OnePlus announced plans to drop its controversial invitation system in late August. On the heels of its decision to scrap its StyleSwap Covers for the OnePlus One comes some better news. The company will launch its new pre-order system in late October. It also explained how the new system will work as the company continues to tightly control its inventory.
In a nutshell, the company will take orders for the OnePlus One during limited time windows. Get in early and your device could ship almost immediately. Once stock is gone, orders will be converted to pre-orders with an estimated shipment window. Once OnePlus hits a certain threshold, it will close down orders.
To make it easier to place an order, OnePlus will allow propective customers to set up information such as address and accessories up in advance of the actual order period.
At the same time, the invitation system is not going away. Those who reveive an invitiation while waiting for a pre-order to ship will be able to essentially jump the queue and have their order shipped immediately.
While it is understandable that OnePlus needs to manage its inventory levels, especially in light of the fact it decided to forego hardware margins as it establishes itself, these convoluted OnePlus pre-order rules are unlikely to help it win new customers.
Source : OnePlus