Just how fresh is Amazon’s Web site information on Kindle 3 shipping dates? Paul has addressed the issue of already-acknowledged delays.
But now here’s more. Could the Amazon Web site’s present estimate be weeks behind in saying that “orders placed today are expected to ship on or before September 8th”—in the cases of both the WiFi-only and the 3G models?
An Amazon customer rep told me on the phone that I might not get my WiFi-only Kindle 3 until October 5 even though I ordered it on August 1. The October date had popped up earlier this afternoon in my Amazon account information, and I’ve preserved a screenshot. The customer rep confidently said her information was fresher than the Amazon Web crew’s and that at my request she would suggest an update.
Now, here’s the odd thing. When I went into my account again, I did not see the dreaded October date any longer—just Amazon’s promise to notify me “via email when we have an estimated delivery date for this item.” So I phoned Amazon again and talked to a second rep. This time my estimated shipping date was a welcome August 27.
Who the devil knows the date for sure? Ever the optimist, I’ll assume that the first rep and the October 5 date within my account area were wrong; was the info actually meant for customers who ordered some days after I did? Probably. But if your Kindle arrives a lot later than the advertising led you to be believe, then don’t be surprised. No evil here, most likely—just an example of the challenges of order-tracking and Kindle logistics in general. A screenshot of my current view follows. Anyone else getting conflicting shipping date info? Share your stories.
Related mystery: I see Eric, who ordered a few days before me, isn’t to get his Kindle shipped until an estimated August 31 or four days after I apparently will. Was Amazon being nice and bumping me ahead in line despite the promised first-come, first-serve approach? Hey, I’m not gonna sweat it.
I just checked on my order. It no longer has a shipping date. No!!!!
I just happened to be writing an article about the Kindle 3 just as the new page for it went live, so I managed to order the WiFi version about 10 minutes after it became available (I decided to fill out the credit card application to get $30 off, so it only costs $109 and that took a few extra minutes).
Currently, mine shows the same picture as shown above saying “not shipped yet”.
When I ordered the new Kindle DX, Amazon actually ended up sending it a day earlier than they had initially stated, so if that’s any indication I imagine the Kindle 3 should be released on time. From my experience, Amazon is usually pretty good sticking with the dates stated when placing an order.
I placed my order on July 28th. I don’t remember what time. The original ship date was August 27. Then this morning I checked the order status after reading posts about orders being delayed. The new ship date was September 30. I just checked again and it says the same thing listed above. Posts at Amazon from people who have called customer service are saying it’s a glitch and they’ve been assured that those who pre-ordered early will still get them when originally promised.
Thanks, Denny, Nate and Diane. Yep, I’m still betting on the glitch theory despite the statement from the first customer rep I reached. But at least this stuff is on record now in case I’m wrong. Hard to say for sure. David
I too placed my order for the Kindle 3 (Whisp & Wi Fi version) on August 1st. I had the same exact experience described here… The initial shipping date listed on my account was August 27th, and then I go the dreaded “not sure when we will send this to you…but we’ll let you know” kind of message 🙂
The two reps that I just talked to by phone were DEFINITELY not understanding what I was asking. They were both very nice, but I hate to say it…I am not sure they understood English quite well enough to really get my question (which was…how is it that you are telling me my order might not ship until Oct. 1st – which is what the first agent said – when your website says that orders placed today are expected to ship on/before Sept. 10th). They just kept reading an apology off a script (very nicely – again, i can’t fault them for being unkind), and saying that was basically the best they could do for me.
I guess we’ll see. I’ll just cross my fingers and see what happens!
Ordered July 29th, about an hour after the change, said Aug 27th then went to email notify. Optimistic too.