I don't preorder as a rule because unlike in the past when there was a limited amount of physical copies at any given time...The Digital Age has rendered preordering a pointless endeavor that major companies use as metric to decide success (which is honestly not the best play). However, it has helped influence the major corps when it came to pricing issues, The Outer Worlds 2 for example got a price drop because people cancelled their preorders. Another reason why I don't preorder is because quality and getting a feature complete game is not guaranteed even with a 1.0 release. Cyberpunk 2077 really burned me as it was one of the messiest launches that I've seen (aside from No Man's Sky); the Cyberpunk 2077 launch experience cemented my rabid disdain for the practice of even once in a great while preordering. I will only buy games after reading reviews from trusted sources, if there are too many launch day issues...Then it won't be purchased at the time or at all later on if those issues aren't resolved permanently.

In short: Early Access is a risk, that can often make a game that would've never released, become a feature complete game. However, you must always understand it's a risk. Evaluate the odds, ask yourself if you are willing to burn money in the hopes of getting something good.

At Length: My feelings on Early Access are slightly different. As users can actively shift the quality, priorities, and overall vibe of a game that is in progress. I only buy Early Access games that I believe will succeed and be influenced into excellent games; it's like taking a gamble a Kickstarter, the project, despite such monetary support may never leave early access and becoming fucking shit. While 7 Days to Die is in a redemption arc, it mutated wildly from Alpha to Alpha, and was rushed into a 1.0 state without addressing fundamental gameplay issues. Wholesale removing and changing fundamental elements that make a survival game, well...A survival game. Later getting readded in a weird and not properly balanced way, much to the chagrin of the fans of the game. If you plan on buying Early Access, access risk first. Then purchase!