iPad 2 Shipping from Online Store?

I ordered at 4:10am EST so just a few minutes after sales began. I got a 3-5 business days for it to ship and only standard shipping as an option. I got the top of the line 3g version from ATT.

If you are getting 2-3 week message it must mean that they are selling like hotcakes. If you want it bad place your order as a backup and head to your local Best Buy, Walmart, or Apple Store. Note that some of these stores are sticking to the 16gb and 32gb models only.

I also posted on another thread...don't know if that's OK...but I just read on Macrumors the following:

Just hours after online orders for the iPad 2 went live in the United States, Apple has already extended shipping estimates for new orders out to 2-3 weeks for all 18 models.

Yes, I read that too. Amazing. I got my order in around 3:40 am and had the "3-5 days for shipping" note. In my email receipt, delivery is expected between march 18-25. Given that, the unit is probably coming from China, as most OS my larger items in the past have.

Its not out of the question that the earthquake in Japan and ensuing tsunamis across the pacific could interupt shipping channels (iPads are coming from Japan). The extended shipping time may be due to simply supply, or could be a cautionary step because of these events.

Yup. Same here. Ordered 2:58am PST and got the
email saying "Delivers March 18-25."

Oh well, I could always check out the queues at BB
and Apple store around 2-3pm. Otherwise I'll wait
it out. It's just not worth spending more than a
couple hours waiting for it.

I believe they come from China, not Japan, and generally have been shipped by plane for direct orders (I recall people saying they could track the flight progress). My guess is Apple had so many orders they realized that they could not ship them out so quickly, so they extended the time window.

Apple products are manufactured in Shanghai, China. As horrible as it is, the earthquake in Japan should have no effect on the iPads. They usually fly Shanghai, CH to Anchorage, AK to Memphis, TN (FedEX) or Louisville, KY (UPS) for central customs processing. Then they scatter in all directions for US delivery.

But they have to sell enough to fill a 747 cargoliner before they can be shipped! 😝

I bought mine at 12:47 am PST and also received the "Ships: 3 - 5 business days;
Delivers: Mar 18 - Mar 25" message. I hope I receive it more quickly than that! I may have gone to one of the "10,000 retail locations" that supposedly will be selling the iPad today if I had known I would not receive it for a week to two weeks.

Yes, that's the route I've seen listed while tracking past purchases of Apple products coming from China. Somehow I don't think they'll have to wait long to fill a plane. But if it's UPS or FedEx, other products are shipped as well, so filling a plane won't take long.

Yes, there should be plenty of other Apple products from that same factory complex; iMacs, iPhones, Mac minis, etc.

I did order 2 ipads at 1:30 PST.
Now i got this:
---------------
Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple order.

We appreciate your interest in iPad 2. There is a limited quantity per
customer for this product and your order has exceeded this limit. Your
order has therefore been cancelled and you will not be charged.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

If you have any questions regarding this order, please contact us at
applestoreinfo@apple.com.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Customer Support
--------------------

This is ridiculous.

David.Austin.Allen wrote:
Apple products are manufactured in Shanghai, China. As horrible as it is, the earthquake in Japan should have no effect on the iPads. They usually fly Shanghai, CH to Anchorage, AK to Memphis, TN (FedEX) or Louisville, KY (UPS) for central customs processing. Then they scatter in all directions for US delivery.

The earthquake has also lead to tsunamis or at least the concern that they will occur. At least on person has reported that FedEx has announced delays due to the earthquake.

Yes, I sincerely doubt that there are many FedEx deliveries in Japan today. But my point was that the route taken by Apple products from China to the US is basically unaffected by this disaster. And China is not likely to see much in the way of the tsunami, the quake was on the Pacific side of Japan, the east side. The Japanese islands took the full force of the tsunami heading west and shielded Asia from the waves.

What could affect FedEx is if this disaster messes up having aircraft where they are scheduled to be.

Meg, this is what the notice on the FedEx website says across the top of the page.

IMPORTANT!
An 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan has caused FedEx service in East Japan to be temporarily suspended.

I ordered at 1:09 PST and got the "ships in 3 to 5" BUSINESS DAYS. That really means a week. And then delivery a week after that. Apple can't deliver a product ordered within the first 9 minutes? Are they that unprepared for this rollout? Now they're blaming it on a natural disaster that has nothing to do with their poor planning and execution? How is it they ran out of product in less than 10 minutes? I'm a soon-to-be ex-Apple fan.
VERY POOR PRODUCT ROLLOUT!