pre-purchased

[Rick Kennerly]

|o| Of course you'd need a non-goofy little word to go with "pre-pay" as
|o| opposed to "pre-purchase":  You could pre-purchase the yearbook or
|o| pre-pay *for* the yearbook but not vice versa.

I agree.  While pre-purchased falls into the same over-the-top category as
previously owned Mercedes Benz, pre-paid has specific utility and meaning.

In most business connotations, pre-paid carries the meaning of assured
delivery of a scarce resource.  While there may be a quantity of extra
yearbooks sent with the pre-paid yearbooks, the extras are sent on spec and
in a quantity that may not satisfy demand at the end of the year.

The word ordered falls short because it does not always carry the meaning of
paid in advance.


rhk