Don't all the folks in Wall Street do that day in and day out when playing with CDOs and derivatives?

its not illegal. its shady to claim its 'in stock' but i think what you're referring to is a concept called "pre-order" .....
other examples would be like..... a kickstarter?

ps @sdchew - no, because they still OWN that futures contract or CDO. they do HAVE it, they can call on it at any moment - just because you can't physically see it, does not mean a derivative does not exist. Don't be financial-phobic hehe