# What does "preparing for shipment" exactly stand for in Amazon !?



## leonmagnus99 (Jan 25, 2017)

heya fellas, i already googled this but i am still unsure what to believe.

i have used a Prepaid card to buy some sneakers , and the card is a prepaid mastercard and has like about 120$ in it, the sneakers price is about 86$.

and before i spend the rest of the funds from the card on something else, i would like to be sure /make sure that the payment for the sneakers went through or not.

the status of the shoes show "Preparing for Shipment" does this mean , the card of mine has already been charged ?

(i cannot contact the bank as this is some prepaid gift like card to ask them whether the card has been charged or not, i tried calling that bank ,they never pick up.)


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## PewnyPL (Jan 25, 2017)

leonmagnus99 said:


> heya fellas, i already googled this but i am still unsure what to believe.
> 
> i have used a Prepaid card to buy some sneakers , and the card is a prepaid mastercard and has like about 120$ in it, the sneakers price is about 86$.
> 
> ...


While I don't have any experience with Amazon, in pretty much every single online store I ever bought anything, the moment you place the order the card gets charged. More than likely it's also the case here, as I highly doubt they would be 'wasting resources' (a box, packing tape, etc.) if there is a chance the order will not get paid for.
Disregard this, post under it has a much better, and actually true explanation


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## Mikemk (Jan 25, 2017)

The card has not been charged.  Amazon does not charge until the product actually ships.
Preparing for shipment means: ((a) means automatic)

(a)Determining which warehouses the product is in
(a)Determining the best warehouse combination to get all the products in the cart shipped fastest.
(a)Emailing* the warehouse
Collecting the item(s) and bringing them all together
Packing the items in a box.
Placing the box in a waiting area until the [probably daily] next pickup.
Loading the box into the truck, to be delivered to shipping company
(a)Changing from Preparing for shipment to In transit
*Probably some means other than email, but basic idea is correct.

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PewnyPL said:


> While I don't have any experience with Amazon, in pretty much every single online store I ever bought anything, the moment you place the order the card gets charged. More than likely it's also the case here, as I highly doubt they would be 'wasting resources' (a box, packing tape, etc.) if there is a chance the order will not get paid for.


As Amazon is mainly a middleman, they don't charge until they receive a tracking number to prevent fraud.  They also follow their own policy even if they're the seller.


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## PewnyPL (Jan 25, 2017)

Mikemk said:


> As Amazon is mainly a middleman, they don't charge until they receive a tracking number to prevent fraud.  They also follow their own policy even if they're the seller.



Alright, thank you for clarifying this. I mistly based my reply on several online stores and an eBay-like service in my country, all of which do exactly what I said, hence I was sure it would be same here. I was wrong.


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## leonmagnus99 (Jan 25, 2017)

PewnyPL said:


> Alright, thank you for clarifying this. I mistly based my reply on several online stores and an eBay-like service in my country, all of which do exactly what I said, hence I was sure it would be same here. I was wrong.



no biggie, some google searches people did say "prep for shipment" means you have been charged already.

but i believe even on amazon itself , they say that you are not charged until the item ships.
so status has to change to "shipped" that is when you will be charged.

i was hoping that they'd charge it already because the shoes are important for me, as if i go and buy something else and my card deducts more than 25$, then they would cancel my shoes order due to insufficient funds.


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## lukands (Jan 25, 2017)

Isn't there a 800 number to call OR online website to check your balance? Every prepaid card I have used always has this info on the back of the card.


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## leonmagnus99 (Jan 25, 2017)

Mikemk said:


> The card has not been charged.  Amazon does not charge until the product actually ships.
> Preparing for shipment means: ((a) means automatic)
> 
> (a)Determining which warehouses the product is in
> ...



so when status changes to "Shipped" this  means i have been charged now yes?


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## sarkwalvein (Jan 25, 2017)

They should have charged already, or it would be very difficult for them to "unship" it if you have insufficient funds.


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## leonmagnus99 (Jan 25, 2017)

sarkwalvein said:


> They should have charged already, or it would be very difficult for them to "unship" it if you have insufficient funds.



okay thanks, glad to know !

and about a pre-order, i have pre-ordered Tales of Berseria some weeks ago, and it was released yesterday.

but the status is still pending, says 
Delivery date pending 
You'll get an email as soon as we can provide you with a delivery estimate.

i check my email few times now, and see no details.
this is the first time i have pre-ordered something actually, so is this normal?


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jan 25, 2017)

leonmagnus99 said:


> okay thanks, glad to know !
> 
> and about a pre-order, i have pre-ordered Tales of Berseria some weeks ago, and it was released yesterday.
> 
> ...


Tales of Berseria doesn't come out until the 27th in your region, so it won't ship until around then.


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## leonmagnus99 (Jan 25, 2017)

Tom Bombadildo said:


> Tales of Berseria doesn't come out until the 27th in your region, so it won't ship until around then.



but the thing is, i am using a proxy, and my shipping address is a U.S one, my items ship to Nashville/Tennese.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jan 25, 2017)

leonmagnus99 said:


> but the thing is, i am using a proxy, and my shipping address is a U.S one, my items ship to Nashville/Tennese.


Then it depends on what shipping method you chose.


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