Someone from the FB Raptor group snagged one at 5k, as well. He posted that they had several allocations left @5k and they asked him to remove it, because they were getting ready to bump it to 10k, due to demand.
That's exactly what I'm doing, as well. They have a significant percentage of capability, relative to the beadlocks, without the weight, expense and maintenance hassle.
The dealer keeps the allocation independent of what the customer decides. This was clearly delineated in the question and answer bulletin forwarded to dealer principals and bronco managers.
Other than lodging the complaint, customer service will not be of any assistance. A multitude of other forum members have been down this road and are essentially left to work it out with the dealer. I agree, it's absolute bullshit. With Ford not allowing customers to switch their golden ticket...
You are stuck, unfortunately. If the dealer is local to you, the best option is to go in and keep a calm and relaxed demeanor and see if they will make any concession on the Raptor.
Yes, that is correct. A screen shot from one of the dealers showed the specific allocation break-down, which included: Hand Raisers, FE reservations and earned allocations.
The blue is the same as the 150 Raptor, but the 150 does not have the laser perforated orange contrast, like the Bronco Raptor. I think the blue clashes, depending on the exterior choice.
That's definitely in the range of acceptability, assuming that you like the blue. The orange and blue will contrast well with the white. I would do a search for f-150s with the 37 package and see if you can find one close enough to you.