T400 shipping delay based on cost?

I'm trying to figure out if the cost is a factor on when Lenovo decide to build and ship your laptop. So what I'm proposing if that everyone give 2 informations : how much they paid and how long it took between when you ordered and when you received the email saying it shipped.

I will maintain a database with a decreasing order based on cost/shipping time and we will finally figure how Lenovo works.

 

As to finally figuring out how Lenovo works, good luck. Ordered T61 on 3 Sept./ est shipping date 17 sept, moved up to 1 Oct./ Lenovo rep says 9 cell battery holding up orders/( I ordered a 6 cell)/ $1100 price of my system./still not shipped/Told that I would recieve Email guaranteeing T500 upgrade at no additional charge if T61 does not ship/ no email to gaurantee upgrade has been sent. I also think that a poll is an interesting aproach to try to figure out what is going on, but from a buisness standpoint, I think Lenovo is certainly going to give priority to $4000 W700 orders before they do to $1100 closeout specials on T61's. Business is business , these guys work on commission and I guess it is just the nature of the beast.

 

Ordered t400 the 12th through levovo.ca. Estimated date 9/25. Shipped email received today.

1300$CAD system w/ LED, 2 gig, 1 dimm. DvdRw and 6 cell.

 

hehe. i seriously don't think they DELAY orders based on cost. but they may prioritize for who spends more.

i guess i would not blame lenovo if they did prioritize for cost. warranty purchase might affect things as well.

but in the end i am guessing it's mostly luck of the draw. a couple people will get royally screwed, and naturally want to vent on these forums. been there done that. will probably do it again next time i feel like i got ripped off...

 

No, I think it's more likely that the more you customize and add parts (and thus the more you spend), the more work they have to do and the greater the chance that a part will be delayed or run out of stock, so it will take longer to get shipped. To think they would do the extra work of figuring out who spent more and then building those faster seems a bit far-fetched to me.

You also cannot directly compare between people because they may have ordered at different times when different parts ran out and such. Regardless, it would be interesting if you found a true trend based on price, one way or the other.


I really find it funny that people come up with so many conspiracy theories about these computers. As if the guys at lenovo had nothing better to do other than sit there and scheme and think of ways to deceive customers. I guess people's minds wander when waiting and waiting for a computer...

 

Yes, I agree with you , prolonged waiting can cause a person to come to illogical conclusions (dreaming of a T9300 purring beneath your fingertips can cause a euphoric state)( yes I do need to get out a bit more often) , but would sombody PLEASE tell me why Lenovo still offers the WUXGA/Quadro 570 combo WHEN THEY ARE CANCELLING ORDERS FOR THE LACK OF THESES ITEMS!(T61 model) Oh I guess they just forgot to delete it from thier website.

 

"As if the guys at lenovo had nothing better to do other than sit there and scheme and think of ways to deceive customers."--(as originally posted by Jmmmmm)-- Well, try as I might, not to give the human species a less than desirable character evaluation, when it comes to sales personnel, it is thier "JOB" to deceive the customer. When I worked at "@@@"(names not revealed to protect the innocent) as a salesman we would sell 5 year extended picture tube warranties that really had no benifit to the customer at all, for these warranties were prorated, meaning that if your picture tube blew out after 4 years, the customer was led to believe that "@@@" would replace that tube for you, but in actuality, "@@@" would only pay 1/5 the price of a new tube and the poor unsuspecting customer would pay 4/5 of the repair cost.We used to sell extended warranties that were actually inclusive of the manufactuares warranty, meaning that what ever warranty period was guaranteed by "@@@" was actually included in the original manufactuers warranty, and when a customer returned an item to us for repair, all we did was send it off to the manufactuer.(but pretended to do the repair thru our own sub-contractors) Now it should be understood that it is was not the sales personnel that established this method of selling a product, but rather the company we worked for insisted that we do business this way to maximize profits.The list of dirty little sales tactics go on and on and Im sure you guys are not interested in hearing them, but as I said in another post "BUYER BEWARE." http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/lenovo.html http://mwco.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=160&bbb=0107&firm=1157612

 

Ordered 09/12 shipped 09/16

Cost $1080 US

See below for build

 

Ha, I am definitely not saying salesmen are trustworthy or honest. That's a little different though.
All I'm saying is that not everything has some complex deeper meaning. Sometimes things are pretty simple, you just don't know all the facts.
I'll stop highjacking this thread though.

 

No, no, actually you are right, and I might be over-thinking this entire situation, perhapes(and hopefully) its just a delay due to Lenovo getting backed up. Time will tell.

 

Not likely, but they spend much time thinking about the best way to maximize profits, which some may perceive as such.

 

Please accept my donation of tinfoil. ;-)

The biggest conspiracy is that there is no conspiracy!

Shipping is based on how soon the cargo container ships to go out from China.

Cargo container gets filled based on completed order.

Completed orders based on availability of parts and labor to put them together.

That's it. It has nothing to do with price paid, etc.

Now if only the gov't would stop trying to talk to me through the fillings in my teeth... ;-)

 

Things that can combine to affect order shipment according to Lenovo:

1) Lenovo uses queue system.

When Lenovo receives an order, it is first processed on the customer service/credit side. Once all aspects of the monetary side are set, the order is then transmitted to what they call the "supply" or "supplier" side. The initial payment part can take anywhere to a few hours to a few days depending on the customers payment method and any issues that may arise from it.

2) Parts availability.

Once the order is transmitted to the supplier side, it is put in queue behind previously placed orders. Let's do a "for instance" to help explain this next part. Let's say that you purchased a new T500 along with several other people. Naturally, there are others in front of and behind you in the product order queue. Now, let's also say that several people ahead of you decided to order a 9 cell battery with their notebooks while you order the standard 6 cell. If the 9 cells become temporarily out of stock for whatever reason, the group of notebooks ahead of yours can not be finished and the queue comes to a temporary stand still while more batteries are ordered and received. Just because you didn't order the 9 cell doesn't mean that you get to jump ahead in the queue. It would cause a logistical nightmare for even a well off company to be able to run a multi-point distribution system like that effectively and, more importantly, profitably. This is because the biggest drawback to a multi-point system is the high possibility to loose and/or assemble incorrect orders because they are no longer in an straight forward process. If you want an example, look at HP and Dell and notice the small consistency at which they have this problem because of they out sourced assembly distribution. This disorganization leads to both a reliability and truthworthy drop in the company by the consumer as well as extra expense the company has to accept in both returns and staff to negotiate this process (i.e. customer services reps, distribution centers, etc.). It is just bad business. So, like rush hour traffic, your order may occasionally "crawl" along in the building process.

By the way, yes, I know that Lenovo also out sources some of their assembly processes, but I am trying to point out the company plan differences.

3) Money wouldn't affect process.

Finally, to come full circle and answer your original post, money would not have a big factor in the order. This is because it does not logically nor statistically make sense. Think about it for a second. If I own a company that makes a single product that can range in price from $1,000 to $3,000 depending on configuration, and I receive 1 $3,000 order for every 25 $1,000 orders, than it does not behoove me to only satisfy only the high price orders because I run a higher risk of my main target consumer becoming unhappy and the "bread and butter" dropping resulting in much lower profits and margins.

Furthermore, most laptops have a very small mark up in profit margin. While buying straight from a manufacturer generally means paying a slightly higher profit margin mark up then buying the same or similar model equivalent in a retail store such as Best Buy, it still is minimal in money gained for the business as well as not something you can count on for revenue. This is especially apparent when you compare the cost to assembly (i.e. the costs for the part and labor) versus the return on your work investment. More often, the money to be made when it comes to computers is in the accessories and warranties. This is why they push them so hard in the sell. The thinking is, "now that the customer is getting the main unit, they are GOING to need X, Y, and Z". It also helps to explain why accessories are typically higher in price on the notebook manufacturer website than off a parts shop website such as neweg.com. Most consumers will sit there and order everything they need to receive it all in one shot, even if it means a an extra couple of bucks, just for the convenience of it and simplicity of it. Service plans are especially good at return rates. If 25 out of 100 people purchase a full 3 year accidental coverage plan that costs $300 additionally, and only 10 people out of those 25 needed extensive repair that uses the $300 cost they initally invested, then you are making $4,500 in mostly pure profit on the other 15 customers who never use the plan. Even if you account extra overhead for the original 10 customers, let's say 5 of those 10 use more than $300 in repairs, you can still easily walk away with an extra $3,000 or so.

So, now that economics 101 has been covered, class is dismissed lol .

BBGus

 

"The initial payment part can take anywhere to a few hours to a few days depending on the customers payment method and any issues that may arise from it." Mine took 1 and 1/2 weeks. How did you come by this imformation in your detailed post, if you dont mind my asking?

 

What was meaning by that post is that some people choose to use a credit card that may have a $300 max charge a day limit, or may not be activated, or other reasons on the bank side that prevent Lenovo from getting the green light that the cost will be covered. Lenovo only informs your bank of the pending charge so the bank has it on record. It is not a hard note, but a soft electronic note between the two systems so that when your order is completed and shipped, the charge can be billed timely and securely as well as with garuntee that Lenovo as the company does not get shafted by some dead beat who has a bad credit card or one that is maxed out.

So, in general, most people don't run into that issue. When I ordered my U330 back at the end of August late on a Sunday night, I received my processed email stating my order was being sent to be assembled the following Tuesday. Thus, for myself and my credit card, it meant a 1 business day turn around. No, they have not charged me yet and they won't until the laptop ships, but they show that they have secured the payment and when I call my credit card company, they state there is a tentative hold for the amount of my order on file. Now, each bank will have different policies and procedures, however, that is the case in my scenario.

As for where I got the information for my initial post, it is about 50% feedback from various Lenovo reps and custom service managers as well as Mark who is an admin from the support forum through their website and about 50% logical thinking about company procedure and policies based on my personal experiences.

BBGus

 

The demand is pretty much very high....mine is delayed like twice before being canceled to reorder (another delay) and another addition delay (total of from 8/5 to 10/3)....I am reordering for U330 now....considering the 13.3" screen and HDMI

 

Wow...did not think I would be able to post this tonight, but just got the e-mail that my t400 shipped. I ordered 9/12, estimated 9/26. However I did not add my shipping address to my bank card until 9/18 and they told me it would not ship until 10/9. I don't think the delay has anything to do with "priority" but rather part availability. I also do not believe that and entire line would be backed up because they are out of 9 cells (or whatever). I am sure they would skip over / set aside the ones that have 9 cells into there own queue based on order date and continue with the rest. Just my .02

 

My t400 got shipped on 9/21. I got the 9-cell and dvd burner which people say are in short supply. I agree with cbg that they ship and process order according to when they have stocks available.

 

3 Sept- initial T61 order/ 17 Sept. est shiping date/ est ship date moved up to 1 oct/25 Sept -$1100 T61/T9300 XP Pro- delivered by man wearing brown shorts/ stay tuned for mini review. ( I dont know how lenovo did it ,but it made it from China to my door in TWO days, I didnt pay any additional shipping charges)