The Energon Pub

This is my first time using the Pile of Loot feature. I've read all the FAQs on BBTS, but I still have one question:

If figures are sitting in my POL waiting for me to release them, does that mean that those figures have been set aside for me and won't be sold out from under me? Is there any chance that, if I wait a month or two, I may try to ship my POL, only to be told that something in my Pile is out of stock?

Let me preface this by saying that I am not 100% sure of my response (but pretty darn close). That being said, since you are charged for all of the items (and their associated shipping costs) at the time of purchase for in stock items and when preorders become available, this means that you have an individual figure with your name on it that is sold just to you stored in their warehouse. Meaning, it cannot be sold out from under you. That's why there is a 6 month limit on POL so they can do something with the space they were holding your figure.

It's kind of like prepaid layaway and they are literally only holding onto it for you to save you some cash on shipping. POL is great, especially if you coordinate your purchases to maximize savings on shipping...assuming you can wait! Which is sometimes much easier said than done. I have MP Sideswipe waiting in my POL queue and it's driving me crazy because I probably won't have enough preorders to justify shipment until January!

Once purchased, the figure will be marked for you in their warehouse. How they do that is beyond me but it will not be sold out from under you. In the 4 years I've been using them, I've never had a problem with them yanking a figure away from me once it was in my PoL. I'm sure it's happened accidentally to others, but that's what happens with a system that relies on humans.

Thanks, guys. That puts my mind at ease!