I rarely preorder anything.
I preordered Hex, Shards of Fate and enjoyed the game for almost a year until it became clear that the company could not keep up. Then I profited on that Preorder. I Preordered Camelot Unchained. They had a solid refund policy. I backed out when it appeared that the game was not going to be made. I did get my money back. I preordered Cyberpunk 2077 and continue to enjoy that game.
I did not pay or preorder anything to do with Star Citizen.
I feel that I have a pretty good head for games and value when Preordering. It is risky but the risk can be minimized with proper research.
I Preordered Ashes of Creation.
I have done the research and waited until the game looked like something I would easily enjoy playing. The company is solid and the Developers appear to understand what constitutes fun in a game. They have a pretty clear time line that has not deviated all that much. Early on, the game did appear to be going in a questionable direction. I had not preordered at that time. As I stated, I was waiting until something solid began to emerge. Now the game looks amazing and tommorrow I hope to read about how the first Test went. I do kind of regret not having chipped in when you could have gotten the life-time membership. That was offered back when the risk was much higher for the individual to put down that kind of money. All I can say is congratz to those people, as it appears as though that investment might pay off and more. It is rare when they do.