All great points,
@F6Rider. From the perspective of a long-time DJI dealer, DJI's processes are very different from most other vendors we've worked with. To shed some light on 100% payments at the time the pre-order is placed I figured I'd share how the process works for dealers. DJI does require all dealers to pay 100% for orders being placed, they do not offer credit terms. In the case of Advexure, we have had hundreds of units on order with DJI since the launch date (and a verbal commitment to quantities even before the launch the date). Due to the fact that DJI requires full payment, dealers and retailers are then typically faced with the challenge of having to require full payment due to the fact that we've had to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to reserve the units that we need in order to meet our customer demand.
The second reason for full payment up front has to do with merchant payment processing. Over the years we have done deposits for pre-orders which is an extremely time-consuming and inefficient process. The batch processing and collection of remaining balances on hundreds pre-order deposits is extremely time consuming and as we've found in the past, has restricted the speed at which we can fulfill pre-orders when product does arrive in. Another method to secure pre-orders that we've tried in the past is credit card pre-authorizations. These put a hold on the funds on the credit card without actually capturing the funds and the huge limitation here is these authorizations expire after 30 days (sooner for some banks).
Full payment at the time the pre-order is placed is far from ideal and we fully understand that. The issue is that this practice starts at the top of the supply chain with DJI and therefore requires downstream participants to face the challenge of having to implement the same practices based on what DJI is requiring.
I apologize for the lengthy post, especially on this specific thread but I do feel it is important that the other side of the transaction realizes the reasoning and challenges faced in this type of situation. If anyone would like to share feedback I would be more than happy to discuss this topic in private.
Have a good weekend, all, and HAPPY VETERANS DAY. Thank you to those who have risked and lost their lives to give us the freedom we are so fortunate to have today. Be sure to pay your respects today in particular, as you should each and everyday.