New iMacs shipping with Mavericks?

Frankly, the problem that Apple handed you is outrageous. If I understand correctly, you had upgraded your older iMac with Mavericks when it was initially released THREE MONTHS AGO. Now you buy a brand new 27" iMac - obviously assuming it had Mavericks pre-installed, and it didn't. Unbelieveable! Hence your nightmare trying to migrate your data from Mavericks on your "old" system to "what-turned-out-to-be" an older version (presumably Mountain Lion) on your "new" system.

Apple's rollout for Mavericks has undeniably been a terrible blunder as this thread so clearly demonstrates. Their concern for their customers - at least on this very significant issue - has been pathetic. I'm not an Apple blogger, but seriously, those of you who are should have the courage to take Apple to the mat on this - for their own good.

Thank you Ballyheane for your important and revealing post.

Ballyheane wrote:

I bought a new iMac 27in two days ago from an Apple Store in London.

was this "new" iMac a refurbished model? Did it come in a fancy white box or a brown one?

FWIW, you can return any Apple computer the first 14 days after purchase with no questions asked. Boot into Internet Recovery mode, wipe the HD, restore the OS, and return it. Get a new one, have the store boot it with an ext HD, and verify that the OS is Mavericks; then, you can take it home. As for migrating, peruse Pondini's Setup New Mac guide for the proper steps on migrating.

It was a brand new iMac in a white box.

"was this "new" iMac a refurbished model? Did it come in a fancy white box or a brown one?"