Watch Out For Dell's Imaginary Shipping Time Trap!

Jason has a warning for you if you plan to order any computers from Dell, but need the system urgently: believe nothing that your online shopping cart tells you. The estimated shipping date for your system may or may not reflect reality. Then, like Jason, you may find yourself with an unacceptably long time frame only after the order is finalized and your credit card charged.

Prior to placing a configured system in my shopping cart, the
Estimated Ship Date was 2 business days from today.

Upon placing it in my shopping cart, through check-out, it remained 2
business days from today.

After entering my credit card and making the purchase, the
confirmation email stated a shipping date of 7 days from today. After
an hour on the phone with their customer service, they confirmed that
7 days was correct, and that they could not do anything about it. I
need the machine ASAP, and had they been honest about shipping dates
from the beginning, I would have gone with another option.

Have you had a similar experience with Dell fudging shipping dates? Were you able to fix it, or stuck waiting?

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