We shouldn't feel penalized for buying the (more expensive) Retail Edition, right?

selisa86

Pre-ordering the Retail Edition of this game has turned into a headache. I knew it would not be as convenient as buying Digital, nor as cheap - but I wanted to receive the art/lore book; however, I did not think I would:

1. Be locked out of the game from Sunday morning until potentially Tuesday, because the grace period is not even valid as it does not extend past the weekend (mail/deliveries do not arrive on the weekend in most areas!).
2. Potentially lose items and progress in the game, as I am not able to redeem my code before the "grace period" ends. I read this earlier on a Tips post:

   Redeeming Your Retail Code: If you purchased a retail copy of the game, make sure you redeem your Game Activation Code before any other code when you visit your account page. After redeeming this code, you can redeem other codes (for the Imperial Edition items, for example).

   Does this mean that between Sunday and Tuesday, I will lose my Imperial Edition items I have gained in the Early Access (since I pre-ordered Retail Imperial Edition) - things such as my mount, Pledge of Mara, Imperial Character that I created, and any gear that I transformed to Imperial Style? Or will entering the codes restore my account, items, and progress exactly how I left them?

Thank you for any useful input and I would really appreciate hearing from a dev/mod on this issue.