Just ordered a W500 - What to expect (statuses, shipping, etc)

Hi there,

After much deliberation, I pulled the trigger on a W500 to replace my constantly-failing Dell XPS m1330 (nasty GPU) using an affinity site and the current ThinkPad spring sale (CAET500SALE):

W500 Enhanced (Canada)
2.53GHz T9400/ Vista Business 64/ WSXGA+/ FireGL V5700 512MB/ 4GB/ 160GB 5400rpm / DVD-RAM/ Bluetooth/ Camera/ WiFi Link 5300/ 6 Cell

I'll be replacing the HDD on delivery with a 500GB 7200rpm Seagate Momentus, which costs less at retail than the OEM upgrade charge for the 320GB that isn't even currently available at Lenovo Canada. MSRP was $2572, and after the affinity pricing and the sale, it came to $1557 plus tax, which seemed pretty reasonable.

The availability is listed at "More than 4 weeks", presumably because of the LCD panel. This is my first Lenovo, so I was wondering how accurate their estimates are, and what to expect as far as the status steps, etc.

The order currently shows as "Submitted" with no Estimated Shipping Date. What steps will it go through before it ships, and how long really are the T500/W500s taking right now?

Thanks much!

 

Lenovo's estimates are wildly inaccurate - my laptop's estimate was 4+ weeks, but it arrived at my doorstep in ~1.5 weeks (most of which was shipping).

 

Congrats on your purchase, you should be very happy with your new laptop. I went through the process of ordering an X200 in Canada and I can say that the quoted times are generally quite accurate. First off you'll receive a confirmation of the order. next you'll receive a completion date (which you have received as stating 4 weeks til completion). Once the laptop is completed in China they will send you a shipping notification. You then MUST call up Lenovo and ask for the tracking number. From this time, it takes 2-3 days to cross the seas and around 4-5 days to ship to your door.

So you should have your nice, new laptop in 5 weeks from your order date (or less!).

 

MidnightSun might have gotten lucky with his laptop, but seeing as how the W500's are identical to the T500's only with a different graphics card, you might have a nightmare on your hands. I ordered a T500 on 4/4/09, and they originally estimated the ship date at 5/11/09. Just today they cancelled my order because the shipping and billing address did not match (we decided to ship it to my father's work so that we wouldn't have to deal with it being on our doorstep/needing to sign for it). And they have informed us that it may not ship until the beginning of June because of a "manufacturer push-back" of the WSXGA+ screens. So just be warned that it may take a large amount of time to ship, contrary to what they say.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. Having dealt with very similar issues before (I bought my XPS right after launch during the very public Dell supply fiasco, and waited about two months for it), I placed this order knowing full well that it might take awhile. In fact, I kind of counted on it, as I am in no rush to take delivery.

Basically, it looks like anytime between next week and summer LOL

 

Oooh, cparker, just read your full situation in the other thread. That sucks. The funny thing is I almost shipped to my work address (which isn't registered with the credit card company as we just moved) but at the last second switched it back to my home even though I know I will have to deal with going to the depot to pick up the package. I had a funny feeling during the order and something bothered me enough to not risk the mismatch - I'm glad I listened to it.

 

Indeed, good call. Seems I may have been sending out telepathic signals despite not knowing you.

 

Well I may have some bad news for you...

I ordered my W500 on 4/10 and it shipped today, 4/14. That's pretty amazing considering I ordered it on a Saturday so really it shipped in two business days. I was quoted 9 days for shipping. The bad news I believe is that I ordered it without the camera. Had I selected the camera then the shipping estimate was "greater than 4 weeks". They must have a problem getting that part in and it's backing up everything.

 

Interesting. On the Canadian site, the camera is a separate option line and neither one notes a backorder. The delay warning on my config page was on the WSXGA+ panel (only). Did you order yours with the WUXGA? Because if so, that would explain the quick build.

 

I ordered the WUXGA W500 with camera and it shipped on April 9. Lenovo estimated it would ship on the April 14, and now it's out for delivery today, the 15th. I ordered on March 31.

The statuses I went through were "Submitted," "In Process" forever (which, as I found out after some calls, includes it being built in the warehouse in Hong Kong), then straight to "Shipped." After "Shipped" appears, you get tracking information the next day.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure there was a shortage of the WSXGA+ screens, although I noticed that the "May delay your order 4+ weeks" warning on that component is now gone from the Canadian site.

In fact, it doesn't look like there are any pieces with a pushback warning now (except for the BD writer), and availability on T and W series is back down to between 2 business days for the Enhanced T500 to 16 days for my W500. The factory must have received backordered components.

How long does an order stay in "Submitted" before it is released to the factory "In process", and when does the Estimated Shipping Date value appear - when the order switches to "In process"?

Thanks!

 

For me, the order was "Submitted" only for a day or two I think, and one of those days was a Sunday.

Then it went to "In Process," although I'm not sure that necessarily means it's at the factory when that appears. I called a few days later to see about changing something on my order and they said it was already at the factory and to change it would mean cancelling the order and resubmitting.

The estimated ship date appeared once it went to "In Process."

 

In case anyone was interested, I played a little more with the configurator, which is currently showing the following availabilities:

T500 or W500 units without any of the below - 2 business days
Certain 7200rpm drives - 9 business days
Anything with a WSXGA+ 15.4" screen - 16 business days

 

Hey, one more quick question for you guys... When does Lenovo provide an estimated shipping date in the web order lookup? Right now the status is In Process, but the associated date field is blank. Thanks!

 

There should be an estimated ship date near the top of the order. It is to the left of the price of the machine without taxes or shipping.

 

I'll cross my fingers for you. Yesterday (4/15), I called in to ask if I can apply a new coupon that just came out on an order I placed two days prior. After going through the options they gave me which is to order, then apply for the price match or just cancel and reordered. The original order estimated ship date was 4/23. Still a long way from now.

I opted to cancel the order and reorder the same system with the new coupon to save around $70. The new estimated ship date is 4/27. No biggie I guessed, I'm saving money.

Imagine my shock today (4/16... one day later!) when I got an email that the laptop is shipped. I can't believe it. Woohoo! I hope you get the same luck too... if not, keep yourself occupied; you'll think less about it. It will eventually come.

Cheers,
Gnimble