ready to ship, ''but...''
* We can still get the item from the [[supplier]]

Most suppliers deliver to our location in less than a week; in a pinch, we can pay extra for faster shipping and get it here sooner.

'''However''', most suppliers also have an order minumum (typically $100-150), which means that we have a choice when we place an order from them:
* we can wait until we have enough customer orders for that particular supplier, or
* we can fill out the supplier's minimum order requirement by ordering things for stock and hoping that they sell quickly.

The latter option has proven to be a great way to use up large amounts of money very quickly and get it back very slowly, so we tend to avoid doing it &ndash; but we will sometimes do so rather than miss a customer's deadline, if it is feasible; it all depends on a variety of factors which change from day to day.

There is some related information on our [[shipping policy]] page.