MP All Models The "I just ordered/bought/got my new/refurb Mac Pro" thread [Merged]

[SaxPlayer]

Credit availability reduction is an authorization. Merchants can do an authorization for X amount of $, which is "held" for usually about a week, and the authorization is good for a month. Authorized mean the issuing entity guarantee the fund is available for when the merchant finally "Batch" out all of their orders for the night.

When you're in authorization hold, the amount is deducted from your available line of credit, but that amount is not yet actually taken out as a transaction, this is why you wouldn't see it on your statement as an actual transaction. It's also why sometimes if you use CC at a gas station, it'll show sometimes the available credit line dropping by like $100 for a $30 purchase, then might take another day or two to normalized after the station batch up those transactions and charge your card the correct amount.

After about a week, most issuers will reverse the hold. The merchant can still charge the card, but the guaranteed fund available get more interesting...

Until it actually show up on their card statement, it's not really a Charge, only an Authorization, so I'm not sure if everyone reporting the charge is actually in their description.

And someone above said merchant don't charge until shipping time, which is not exactly a law. It's a good practice in case they have order cancellations. A merchant's discount rate with their processor goes up when there are charge backs, or if they have a large number of merchant cancellations. The best way to avoid that is to only do authorizations until you're sure you can fulfill the order.

Thanks for that detailed breakdown. I work for myself but luckily don't have to take cards as a way for people to pay me - and I'm quite pleased about that.

What I'm dreading is the hold being reversed and then I will be right back to square one, although if I read you correctly the process won't have been wasted as Apple will be able to put the charge through after that without any hold ups.

They're just toying with my somewhat frazzled emotions.

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To clarify, I may have used the wrong words when stating I had been charged.

When I said I had been charged I was going off the fact that the Apple representative on the phone said my payment had been accepted. I had to ring up and fix it as it declined the first time due to spend limits. First time that's ever happened in my life!

I have checked and the payment for the nMP on my card is showing as "outstanding authorisation".

Ah. That sounds the same as me, then. My bank doesn't show who the authorisation is for but the amount is 100% Mac Pro cost so it's pretty obvious. I'll let you know if it changes to a real charge - perhaps you can do likewise. Will be interesting for others when the authorisation turns to a charge or shipment

 

[SaxPlayer]

Just checked my bank and my available balance has gone back up to pre-Apple authorisation levels.

Pretty gutted. Right back to where I was on 19 December.

Sod this for a game of soldiers, I'm off to bed.

 

[Subdiv]

So last night I decided to send an email to Tim Cook...fully realizing that he would probably never read it, let alone respond to it. I tried to be as polite and factual as possible, and included a link to the spreadsheet so he could see the apparent gaps in the shipping order. I said "I think you'll agree that Apple can do better."

I imagine there is a team of people who read the emails that come in on Tim's public email address, and evidently one of them forwarded my email to Customer Relations in Austin...who called me a little while ago. As others on this forum have reported, the nice lady was unable to comment on the spreadsheet, but stuck with the story that orders are being fulfilled in sequence. I asked her if she was allowed to tell me how many units they are shipping daily, and as expected, she could not comment on that. I also asked her if the January orders will still ship this month, and she said "yes" without hesitation. She has sent me her contact info and has urged me to get ahold of her if I have any more questions or concerns. Although I don't have anything new to report that others haven't already heard before, I did appreciate the effort they made to contact me...

 

[Subdiv]

Although I don't have anything new to report that others haven't already heard before, I did appreciate the effort they made to contact me...

Aaaannnnnnd they just hit my cc with the full amount.

Oh, and status has gone to "Preparing for Shipment."

 

[bcuzawd]

Squeaky wheel gets the oil. Hope this works-out quickly for you.

 

[Subdiv]

Squeaky wheel gets the oil. Hope this works-out quickly for you.

Thanks bcuzawd! If the status goes to "shipped" tonight, I doubt I'll get much sleep...

 

[motegi]

Aaaannnnnnd they just hit my cc with the full amount.

Oh, and status has gone to "Preparing for Shipment."

So what we all need to do is bitch and moan to get our orders fulfilled?

This is crazy...

 

[Subdiv]

So what we all need to do is bitch and moan to get our orders fulfilled?

This is crazy...

I just wish I had thought of it sooner....

 

[harry*333]

It is almost like Tim Cook is cobbling nMPs together in his office (as a pet project) on a "time available" basis.

lol, i can see it now, scrabbling around on his knees, scratching his head saying 'and where does this go?....'

Tim Cook be like, I made it myself

 

[uzziel]

the rants wind up just being embarrassing for you.

That's is exactly the way I see it. So are you done?

 

[analog guy]

That's is exactly the way I see it. So are you done?

nah, it's only a matter of time until you post something silly again like how you are going to cancel your order one day from fulfillment.

one need only look at your post history for this kind of stuff.

me pointing it out doesn't qualify as a rant.

then again, you seem to have created your own definition of 'dishonest', so i'm sure you read what you want to read.

anyway, i hope your order shows up soon for all our sakes.

 

[peabo]

It was scheduled for delivery on the 24th until tonight when it changed to the 27th after stopping in one too many different airports. Oh well.

 

[uzziel]

me pointing it out doesn't qualify as a rant.

I will be sure to check with you for definitions in the future, since your clearly are in the know. And thanks so much for your helpful posts.

 

[bcuzawd]

It was scheduled for delivery on the 24th until tonight when it changed to the 27th after stopping in one too many different airports. Oh well.

Awe man!!!!! Soooooooooooo close!!! Talk about a "carrot on a stick." That's some serious torture. The positive is: it's your last weekend without it.

 

[peabo]

Awe man!!!!! Soooooooooooo close!!! Talk about a "carrot on a stick." That's some serious torture. The positive is: it's your last weekend without it.

I was concerned when it stopped in Philly, but when it went to Germany after stopping in France, I was pretty sure that was the demise of my estimated delivery date!

I'm sure I can survive another 3 days, I'll try not to get too sentimental about not receiving the Mac Pro on the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh

 

[Subdiv]

It was scheduled for delivery on the 24th until tonight when it changed to the 27th after stopping in one too many different airports. Oh well.

Good lord...that thing has made more stops than a Michael Jackson tour!

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I just wish I had thought of it sooner....

motegi - I just replied to your private message, but I'm not sure it sent properly. Let me know if you didn't get it...

 

[motegi]

Let me know if you didn't get it...

Sorted. thanks brother!

 

[Stageshoot]

It was scheduled for delivery on the 24th until tonight when it changed to the 27th after stopping in one too many different airports. Oh well.

Jeez yours really did do the world tour, mine luckily cut its european tour short (Must have been more Beiber than Jackson), and made it to the UK 3 days early. (Was Shipped 21st Due 27th)

 

[dermike]

The 3 last digits in my January order is 666... probably not a good sign.

 

[cbm]

The UPS status on my Mac Pro just changed to "On Truck For Delivery." Of course they usually come towards the end of the day, so it could still be 17 hours (or so) before it show up. I'm going to go to bed now and try not to hear rain deer on the roof.

 

[Scissors]

Good morning folks. My plan for today is to fly to Austin, find the factory, ask nicely if they'll let me in to build my own nMP, hand over a brown paper bag of cash and fly back with my mMP. Can't see any issues with this. Who's in?

On the pre-auth/payment point, given the experience of AJClayton and others together with the seemingly random shipping order, the impression I now have is that the whole order process is dealt with manually and isn't automated.

Amazing news for Stageshoot (and cbm). I studied in Nottingham many years ago and I will wish him the best of luck that he is not mugged as he is handed the box over by the courier on his doorstep.

It seems very unlikely that all of us January folks will have received ours next Friday, but at least we can look forward to that being the final day of going through the motions of checking CCs and order status.... hopefully.

Then it's the turn of the February batch to endure/enjoy all this.

 

[Stageshoot]

Amazing news for Stageshoot (and cbm). I studied in Nottingham many years ago and I will wish him the best of luck that he is not mugged as he is handed the box over by the courier on his doorstep.

Cheers Scissors

Luckily I am a fair few miles outside Nottingham in the Green Stuff. As for being mugged I think if anyone was to mug me it would be the UPS guy if its our regular driver he is a surly sod and always moans about having to deliver "all this rubbish" for apple.

 

[SaxPlayer]

Good morning folks. My plan for today is to fly to Austin, find the factory, ask nicely if they'll let me in to build my own nMP, hand over a brown paper bag of cash and fly back with my mMP. Can't see any issues with this. Who's in?

On the pre-auth/payment point, given the experience of AJClayton and others together with the seemingly random shipping order, the impression I now have is that the whole order process is dealt with manually and isn't automated.
…
It seems very unlikely that all of us January folks will have received ours next Friday, but at least we can look forward to that being the final day of going through the motions of checking CCs and order status.... hopefully.

Then it's the turn of the February batch to endure/enjoy all this.

Thanks, Scissors. You and everyone else on this thread has helped keep me vaguely sane during this ordeal.

I'm in. I'll see you at the airport later. I expect if we get a Ryanair flight from any UK airport to Barcelona it'll probably go via Austin, Texas.

You're quite right in what you say and there really isn't much point in trying to work out what the heck is going on. We should all just bide our time and if we're still waiting for movement in just over a week's time then we'll have every reason to launch verbal WMD's in the general direction of Cupertino.

 

[Stageshoot]

@peabo

Comparing your tracking info to mine it's really bizarre,

Yours was prepared a full 24 hours before mine on the 20th mine on the 21st but from the scan times they left on the same truck from the factory to Austin, then to Dallas and then to Louisville, I cannot understand why yours went the stupid route via Philly and France when the normal route to the uk is

Expedited Louisville - Koln - East Midlands
Priority Louiseville - East Midlands direct

Most bizarre I really feel for you and can only assume some sort of misdirect on the package

May be worth a call to apple telling them you took the day off to wait for the delivery, may induce some form of compensation.

Anyway good luck and fingers crossed they get it to you monday now,

 

[Scissors]

Thanks, Scissors. You and everyone else on this thread has helped keep me vaguely sane during this ordeal.

I'm in. I'll see you at the airport later. I expect if we get a Ryanair flight from any UK airport to Barcelona it'll probably go via Austin, Texas.

LoLz. Very good!

I have to confess I feel slightly guilty for starting the spreadsheet. Without it, we wouldn't know just how out of order the shipping has been, and might not feel so aggrieved.

With hindsight, as well as a "Payment authorised date" column, I'd have included a "Phoned Customer Services date" column, just to see whether there is a correlation between those who phoned up to ask/complain about their order and the timing of shipment.