Did Apple Sucker Us With iPad Rush Shipping?

If you ordered your iPad by March 27th with expedited shipping, you should receive your iPad by April 3rd. If you ordered your iPad by March 27th with normal shipping, you should receive your iPad by April 3rd. Wait, what??

I know I’m not the only one. A few weeks back while placing my iPad order, I was tempted by an upgrade at checkout. Expedited shipping. It was just $US12 over the purchase price. I didn’t have a lot of time to think. After all, I wanted to make sure I nabbed my iPad in the first wave of orders. And I wanted to make sure that I received my iPad on launch day.

So I went with the premium shipping option. What was an extra 12 bucks on top of several hundred? I figured that if Apple was offering me the shipping upgrade, there must be some reason for it.

But ever since, I’ve been a bit confused. From what Apple has released, the only qualifications for receiving your iPad by this Saturday, April 3rd are that:

1. You pre-ordered by March 27th

2. UPS supports Saturday delivery in your neighbourhood

Neither of these points has anything to do with rush shipping.

So we inquired Apple customer support, both over the phone and in the Apple Store. Speaking with three different reps on three different occasions, none of them could explain this expedited difference. All of them said we should expect an iPad by this Saturday, rushed or not.

It’s great news that basically everyone who pre-ordered early gets their iPad on launch day, but I know there are many of us out there wondering, did Apple really need to take our extra $US12? Which also leads us to wonder, could we please have our collective $US12 back?

We’ve sent an inquiry to Apple, and they have yet to comment on the matter. The only potential clue we’ve found is this small disclaimer on Apple’s site: “If you paid for expedited shipping and did not receive your package on time, please call Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775.”

Maybe rushed shipping doesn’t give you anything but the right to complain… in which case, we’re happy to take the liberty.