Pre-Order Drama with Creality

I was made aware this morning on the Ender-3 Facebook group that Creality's new kit, the Ender-3 is having some shipping problems, specifically shipping to their most dedicated users who got in on a special pre-order through AliExpress. Those orders were able to get an early bird discount, but they're ending up being some of the last to receive their units, if they're going to be receiving them at all.

Now, you know me. I'm all about the second and third chances, and Creality, I believe, has earned the benefit of the doubt. But in this case I'm having a hard time resolving what Creality is doing with what they obsessively communicated to their users. Because to the people who saw and put in for a discounted pre-order, the message they received was "Thank you for being a fan-boi". The skeptic in me wants to say that what they were really saying was "we want your money early", then realized they weren't charging enough even for the regular units, so the pre-orders got sidelined. However if that's the case then why do it through Alibaba, who doesn't release the funds until after you ship? With that in mind, what the heck were they thinking? I really want to know.

The original post, copied below for those who can't read it on Facebook, takes a considerably alarmist tone. We're still in the middle of this thing. But if any of those AliExpress pre-orders default, that will be very bad of Creality.

Creality, guys, you're making it hard to be a fan.