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Nothing is wrong with it. You order it, they build it. Plus it has to ship from China to your door. That takes a few days as well. 10-14 days is completely reasonable for a custom build high-end machine. Plus, Apple always under-promises and over-delivers. You'll likely get it sooner that what they quote.
 
I think they estimate long as the computer often gets caught in an export inspection, which can often take 5 days. Those shipped from a US warehouse have a quick ship/arrival date.
 
I think they estimate long as the computer often gets caught in an export inspection, which can often take 5 days. Those shipped from a US warehouse have a quick ship/arrival date.

Very true. Customs inspections can really slow things down and Apple accounts for that since you never know when they are going to happen.

Now let me add a positive vibe to this thread: Congratulations sputnikBA on your new machine!! And I'm excited for agtoau as well...I hope you place an order and it gets here soon! Cheers...
 
Now let me add a positive vibe to this thread: Congratulations sputnikBA on your new machine!! And I'm excited for agtoau as well...I hope you place an order and it gets here soon! Cheers...

Thanks. Order will be placed tomorrow for a 10-core iMac Pro. And I'll get a very sweet discount through a friend who works at Apple.
 
Nothing is wrong with it. You order it, they build it. Plus it has to ship from China to your door. That takes a few days as well. 10-14 days is completely reasonable for a custom build high-end machine. Plus, Apple always under-promises and over-delivers. You'll likely get it sooner that what they quote.
Only standard configurations would ship from outside the US. CTO models are assembled in and shipped from the US.
 
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Nothing is wrong with it. You order it, they build it. Plus it has to ship from China to your door. That takes a few days as well. 10-14 days is completely reasonable for a custom build high-end machine. Plus, Apple always under-promises and over-delivers. You'll likely get it sooner that what they quote.

If ordered from Apple this is generally the case. However Apple's quoted replacement time for a CTO iMac Pro is 30 days. I have discussed this with them many times at various levels within the company. Neither Apple nor their retail stores stock any CTO iMac Pros.

However some retailers such as B&H stock many high-end CTO iMac Pros. These are available rapidly, often shipping same day.

The problem is B&H, Adorama, etc. do not accept returns on computers -- including desktop Macs. If it totally fails after receipt, malfunctions in some way short of total failure, fails a workflow test or for any legitimate reason it doesn't work in your environment -- you can't return it.

In a professional support situation, this is a major problem for Apple. If your CTO iMac Pro fails and they can't fix it, you are facing up to one month of downtime while a new one is built. If you buy it from B&H and it fails shortly afterward, B&H could theoretically ship you one the next day but their policy is they don't accept returns on computers -- including iMac Pros, Mac Pros and I assume the future modular Mac Pro.

So Apple doesn't have CTO replacements, and B&H and Adorama have them but won't accept a return and ship a replacement.

The Apple Business Team and Joint Venture teams are powerless to help in cases like this. They do not have access to extra or expedited CTO iMac Pros.

Unless this situation is changed, it will be worse next year when Apple ships the modular Mac Pro. A business using the machine could be facing a one month downtime to get it replaced.
 
B&H will not accept return for refunds (I love B&H but I won't buy a computer from them for that reason), but they will theoretically do a defective exchange, although I'm not sure how that conversation would go.
 
B&H will not accept return for refunds (I love B&H but I won't buy a computer from them for that reason), but they will theoretically do a defective exchange, although I'm not sure how that conversation would go.

If the iMac is totally DOA, B&H might exchange that, maybe without a restocking fee. If it's any other type of defect such as an intermittent or vague problem, they will not generally accept a return but will refer you to Apple. If you push really hard B&H might accept a return for refund or exchange within 30 days but will charge a 15% restocking fee plus you must pay insured shipping. For a top-spec iMac Pro that would cost you about $2,500.
 
Apple should stock the expected number of custom config iMacs they expect to ship. This way customers don’t wait two weeks for a simple SSD upgrade. Apple told me my iMac was delayed because they have to get parts from overseas. How about having a stockpile of parts ready to install, slap th m in the computer, test it, and two day ship the iMac to my house.

Nope. You must wait a few days, then they install it, then they ship it on cheap ground shipping across the country. Shouldn’t take 2 1/2 weeks to receive an iMac with an SSD.
 
Doesn't make economic sense for them to stockpile custom configurations just because some customers may be impatient. I don't know of another company that stockpiles custom made devices, unless they were left over from a cancelled sale.
 
Apple should stock the expected number of custom config iMacs they expect to ship. This way customers don’t wait two weeks for a simple SSD upgrade. Apple told me my iMac was delayed because they have to get parts from overseas. How about having a stockpile of parts ready to install, slap th m in the computer, test it, and two day ship the iMac to my house.

Nope. You must wait a few days, then they install it, then they ship it on cheap ground shipping across the country. Shouldn’t take 2 1/2 weeks to receive an iMac with an SSD.
There's too many potential variations with CTO options for them to stock all of them. Some very popular ones might be stocked, but Apple doesn't want to get stuck with replacement CTO machines that never get used especially for a likely low volume product like an iMac Pro.
 
Doesn't make economic sense for them to stockpile custom configurations just because some customers may be impatient. I don't know of another company that stockpiles custom made devices, unless they were left over from a cancelled sale.
You mean, like the iPhone 64 / 256 GB configurations they currently offer?

To change what I said previously, it's more logical to offer more commonly upgraded parts, rather than just offering CPU variations. At minimum, for a $2,500 machine, they should offer a variety of commonly upgraded parts available so there's not a multi-day delay having to wait for a shipment from China.

To save some more time, upgrade the shipping process. I get free two-day shipping from Amazon, on products small to large, but Apple wants to save a few bucks by tediously ground shipping their "already slow to arrive" multi-thousand dollar computer to me. It just comes off as being cheap.

Apple prides themselves on having a good customer experience, going above and beyond other companies. My ordering experience with the iMac did not meet my standards of the company. Does it mean I'm giving up on Apple and won't use their products? No. But it was not one of the better consumer experiences I've had with them.
 
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I ordered mine yesterday and estimated delivery on 21-25 June, I'm in NL.
 
If the iMac is totally DOA, B&H might exchange that, maybe without a restocking fee. If it's any other type of defect such as an intermittent or vague problem, they will not generally accept a return but will refer you to Apple. If you push really hard B&H might accept a return for refund or exchange within 30 days but will charge a 15% restocking fee plus you must pay insured shipping. For a top-spec iMac Pro that would cost you about $2,500.

Fortunately I'm in NYC so I would not have to worry about shipping costs, but a 15% restocking fee would never do for me. While I love the store and I have bought a lot of stuff there (mainly photo equipment), I would never buy a complicated electronic device anywhere that is not returnable within even a short period of time. I think they get a lot of business computer sales, since most businesses have someone who deals with getting stuff fixed and they don't necessarily do returns.
 
Four years ago I ordered my nMP from Adorama. It arrived with defective RAM strips. Adorama said I should go to the Apple Store and get them replaced, which I did. So yes, if you buy a computer from BH or Adorama and open the box, they assume no further responsibility.
 
My original estimated delivery date at the time of placing the order showed July 9. On the Apple website it now shows June 27. However, I called Apple just now and was told the package arrived in San Francisco yesterday. Eventual destination is an Apple Store in Silicon Valley. I wonder if FedEx will deliver it to the store today. If not, it is going to be a long weekend.
 
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