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iPad shipped, Apple just sent out tracking numbers!

I'm also pretty sure I've heard the 'exception' verbage used regarding the iPhone 3GS launch, both on the forums and from a friend.

Meanwhile, my sig remains unchanged. Damn you, Jobs.
 
bostonte said:
There isn't a line of people loading iPad boxes on to the plane, scanning each one, placing it on the shelf. They're stacked on palates. Verify count (X wide by X long by X tall). Scan manifest. Every single tracking number gets the "origin scan" data as a result of the manifest scan.

It's not necessary for UPS/Apple to update their computers to reflect each and every package has a hold for Saturday on it. They can blip exceptions on to the manifest. Or in many cases it's accomplished by less sophisticated means (i.e. large stickers around palate that say hold in location XYZ until date ABC and continue routing -- or even a larger tracking number and shipment tag placed on the palate as a whole).

The bulk wrap of many orders, under a single manifest, gets routed a certain way at the UPS hub such that it's held until the proper later time. Gets unpacked, single packages go on their way.

Voila -- many packages held for delayed delivery without the necessity or potential customer service hassles of flagging each and every package. As far as the end customer is concerned, the package just shows "In Transit" and it's last scan... several days later it moves on.

This also greatly simplifies the customs process for both Apple and UPS. Everything can clear under a single large shipment and later get broken up and redistributed.

And while this is a huge launch for Apple, and definitely a large shipping event for UPS, in the grand scheme of UPS's Global Logistics it's a small blip. So the phone rep you're talking to knows nothing about any special procedures Apple has arranged, unlikely knows how to look up any special handling on the whole bulk manifest, and is just reading a dumb "it takes X days from this place to that place with Y service" calculation that the computer gives them. There's not much thought or logic behind the estimates phone reps give. And it's not important enough for UPS to ensure reps receive training or special information.

My point? In this situation what we see when we track a single package (and what phone reps tell us about that single package's delivery time) means very little in terms of what the actual shipment is going to do.

If Apple wants them to come Saturday, they're going to come Saturday.
Click to expand...

thanks for this info! very helpful!
 
Yes, Saturday

DotCom2 said:
Well what does that mean?
Did you ask him if UPS delivers of Saturdays?
Click to expand...

But not regular Monday thru Friday guys, at least not yet. All Saturday deliveries come out of airports and by drivers assigned to airport deliveries...makes sense if you think about it.
 
Delivery

Just got off of the phone with International UPS with someone who seemed pretty intelligent or really confident in what she was saying, but she says that the ipad is a special delivery so it doesn't matter where you live or whether you have saturday delivery in your area you will receive your ipad on Saturday, April 3. :)
 
bostonte said:
And he works in what area of UPS's operations?

"Big" in terms of a local hub having extra shifts on Saturday?
Click to expand...

He drives a truck, big, no, only big in the eyes of who is waiting for a package. To these guys, with 5000 vehicles+, to deliver 500000 Saturday, assuming AM. EXP. doesn't get involved, isn't a big deal. Think XMAS, then you will grasp it!
 
Someday I will get people to believe that the CSR at the end of the 800 number knows the least. :)
 
When the 3GS arrived at my house, our regular driver told me his truck was "full of them". It's definitely more than a blip on their radar (obviously, they can easily handle a lot more though).
 
rittchard said:
I did the same thing (pre-ordered plus reserved), but I'm still annoyed to see mine hasn't shipped when I had placed my order within the first hour of pre-orders (5:50am).
Click to expand...

I ordered the 64gig at 8:44am ET on 3/12 and got my shipment email at 3:47pm today. I'd say you should have your notice before 10pm tonight.
 
Received my e-mail from Apple with tracking info at 2:01 pacific time, when I click on the tracking number I get:


>>> UPS could not locate the shipment details for your request. Please verify your information and try again later.

Anyone else getting this?
 
Richard A said:
Received my e-mail from Apple with tracking info at 2:01 pacific time, when I click on the tracking number I get:


>>> UPS could not locate the shipment details for your request. Please verify your information and try again later.

Anyone else getting this?
Click to expand...

They don't actually have the package in hand ...yet.
 
MatthewStorm said:
They don't actually have the package in hand ...yet.
Click to expand...

Didn't expect UPS to have the package in hand. But did expect to see information received from Shipper or something along those lines.

Are you getting the same thing? Or do you have any shipping information showing on your order?
 
Just to add to the spread of curious data points...

32GB wifi ordered at 5:33 PST, March 12.

Shipping notice and UPS tracking number received this morning. (Delivery to a small town on the Maine coast on April 3.) However...

The UPS tracking page notes this "exception":

SHENZHEN, CN 03/29/2010 6:40 P.M. THE SERVICE SELECTED IS NOT AVAILABLE TO THE DESTINATION ADDRESS / DOWNGRADED, FORWARDED TO CONSIGNEE, SELECTED SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE

I took this to mean, in simple terms: No Saturday Delivery For You!

Nonetheless, a call to UPS -- transferred to the international number cited above -- yielded the information that my order has been "downgraded from Express" and will arrive no later than the close of business on Thursday.

This seems dubious, for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. But what the heck -- I'll tape my "presigned" form to the front door on Thursday and hope for the best.

Is there a prize for posting the first "I got mine!" announcement?
 
Richard A said:
Didn't expect UPS to have the package in hand. But did expect to see information received from Shipper or something along those lines.

Are you getting the same thing? Or do you have any shipping information showing on your order?
Click to expand...

Same thing you are. I got notification at 3:47pm today.
 
bostonte said:
There isn't a line of people loading iPad boxes on to the plane, scanning each one, placing it on the shelf. They're stacked on palates. Verify count (X wide by X long by X tall). Scan manifest. Every single tracking number gets the "origin scan" data as a result of the manifest scan.

It's not necessary for UPS/Apple to update their computers to reflect each and every package has a hold for Saturday on it. They can blip exceptions on to the manifest. Or in many cases it's accomplished by less sophisticated means (i.e. large stickers around palate that say hold in location XYZ until date ABC and continue routing -- or even a larger tracking number and shipment tag placed on the palate as a whole).

The bulk wrap of many orders, under a single manifest, gets routed a certain way at the UPS hub such that it's held until the proper later time. Gets unpacked, single packages go on their way.

Voila -- many packages held for delayed delivery without the necessity or potential customer service hassles of flagging each and every package. As far as the end customer is concerned, the package just shows "In Transit" and it's last scan... several days later it moves on.

This also greatly simplifies the customs process for both Apple and UPS. Everything can clear under a single large shipment and later get broken up and redistributed.

And while this is a huge launch for Apple, and definitely a large shipping event for UPS, in the grand scheme of UPS's Global Logistics it's a small blip. So the phone rep you're talking to knows nothing about any special procedures Apple has arranged, unlikely knows how to look up any special handling on the whole bulk manifest, and is just reading a dumb "it takes X days from this place to that place with Y service" calculation that the computer gives them. There's not much thought or logic behind the estimates phone reps give. And it's not important enough for UPS to ensure reps receive training or special information.

My point? In this situation what we see when we track a single package (and what phone reps tell us about that single package's delivery time) means very little in terms of what the actual shipment is going to do.

If Apple wants them to come Saturday, they're going to come Saturday.
Click to expand...


So keeping this in mind do you think that instead of time of day ordered, it would be more a case of area being sent to that would be the logical order in which tracking numbers are being sent to people?
 
Ordered mine on the 12th? First day...around 8 or 9pm when I got home from work. Just checked and mine has shipped so pretty much everyone who preordered on the first day should be shipped out today I would think.
 
I ordered my iPad at 5:36 PDT on the 12th and Im still showing Prepared for Shipment.

Im in Southern California and I know in the end none of this matters as we will all get our iPads on the 3rd but its curious that many of the folks that ordered one right away don't have a tracking number :p
 
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