What Do Our Product Statuses Mean?

Why do we sometimes sell products before they are stocked?

Although not always apparent to customers, product releases are determined months if not years in advance. In fact, with there being so many stages to the release journey behind the scenes, there needs to be intricate planning around key dates for each and every product.

Within this release journey, the distributor or dealer actually partakes in a “pre-order” themselves with the mint that is releasing the product. It’s not just one mint who does this; it’s standard practice within the industry and is encouraged by the mints to ensure smooth releases and clear understanding between parties. The journey helps mints to co-ordinate their production with demand from distributors, and likewise for distributors to co-ordinate orders and inbound deliveries with the demand from their customers.

This release journey often shows its importance, most recently with the supply turbulence that hit precious metals throughout recent years. The demand from multiple markets for metal stock meant that it was paramount for mints, suppliers, distributors et al to have accurate order numbers to ensure that stock levels met requirements across the board.

An added bonus to the current system is that it gives mints and distributors alike the opportunity to advertise and promote multiple new products at the same time, as well as giving the customer the opportunity to register their interest in the product and avoid the disappointment of missing out if it was suddenly released.

Stock Statuses

In Stock 

Our favourite status! Quite self-explanatory, when a product shows 'In Stock' it is in our vaults and ready to be picked and shipped by our Warehouse Team.

Out of Stock 

Again self-explanatory, if a product is showing 'Out of Stock' then we have no remaining stock to purchase and there is currently no incoming stock planned.

You can always register your interest using the "Notify Me When Back In Stock" or Wishlist  buttons. If your interest is registered through these buttons, you will receive an email notification when the products are next in stock. Registering your interest also allows us to see which products our customers are interested in, allowing us to stock accordingly.

Pre-Order 

Typically seen for new product launches, the 'Pre-Order' status is to display that we are now taking orders to pull from a guaranteed allocation of stock. In these cases, we will publish expected arrival/shipping dates on the product page, although any dates are subject to change due to a number of reasons including production delays, transport issues and customs holds.

Whenever we are experiencing delays, we will keep you updated via email or on rare occasions by phone call.

We only accept pre-orders on the conditional understanding that there may be potential delays and produce an acknowledgement for you to agree to before placing the order.

Orderable 

This status will occasionally be seen on some of the more popular lines with multiple mint dates throughout the year, for example Britannia and Sovereign bullion coins. You may have seen the status listed as "back-order" with other retailers.

'Orderable' will either be present when we have purchased stock and it is currently en route to us or, when we are awaiting further allocation but are in the purchasing process with the supplying mint. In other words, we don't currently hold the stock but as it is readily available or has a high turnover, we allow you to place the order, fix the price and then take delivery of the stock once received at Chards.

Likewise, with 'Pre-Order' products, we strive to be transparent throughout the process in terms of expected arrival/shipping dates however, similarly there are occasions that can cause delays for which we do produce an acknowledgement before ordering.

We do also very occasionally use 'Orderable' on some of the commonly traded pre-owned products, including Our Choice bullion such as Sovereigns and Krugerrands. Generally, in these cases we will have stock present but in low quantities or when we are confident the stock will arrive but we cannot confirm a date. When these products show 'Orderable' there is no way to be certain regarding outward shipping dates however, as in previous cases we always try to provide full clarity where possible. 

Coming Soon

This status will primarily be seen on upcoming products that we are preparing to release, although, occasionally we will create the product page of a known release to help gauge the interest of our customers. 

If you are interested in any item listing the 'Coming Soon' status, click either the "Register Your Interest" or Wishlist  buttons and you will receive an email notification if the product comes into stock.

Implications

Transparency

We strive to be completely transparent about stock and expected delivery situations, with relevant information on most product pages. We also have systems in place to keep customers updated with any unexpected problems or delays.

Common Misconceptions

We are aware that some people believe that dealers sell stock they do not own, to earn interest on their customers’ money. While there may be a very few minor dealers who do this, it makes very little commercial sense.

Others believe dealers sell goods they do not own in the hope or expectation of buying them cheaper at a later date. Again, there could be a few small-minded dealers who do this, but no major dealers would do so.

Personal Choice

We understand that some people will be happy to pre-order goods and enter into contracts for future supply, others will choose to only buy goods which are in stock. These decisions are for the individuals themselves to make, and both choices are perfectly viable.

It is worth noting that we pride ourselves on our dependability as a dealer and we have never failed to fulfil an order in over 60 years of business.

FAQs

Summary

We hope that this page has brought at least some clarity to our process and stock statuses however, if you still have any questions, please feel free to ask and we will be more than happy to assist with any inquiries.