Mountain of iPad pre-orders cause shipment delays

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014


As the third-generation iPad makes its way into the hands of eager customers worldwide, some buyers who pre-ordered the tablet through Apple's online store are finding that their shipments have been delayed due to the onslaught of launch day deliveries.



AppleInsider has received a number of reports from readers who have noted that their iPad pre-orders, which were promised to be delivered on launch day, are being delayed to as late as Saturday.



An unknown amount of iPad shipments handled by both FedEx and UPS are seeing a slip in delivery times, with some being stuck "in transit" while others have yet to leave the carrier's facilities.



According to one reader, who will remain anonymous, a FedEx representative stated that an agreement with Apple allowed the company to extend its delivery deadline to 8 p.m., which is well past the shipment's previously quoted 3 p.m. time. The reader goes on to say that the delivery status of their package was changed to "Future Delivery Requested" without authorization before ultimately being delivered at 6:45 p.m.



Despite the apparently overwhelming demand being placed on delivery companies, many brick-and-mortar Apple stores remain stocked with the hot-selling tablet. A check with random Apple Stores along the West Coast of the U.S. found that both Wi-Fi and 4G LTE models of the new iPad were available in many locations.











Apple's third-generation iPad was announced at a special event earlier in March alongside an updated Apple TV model that can stream 1080p video. Along with a high resolution Retina Display, the new tablet features a faster A5X processor, 4G LTE-capability and a substantially larger battery.



Sales of the new iPad began on Friday and some estimates project that Apple will sell 66 million units in 2012.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

«134567

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 121
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Apple, creating jobs for American workers.



    More UPS/Fedex employees equal faster deliveries.
  • Reply 2 of 121
    I got my iPad today via UPS. The delivery guy said they are so overwhelmed that they're planning to continue delivering into Saturday. It's worth noting that UPS normally only delivers Monday - Friday.
  • Reply 3 of 121
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    1) I'm surprised only the AppleTV was delivered before Friday. Kind of douchy promise March 16th delivery and not have it happen until the 17th when you could have relived the strain by starting deliveries a day early like with previous iPhone releases.



    2) My Apple Store had hundreds of iPads of all kinds lined up behind the Genius Bar counter at around 1pm. No idea if that was their entire stock.
  • Reply 4 of 121
    obamaobama Posts: 62member
    Typical product launch. If I remember correctly, it took my secret service man two months before i could get my16GB wifi model.



    They have them on eBay now!
  • Reply 5 of 121
    crunchcrunch Posts: 180member
    Got my Apple TV a day early and my new iPad today. This is in densely populated Los Angeles.
  • Reply 6 of 121
    my ipad says its in the fedex facility at 7am.. .then at 1pm tracking info update says its still at the facility!!! then at 3pm the estimated delivery changed from 16march to no estimate.. they removed the line stating the estimated delivery date.



    I dont mind the date change as much as the fact that their empty promise made me loose a whole day!!! if they had changed delivery date from 16 to 17 at 7am i would be mad at the day change but at least i could have been out doing other things!!!
  • Reply 7 of 121
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    The FedEx guy told me that they are delivering around 400 iPads today in our town with a population of 40,000. That was FedEx only. I'd imagine the same number with UPS not to mention Walmart and BestBuy.
  • Reply 8 of 121
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member
    With so much stock I wonder if it means that the iPad isn't received as well as was hoped, or did they fix the production capacity?



    I guess we'll see when we have the first weekend sales numbers
  • Reply 9 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by microfud View Post


    It's worth noting that UPS normally only delivers Monday - Friday.



    Actually, UPS operates 7 days a week. Saturday and Sunday delivery just costs more.
  • Reply 10 of 121
    buckalecbuckalec Posts: 203member
    Got my ipad today - chatted briefly with UPS man as I signed - he said his truck was full of them and he was under pressure - NY 10708
  • Reply 11 of 121
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    With so much stock I wonder if it means that the iPad isn't received as well as was hoped, or did they fix the production capacity?



    I guess we'll see when we have the first weekend sales numbers



    my thoughts exactly.



    all flavors were available at the downtown san francisco store as of 5 pm pacific. i was in-and-out with a new ipad in less than three minutes.
  • Reply 12 of 121
    Mine said shipped today, but hasn't been picked up yet. But it wasn't supposed to be shipped until Monday , well see if it comes a day early.
  • Reply 13 of 121
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Obama View Post


    Typical product launch. If I remember correctly, it took my secret service man two months before i could get my16GB wifi model.



    They have them on eBay now!



    Be sure to wipe it off good and clean NSA style mr. President before you sell it on eBay, we don't want an iPad-gate.
  • Reply 14 of 121
    woodlinkwoodlink Posts: 198member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pooch View Post


    my thoughts exactly.



    all flavors were available at the downtown san francisco store as of 5 pm pacific. i was in-and-out with a new ipad in less than three minutes.



    In my opinion....



    I'd take it as Tim Cook was the right guy to exact Steve's vision.



    There is such a huge paradigm shift happening right now in computing. I don't think we all really can comprehend how HUGE tablet computing is going to be.



    Job's knew where the industry would be in "x" years and HAD to have a guy he was sure would make supply would meet demand.



    Cook's supply chain mastery (and leadership) + ive's design discipline + Forstall's ego = Job's master plan.



    Thanks Steve, my Apple stock is gonna pay for my children's college.
  • Reply 15 of 121
    aluopaluop Posts: 57member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bonklers View Post


    my ipad says its in the fedex facility at 7am.. .then at 1pm tracking info update says its still at the facility!!! then at 3pm the estimated delivery changed from 16march to no estimate.. they removed the line stating the estimated delivery date.



    I dont mind the date change as much as the fact that their empty promise made me loose a whole day!!! if they had changed delivery date from 16 to 17 at 7am i would be mad at the day change but at least i could have been out doing other things!!!





    Exactly the same situation here.

    What makes me madder is they could have avoided the problem and delivered it earlier if Apple didn't "request future delivery"!!!
  • Reply 16 of 121
    xsamplexxsamplex Posts: 214member
    When I was a child, I was upset if I couldn't have something I wanted "right now". As a young person, I was anxious to get my heart's desire as soon as possible. As an adult with a fairly rich array of interests and activities to pursue, I read something like this and feel like I live in a country of children, excited about a mock Christmas waiting to get their toys. It is rather sad in it's shallowness, actually.
  • Reply 17 of 121
    xsamplexxsamplex Posts: 214member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by buckalec View Post


    Got my ipad today - chatted briefly with UPS man as I signed - he said his truck was full of them and he was under pressure - NY 10708



    That is so awesome...
  • Reply 18 of 121
    adamiigsadamiigs Posts: 355member
    Mine was left with the Valet in my building i went to pick it up they had 12 of them (you can tell by the box) sitting there, and those are just the ones that the people weren't home to get.
  • Reply 19 of 121
    ljocampoljocampo Posts: 657member
    I got mine today too. It's my 1st iPad and it is sweet. Plugged in my AppleID and everything came out of the cloud like rain. All contacts, mail, bookmarks, etc. It even had all my movies and music available. Apple really knows how to make it easy when you're an all Apple person.



    I got the accessories I ordered with it a couple of days ago. When UPS guy delivered it today, he said he's been busy all day with iPads and UPS management kept telling the drivers not to leave the truck out of sight because of thieves. WOW Apple must've sold a lot of them if my UPS guy had a truck load of them to deliver here in rural cow country of NY.
  • Reply 20 of 121
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by xSamplex View Post


    When I was a child, I was upset if I couldn't have something I wanted "right now". As a young person, I was anxious to get my heart's desire as soon as possible. As an adult with a fairly rich array of interests and activities to pursue, I read something like this and feel like I live in a country of children, excited about a mock Christmas waiting to get their toys. It is rather sad in it's shallowness, actually.



    Let your inner child FREE!!
Sign In or Register to comment.