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Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent iPad purchase at the Apple Online Store.

Although we strive to meet every delivery commitment, we regret to
inform you that your personalized iPad may be delayed until, March 20.

We want you to experience the new iPad as soon as possible.
As a result, we're offering to expedite a replacement standard
non-personalized iPad for you on March 16.

If you are interested in receiving the non-personalized iPad, please
reply to this email by 4:00 p.m. local time today, March 14,

If you choose to recieve the replacement iPad, you'll also receive an
email from FedEx with prepaid return labels. Please use these labels to
return the personalized iPad.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Thank you for your
business.

Sincerely,
The Apple Online Store.

That does blow. Why not have them send you a non-personalized iPad 3 and then send IT back when your personalized iPad shows up?

Weird.

Perhaps that's what you should do anyhow! Just return the other one in due course.

I'm going out of town on the 19th to celebrate our anniversary, which is what the engraving was. I requested a expedited normal one, with the case I bought for it, she wont see it anyways. If I need it engraved I can do it later, but that kills resale anyways.

Waiting for them to reply to my email to let me know all is well. The 4:00 time they gave me was already expired when I got the email. Called support and they said its a different department with email access only, so now I wait.

Oh no, when did you order? Sorry to hear that and hopefully they ship out the replacement in time. I also ordered an engraved iPad for our anniversary next wk which is on it's way right now! I'm just hoping it gets here on time with no unexpected hold ups!

Ordered it on the 9th. My non engraved has been in Pennsylvania for 3 days

Anyone else get this letter?

I called Apple to let them know that I wanted the replacement one expedited overnight and they said the department who handles this is email only, but they are real people shipping these things out and that i should get an email soon. So it is legit

I have not as of today. My iPad has been in ky since the 10th. I ordered it with engraving 5pm on the 7th. I wouldn't mind a letter from apple.

Did I read it right that they r sending replacement iPad same color and GB? Thought I would impress wife with mushy "stuff" on new iPad, however I didn't think about engraving when and if I sell it down the road.

Yes, that's correct. The funny thing is I actually ordered it engraved because when i went to order hers, the engraved had a 16th delivery date and non engraved was 19th, so i got it just to get it sooner. This works if they just respond to the damn email!

Seems like it would be the opposite, anyways I hope you get your email and/or iPad on Friday

they shoulda compensated me!

Mine (engraved and ordered on the 7th) has also been in Kentucky since the 10th. I wonder how Apple caught it not being engraved--I have ordered three iPods in the last year, all engraved, and was told by Apple that the engraving is done in China.

ETA--OP maybe you will be surprised and the engraved one will arrive on Friday.

I really hope they come through for you.

ordered my engraved iPad on 3/8. Arrived in Louisville, KY 3/14 1am

That is really weird. I had mine engraved and it shipped yesterday. I didn't order my iPad until Saturday morning.

I got the same email that my "the new iPad" was delayed as well. However, on the Apple Online order status says it's still coming out on Mar. 16. The email arrived to me after 4pm which was already passed the 4:00pm local time deadline. And now I just received an email with a tracking number attached that my personalized iPad was shipped from China. I called them yesterday about it and I was confused on what to believe. So I'm going to just wait and see. I'm not upset or anything, the email that was sent threw me off to what I saw on the online order status.

Apple should of expected this happening of people ordering iPads with engravings. For a company that has high volume of shares and stock share prices, you would think that they would of planned this out by having more engraving facilities and better communication. I hope no one in China doesn't commit suicide of the pressure that their employers are placing on them. I'm okay of it coming a few days late. I don't want any guilty feelings on receiving any Apple product.

My replacement IPAD is preparing for shipment, while my engraved one has shipped from China with a date of 3/19. Think I will just keep the non engraved since thats what i wanted anyways, and it will be here tomorrow.

I got the same e-mail yesterday. I replied within an hour of receiving the e-mail so they're now sending me a non-personalized iPad tomorrow (sitting in Oakland, CA at the moment) and my personalized iPad from China with an ETA on Monday. However, I checked my bank account today and they've released the hold they had on the total cost and have only charged me for the smartcover I ordered, nothing else. Not sure what to think of that...

With an ETA of Monday, why would you do that?