When does Amazon charge for preorders?
By Britton Jewell · Last updated
Short answer: when it ships, if the preorder is sold by Amazon and placed on its own order. Amazon authorizes your card when you order and charges it when the item ships. There are two exceptions. If the preorder shares an order with other items, Amazon can charge the whole order five days after you place it. And if a third-party seller is selling it, payment can go through right away. Only items showing the Pre-order Price Guarantee message get the lowest price.
Who wrote this: Britton Jewell, a collectibles reseller who runs BuyHoldCollect. Everything below comes from Amazon's own help pages, which we link at each point (checked ). Your order confirmation is the final word for your order. More about us.
Check who's selling it first
Before anything else, check the Sold by and Ships from lines under the buy button (Amazon's third-party seller page). For how to read a listing and its other offers, see why is this toy so expensive?
| The listing says | When you're charged | Price guarantee |
|---|---|---|
| Sold by Amazon, Ships from Amazon | When it ships (see the 5-day rule below) | Only if the product page shows the Pre-order Price Guarantee message |
| Sold by a seller, Ships from Amazon | Immediately or when it ships | No |
| Sold by a seller, Ships from that seller | Immediately or when it ships | No |
For third-party sellers, Amazon says "payment for your order processes immediately, or when the order ships" (third-party seller page). It doesn't say which applies to a given seller, so plan as if you'll be charged the day you order.
What happens to your card, step by step
For a preorder sold by Amazon, on an order by itself:
| When | What you'll see |
|---|---|
| The day you preorder | An authorization. Your bank reserves the funds, but "it isn't an actual charge." |
| While you wait | The authorization expires on your bank's schedule. If the price drops on a guaranteed item, the new price shows in Your Account within 24 to 48 hours. |
| It ships | The charge. Amazon tells your bank the order is concluded. |
Source: Amazon's authorization page. If you cancel or change the order before it ships, Amazon tells your bank the authorization isn't needed, and the bank releases the funds within 5 to 7 days.
The 5-day rule for mixed orders
When an order has more than one item, Amazon may use a single authorization, and "the full amount will be charged after all items have shipped or five days after the order date, whichever occurs first" (authorization page). Add a figure that comes out in March to a cart with something shipping today, and you can pay for the March figure next week.
The fix is simple: check out a preorder by itself. Amazon's Release-Date Delivery page gives the same advice for its own reason, telling you to put other items in separate orders.
The Pre-order Price Guarantee
For a physical item that shows the "Pre-order Price Guarantee" message on its product page, "the price we charge when we ship it to you will be the lowest price offered by Amazon.com between the time you placed your order and the end of the day of the release date" (Amazon's Pre-order Price Guarantee page). The limits:
- It covers only items sold by Amazon.com, not prices from other sellers on the same listing.
- It covers only items showing the message. No message, no guarantee, whatever the item is.
- It doesn't cover prices that require joining a program to get.
- Amazon may exclude a price it posted by mistake.
- If your order ships before release day and the price drops by the end of release day, Amazon refunds the difference to your credit or debit card within 48 hours. Paid another way? You have to contact Amazon.
Look for the message before you order and screenshot it if you want a record. Other stores handle price changes differently: Target charges whatever the price is on the day it ships, and Hasbro Pulse locks the price you ordered at (see when Target charges for preorders).
Cancelling an Amazon preorder
Go to Your Orders, choose View or edit order, then Cancel items, pick the items and a reason, and choose Request cancellation. You get a confirmation email, and "you won't be charged for cancelled orders" (Amazon's cancel an order page).
The window depends on the seller again. Items sold by Amazon or Fulfilled by Amazon can be cancelled until they enter the shipping process. Third-party orders are much tighter, and Amazon's own pages don't agree on how tight: the cancel items page says "typically within one business day," while the third-party seller page says "within 30 minutes." After that, the seller has to approve the cancellation. If an Amazon-shipped order can't be cancelled anymore, Amazon says to refuse or return the package.
Getting it on release day
Some preorders offer Release-Date Delivery. If you see "Get it on its release day" at checkout and choose it, Amazon ships early so the item arrives on the release date (order with Release-Date Delivery). Shipping charges vary by item, and it's free for Prime members who choose Two-Day Shipping. It isn't available to Amazon Hub Lockers, Alaska, Hawaii, P.O. boxes, APO/FPO or international addresses (Release-Date Delivery page). Without it, a preorder ships whenever Amazon gets the stock.
If your preorder disappears or gets cancelled
Release dates move, and preorders get cut when stores receive fewer units than they sold. For the common reasons and what to do next, see why was my preorder cancelled? If a sold-out preorder later shows only third-party offers at a markup, that's the aftermarket, and the Amazon price guarantee doesn't apply to it.
Quick answers
Does Amazon charge for preorders right away?
Not for items sold by Amazon. Amazon authorizes your card when you order, which isn't a charge, and charges it when the item ships. Third-party sellers are different: Amazon says payment for their orders processes immediately or when the order ships.
Why did Amazon charge me for a preorder that hasn't shipped?
Usually because it was in the same order as other items. For an order with several items, Amazon charges the full amount after all items have shipped or five days after the order date, whichever comes first. A preorder placed on its own order is charged when it ships.
Does Amazon have a preorder price guarantee?
Only on items sold by Amazon that show the Pre-order Price Guarantee message on the product page. For those, you pay the lowest price Amazon offered between your order and the end of the release day. Items without the message, and third-party sellers' prices, aren't covered.
Can I cancel an Amazon preorder?
Yes, if it's sold by Amazon or Fulfilled by Amazon and hasn't entered the shipping process. Go to Your Orders, choose View or edit order, then Cancel items. Third-party seller orders have a much shorter window, and after that the seller has to approve the cancellation.
Can I get an Amazon preorder on release day?
Only if the item offers Release-Date Delivery. If you see "Get it on its release day" at checkout, Amazon ships it early so it arrives on the release date. It's free for Prime members who choose Two-Day Shipping, and it isn't available to lockers, P.O. boxes, Alaska or Hawaii.
New to terms like preorder, MSRP or exclusive? See our collector and reseller glossary.
Related: When do preorders get charged? Store-by-store · When does Target charge for preorders? · Why is this toy so expensive? · Why was my preorder cancelled?
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Store policies change. This page is general information, not financial advice, and BuyHoldCollect isn't affiliated with Amazon. Quotes are from Amazon's help pages as of October 20, 2026.