Pre-orders are items that are available to order before their official release date. Your order will dispatch once the stock is available to us and ready to send from our fulfilment centre.
Dispatch dates are estimates. They tell you when we expect your order to leave Rough Trade, not when it will arrive with you. Delivery time is added after dispatch and depends on your shipping method, carrier, and delivery address.
Who this applies to
This article is for orders that include:
a pre-order item
an item with an estimated dispatch date
a mix of in-stock and pre-order items
an item that needs to be transferred from a store, supplier, or distributor before we can send it
Where to find the dispatch date
You’ll usually see the estimated dispatch date on the product page and at checkout.
After placing your order, you can check your order confirmation or order history for the latest information available. If the dispatch date changes, we may email you with an update.
Why dispatch dates can change
Release dates are set by labels, suppliers, distributors, or other partners, so they can sometimes move for reasons outside Rough Trade’s control.
A dispatch date may change because:
the official release date has moved
stock has not yet arrived with us
the item is being imported from another region
stock needs to be transferred from a store, supplier, or distributor
your order includes more than one item and we are waiting for the final item to become available
If a product has a new release date, the product page is usually the best place to check the latest expected timing.
If your order includes more than one item
By default, we ship an order once every item in that order is available.
This means that if you order an in-stock item with a pre-order, the in-stock item will usually wait until the pre-order is ready. If you order several pre-orders with different release dates, the order will usually dispatch when the last item becomes available.
If you’d like available items to ship sooner, the split option is available to select at checkout.
If you would like available items sooner, after you have made a purchase, we may be able to split your order. There may be an additional postage cost, and we’ll send an invoice for this before splitting the order. Contact us using the chat function on our website or you can also email [email protected].
For more information on splitting orders, please read this article -
What “5-10 day dispatch” means
Some items are not already sitting in our fulfilment centre. They may be available from one of our shops, a supplier, or a distribution partner.
For these items, we need a little extra time to move the stock before we can dispatch your order. We show a longer dispatch estimate so you know what to expect before placing the order.
If the dispatch time is 10-20 day this is from one of our international warehouses.
When payment is taken
Payment is taken upfront when you place an order online. This applies to all online orders, including pre-orders.
If a pre-order date changes, your order remains active unless you choose to cancel it or we contact you about a specific issue with the order.
When you’ll get tracking
Once your order has dispatched, we’ll email you with the shipping details and any tracking information available for the delivery method you selected.
Tracking can take a little while to update after the dispatch email is sent, especially while the carrier is first processing the parcel.
If your dispatch date has passed
If your estimated dispatch date has passed and you haven’t received a dispatch email, it usually means we’re still waiting for stock to arrive or for the order to become ready to ship.
If you’d like us to check your order, contact us using the chat function on our website. That’s the quickest way for our team to review the order. You can also email [email protected].
Please include:
your order number
the email address used at checkout
the item you’re asking about
whether you want an update, a split shipment, or to ask about cancelling
The options available can depend on your order status, the items ordered, and your location. Where local law gives you additional rights, those rights still apply.