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Beware
By Tim | March 3, 2009
Apple have a very interesting way of using words. Please note the illustration to the left, and in particular the line ‘Ships within 24hrs’ taken from their web site this morning.
Now you might immediately think (as I did) that this would refer to the dispatch of an item within a 24 hour time span from a warehouse to the purchaser.
Ah, how simplistic we can be. Actually the word ship likely does mean SHIP, as Apple is ‘shipping’ your laptop from Shanghai, not from somewhere in the UK, or even any European country.
Also please note. If you make even the slightest addition to your order (in my case adding a VGA convertor cable, an external item to the laptop….) your order becomes a custom configuration, and adds two days to the order processing time. Even an imaginative mind does struggle to work out quite how two whole days are required to bring a small package containing a VGA cable into relationship with the ordered laptop – suggestions below please! Could it be that the laptops are here but the cables comes from Shanghai? If the laptop is coming from Shanghai then short of using air freight it is difficult to see you a 24 hour commitment can be met.
Then having added 48 hours processing the ‘ships within 24 hours’ actually becomes a three business day process. Adding the 2 days to the 3 days of business time an order placed on Tuesday 24th Feb might lead you to think that the package should arrive at the purchaser’s address by no later than Tuesday 3rd March. Oh how simplistic of you (and me). It is not expected to arrive before Monday 9th March.
Beware.
Update
4th March: Apparently Apple are now ‘Preparing handover to final carrier’ – presumably this means the ‘ship’ has docked…..
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