@larsman I've been buying cds that appears to be in stock. There are comments on reddit indicating other folks have waited for months as well.
It is perhaps possible that smaller artists are running the e-commerce side of things by themselves when they are not touring/on the road...not sure.
Usually when I buy from an artist's website, what they're selling is currently available and I don't have to wait any longer for it than I otherwise would. Even if it's an advance order, I don't get it later than anybody else when it shows up, and sometimes it shows up earlier. Depending on the artist, they can sometimes throw in additional goodies if you buy right from them.

