Their biggest issue is that they're pre-orders and aren't shipping immediately. I completely understand where they're coming from. Don't you? But, It should be a simple matter to find a situation that works for them, works for us, and works for everyone else in the community.
Well, that simple matter is called
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_credit . People routinely have been paying that way for importing the produce that haven't even grown yet. I feel weird explaining to the highly educated people what I learned as a kid from the bazaar fruit importer.
Companies do not spin up $20M worth of product on extremely limited supply chains on letters of credit. I had to front it, and I cant front it through August with no concept of demand numbers. This was not a profit taking venture, Im trying very hard to make sure these cards make it into the community without price gouging that was about to happen.
With out that effort, they would have continued to produce small batches and introduced heavy lead times and price increases. I took the risk off them, everyone here benefits. Simple as that.