Rockwell Razors Business Model

Yesterday I sent a message to Rockwell Razors enquiring how to get on the waiting list for the next batch of razors. I received a very nice reply stating that they were taking pre-orders and the razors would be provided in the order received. That means you have to pay $99 to get on the waiting list with no guarantee if and when you will receive a razor. I wrote back to them indicating that I would hold on to my money until the razors were available. I pointed out that other high demand razors such as Mongoose and Wolfman did not take your money until the razor was near ready to ship. Rockwell sent a reply thanking me for the feedback.
Just wondering how many people feel comfortable pre-paying for a razor under these circumstances. I for one would not and am turned off by this business model.
Someone please correct me if I got it wrong or misunderstood.

I would not prepay for a razor.

You are not wrong in your thinking or logic.

I think because of the way the rockwell razors are produced, they likely require a large amount of capital upfront to get the razors through the manufacturing process. this is just an assumption though, with 0 facts on the matter.

No way I'd prepay without a guarantee of when it will arrive. This isn't Kickstarter anymore.

Can they send me a razor, and I'll send them $99 sometime unknown in the future when I can get some money together?

Hi StephenG , I'm with you particularly given their history. I assume that they're not getting any trade credit yet from the manufacturer, likely because of their history as well as the fact that they haven't got much history at all. Maybe Rockwell should work with some Vendors who could put in bulk orders and, if necessary pay a deposit - then once the razors arrive at the vendors they sell them in the usual way.
Marko

I just checked the Rockwell site. They are stating that any orders placed today should ship by April 30.

Doesn't sound like good business practices to me. Seems like they should already have enough capital on hand to produce the razors. I don't understand why they would need you to pay up front.

Stephen, while I absolutely agree with you about your concern, the one big thing I will say in their favor is that when they did the Kickstarter thing to get them off the ground, it is my understanding that the razors had a lot of issues.  However, they promised those early adopters that they would make things right and from what I have read, they did.  
That must have been quite difficult for them but it shows a huge amount of integrity on their part.

If the razors are being manufactured but have not yet arrived, then they are coming whether you have to prepay or not. I imagine their credit is a little shaky. If you pay by PayPal or credit card you'd be protected if the razor does not materialize at least for awhile. I probably would not prepay for one.