You'd be nuts to order from Lenovo now

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LFO · #1 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:31 pm

After long research (thanks to this fine forum), I finally ordered my T42 (2373H6U) on 29 Sept. As I write this on Monday, 31 Oct, my order remains in customs at Ontario, California (since the 19th).

At first, UPS told me that the order was lost and I should call Lenovo to put a trace on it (UPS is another "don't ever use story"). Lenovo then told me it was a mistake, and it was in Ontario Canada (which is where you finally get a human being on the phone). Everyone waived the "national security" flag about the container shipment and customs-- interesting, coming from Canadians.

Then I was told about a week ago that it would be shipped in 24-48 hours. After that didn't happen, the next guy told me that was impossible, there was no way of knowing, but they were starting to release them. And now this morning, they still have no idea when it will be released- absolutely none whatsoever. To add insult to injury, my credit card was charged on the 18th.

I import containers several times a year for my pathetic small business, and even I have a broker who works with the system to get things cleared quickly. If a company the size of IBM/Lenovo does not not have the sense to do so, and doesn't have one of their representatives permamently at Ontario or the other location where their containers arrive, then they are idiots. If they do and they can't get them cleared, then they're hopeless.

Sorry for a long rant, and maybe this isn't the right place (my first post), but I just want to warn anybody that is contemplating the purchases of these machines. It seems that the T43 was a slight step down from the T42- not trending well- and now this shipping "problem" (which is apparently happening at both import locations) makes it impossible. My best guess is that IBM could care less about laptops at this point, is lending their name to Lenovo for a while as part of the deal until people get used to it, and then will be long gone. My additional guess is that the government isn't pleased about the sale, hence the import mess.

Very disappointing- don't make the same mistake I did. Just stay away from Lenovo!

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:48 pm

AFAIK, these holdups have been from the FDA, as they are on the outlook for Avian Influenza coming from Asian countries. At any rate, you can't really blame Lenovo if the US government is holding up the shipment, or likewise if the shipper UPS is at fault.

pae77 · #3 Post by **pae77** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:49 pm

Sorry about your bad experience, however, although such things happen from time to time, they are not typical. I received my T42p ordered in Sept. 05 from Lenovo within 3 weeks of ordering and it went through customs without a hitch. Although I can understand your frustration, the conclusion you reach seems a little extreme and unjustified, imo.

MobileGuru · #4 Post by **MobileGuru** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:59 pm

1. Blame US customs on the delay .. not Lenovo.
2. The T43 wasn't a step down from the T42, just some new internals.
3. IBM wouldn't get the machines any faster than Lenovo.
4. Decaf is probably a much better choice for you.

Regards.

MG.

LFO · #5 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:16 pm

With all due respect, forgive me if I take your opinion with a pinch of salt pae77 since you are sitting there, working on the laptop you received in three weeks.

I'm not blaming UPS, because they are too lame to bother, and although they never have a clue where a package is, they aren't responsible this time. And, if the government is holding things up because of the Avian Influenza- I'm all for that- I don't want to open a box and have something nasty inside.

THE POINT IS that nobody from Lenovo can give me any accurate information- nobody there has even suggested A.I. is the cause of the holdup- don't you think that information might have been a little bit helpful if it is true? They have no idea, they give me a different story every time, and if you ship by container, break it up and then ship it again- your item is NOT shipped until it leaves the container, not the factory.

Sorry, but yes- I can blame Lenovo for this misinformation and for taking my money before they ship. And if you don't perceive this misinformation and disorganization, along with a multitude of reported problems with the T43 as a huge danger sign for Lenovo purchases- well- then please just keep on buying. That will not be my choice.

dsvochak · #6 Post by **dsvochak** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:24 pm

Can anyone explain why, when our host Bill M has machines described as "in stock for immediately delivery" (which I know is true) and a place like PC Connection has literally hundreds (I quit counting at 200) of Thinkpads described as "in stock" so many people are buying direct and complaining about shipping?

Don't any of the "in stock" machines meet your needs? Is the direct price that much better?

Can anyone make a guess?

I can blame Lenovo for this misinformation and for taking my money before they ship

The original post indicated the credit card was charged on "18th" which I'm assuming was 10/18. The original post indicated the "order remains in customs at Ontario, California (since the 19th" which I'm assuming was 10/19. It appears to me that, not only did Lenovo not take your money before they shipped, they waited until it was almost (in geographical terms) delivered.

LFO · #7 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:25 pm

1. Did you actually read my post Guru?
2. I forgot, you're the Guru so you don't have to read content, only be a Guru.
3. Also forgot that the T43 is a modern miracle, and the reported problems must have been my imagination- silly me for ordering a T42 (here we go with the same old, tired arguments.....) I guess "just some new internals" always, but always means a step up, not down.
4. I think regular is a much better choice for you.

LFO · #8 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:33 pm

"Almost" only counts in horseshoes.

The direct price is often- but not always- better. In this instance, the direct price was far better than the employee discount, much less anything here in stock. I don't believe that means, however, that I should....

OK, I give- Lenovo are wonderful, organized and informative, T43's are the best, please charge my card months ahead if you'd like, and I'm stupid.

Everybody happy?

MobileGuru · #9 Post by **MobileGuru** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:55 pm

LFO.

I'll do you a final favour and waste some additional time answering you, mostly because I sometimes actually enjoy feeding the trolls. To begin with, I read your trolling rant, otherwise I would not have responded to it in the first place. Secondly, I spend all day, everyday working with these things .. if you would care to compare experience within the ThinkPad environment, kindly step it up .. or shut it up. I'm sorry my experience is not limited to simply ordering one .. really .. honest. Third, It's not a modern miracle, it's a bloody follow-on to the T42 generation of that line, featuring a new chipset and some additional basic bells and whistles .. perhaps you should be the one reading a little more carefully .. I didn't say it was a miracle, I said it wasn't a step down from the T42. Finally, I drink tea, not coffee, but thanks anyway.

Now .. if that's your introduction posting to the members of this forum .. please do some of us a favour and kindly keep on moving .. not many here enjoy troll fishing.

MG.

PS: Please return the T43 and buy a Dell .. PLEASE.

wumd2b · #10 Post by **wumd2b** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:04 pm

Hey LFO,

You're going to want to kick my [censored] or at least hate me for this:

I ordered my T42 laptop from Lenovo on Friday, October 28, 2005. It shipped from Hong Kong on the same day. It went through Ontario, CA and arrived this morning (Monday, October 31, 2005) on my front door at 8:00a.m. in Los Angeles CA.

I must be one lucky soul to literally get my laptop the next business day.
And I paid for UPS Ground.

Thanks.

DIGITALgimpus · #11 Post by **DIGITALgimpus** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:04 pm

GomJabbar wrote:AFAIK, these holdups have been from the FDA, as they are on the outlook for Avian Influenza coming from Asian countries. At any rate, you can't really blame Lenovo if the US government is holding up the shipment, or likewise if the shipper UPS is at fault.

That's right on.

These days there are large delays, simply because of that. Pretty much everything is being inspected to make sure it (or it's components) weren't in any way exposed to anything harmful.

If you import an entire container of identical contents, you have 1 single manifest, which is sometimes easier than shipping out 100,000 individual packages with different addresses.... each must individually go through.

There's also some politics behind this all... the US doesn't spend much money on speeding up imports. Small budget means everything goes that much slower. Hoping people will instead stop ordering from overseas and buy US manufactured goods.

Apple's solution with the iPods was to ship all with FedEx, and (allegedly) had an iPod flight every day or two. It went through customs in Alaska, then on to their destination. That's quite a bit quicker as they are 1 collective shipment. Easier to verify the contents of the shipment.

cchsiao · #12 Post by **cchsiao** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:16 pm

The same situation happens to me too. My Thinkpad was shipped on Oct. 25 but it's still in Ontario, CA, US now. How many days do we usually have to wait? Does anybody knows how to deal with this kind of situation? Just keep on waiting? How do I know that the Thinkpad is not lost?

LFO · #13 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:59 pm

wumd2b- far from wanting to kick or hate you, I'm delighted that you got yours virtually overnight. I'm only an hour away from you- can I come by and just touch it?

DIGITALgimpus, thanks to you and GomJabbar- the Avian Influenza part is something that I didn't even consider. I know that imports are always a low priority, and although this take on the situation doesn't make the delay easier, it's at least more understandable.

And Guru, Your Majesty, thank you for wasting your valuable time on me. Wow- sorry to have twisted the jewels in your crown. Of course, you are absolutely right about everything, and I'm a moron. I was only repeating what was stated by seemlingly hundreds of T43 owners on here and outside reviews, but of course- they aren't you, are they? I suppose this keen insight is why you urge me to return my T43 when clearly my point is also stated that I bought a T42- (uh, first sentence of my post.....)?

Golly, does drinking tea make you nasty and arrogant? Please do US a favour and get back on the tablets. You'll feel better too. (Smiley Face!)

jeffcrilly · #14 Post by **jeffcrilly** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:10 pm

Fwiw, I ordered a T42 H6U on 10/25, and its still in the "packing" state.

I did add a few extras - MS-Office, extra battery, extra ac/dc adapter.

I've yet to check the credit card to see if they've charged me.

If the machine doesnt move in the next two days, I'll be complaining also.

Fwiw, the FDA wouldnt have to hold up shipments checking for avian bird flu if the machines were mfr'ed in the US, right?. It just seems a bit whacked to ship from the other side of the globe when, probably, the biggest number of consumers for the product are in the US. It cant be that difficult to customize these machines; are we saying there is no_one in the US that wants to do that? B^)

P.s. I actually dont buy the "avian flu" story. Someone is just screwing up the shipping logistics.

jeff

christopher_wolf · #15 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:23 pm

Well, I have not had any experience ordering my T43 directly from Lenovo/IBM; I went to the TSW (The Scholar's Workstation) here and actually got to touch and feel a T43 vs. a T42 and essentially bought it then and there. However, I can understand that the Issue of the Avian Bird Flu has the CDC on High Alert and has lead to delays of many shipments inbound from China; point well taken. LFO, I do understand your frustration as to not getting your T43 when you want, but things like this have a way of happening...international shipping isn't exactly very consistent when it comes to timely delivery of shipments.

I do not understand, though, why coming in here Guns Blazing and Ranting would solve anything; at the end of your first post/rant.you stated, "Stay away from Lenovo!" I strongly doubt that you should shun Lenovo due to a shipping issue such as this; true, they might be able to solve these shipping issues abit faster by perhaps working out something with the FDA, DOT, etc.

And to add to this, I have been the owner of MANY Thinkpads going back all the way to the 701C; and I can, most assuredly, say that the T43 is *NOT* a Step down from any of the other Thinkpads. If that is your opinion, why did you not get the T42? Did you read everything T43 owners had to say here and on other places on the Internet before you made your decision? If you didn't include these asking about such issues in your "Research," I really don't think you should place the Blame, and misdirected anger, on IBM/Lenovo and Us for this relatively Minor issue. Trust me, this is a small problem when compared to any issues that could manifest themselves on the computer, any computer for that matter.

True, you could order a Dell and get, falsely, treated like Royalty throughout the Shipment Process; that is what Dell does to trap Companies into using their Laptops in addition to stamping out tons of Laptops with little Quality Testing across Models simply for the Profit they get out of it. In the end though, you may find yourself with more problems than you bargained for and end up with a higher TCO, which I am sure a Business Person like yourself would recognize. I would rather wait longer and receive a Machine of Excellent Quality, like a Thinkpad or a PowerBook, then instantly get an Average system that I would spend a Good Deal of time maintaining.

I am not saying the delay is right, what I am saying is that this question has been asked before, in far more pleasant tones, and has been answered by people who have been through it before.

Thanks for your Input and Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums

kidtriton · #16 Post by **kidtriton** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:28 pm

This is why i limit myself to looking at and buying only the ones that CDW carries in stock. Then i order it next day air

Conmee · #17 Post by **Conmee** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:31 pm

I ordered a T43p on October 19th, and it arrived on Monday the 25th. I've never had problems with IBM or Lenovo shipping. In fact, 9 times out of 10, the expected ship date was always 2-4 weeks out, and then a couple days later it would say "Packaging" and then the day after that it would leave Hong Kong. This most recent T43p went through Ontario as well, on up to Seattle as final destination.

Daniel.

#18 Post by **BillMorrow** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:50 pm

ok, guys..

lets take thia all with a good humor..

for me, some of the comments are a good joke..

and, even for me, who used to get MANY thinkpads through customs, even before avian flu was extant in asia, experienced unexplained customs delays..

i would stay away from lenovo too, just for the sales tax issue..

murphy's law,

lenovo probably can not hire a broker to shove things thru customs because they go through labeled for each customer..

LFO, and guru..
just relax and watch the starfield simulation screensaver for a while..

which might be best viewed while smoking one of those funny little brown cigarettes..

OH, welcome LFO to our little community..

ddutta · #19 Post by **ddutta** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:16 pm

My T43 is stuck in Ontario ...... since 19th. I guess I am another unhappy Lenovo customer. I complained to the Chairman's office for the 7 week delay in shipping + 10 days in customs. Its a stupid laptop after all and not classified equipment. Hence it shouldnt take 2 months!

I think Lenovo needs to optimize the process. Maybe they cant keep up with the increased demands since they took over.

trezaei · #20 Post by **trezaei** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:31 pm

Mine was stuck in Ontario for 2-3 weeks. No one knew anything about it.
UPS said its lost/ then the said its a missing invoice/ then back to lost again.
Lenovo said nothing great other than being total a'holes

finally late last week I got mine.

My advice,

cancel your credit card transaction and wait for it to arrive.

And for those of you blaming the US gov, you're obviously not paying attention. Lenovo should be able to ship a package in such a way that it can get to me in the amount of time they said it would. DHL packages have been arriving regularly from Lenovo only UPS has this problem.

hootpie · #21 Post by **hootpie** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:36 pm

Ordered my laptop the 16th, it arrived in Ontario, CA on Thursday the 27th with a scheduled final delivery of Friday the 28th.

The FDA hold still has not been cleared and no one knows why

jeffcrilly · #22 Post by **jeffcrilly** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:40 pm

> DHL packages have been arriving regularly from Lenovo
> only UPS has this problem.

I wonder if this has to do with how one placed the order?

Fwiw, I paid extra for "second day"; its supposed to ship tomorrow - I'll have to see how long it really takes.

Is the UPS ship method the "free" shipping, e.g. something like 3-5 days?

jeff

gforce · #23 Post by **gforce** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:44 pm

wumd2b wrote: I must be one lucky soul to literally get my laptop the next business day.
And I paid for UPS Ground.

Thanks.

Wow..that's friggin awesome man!! Congrats!

ddutta · #24 Post by **ddutta** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:04 pm

hootpie wrote:Ordered my laptop the 16th, it arrived in Ontario, CA on Thursday the 27th with a scheduled final delivery of Friday the 28th.

The FDA hold still has not been cleared and no one knows why

I called UPS and it seems that Lenovo didnt send the right documents with the container that had my T43. So it has been delayed since 19th. It has been released by the broker and is going through customs as I write this.

I would not be upset with the shippin delay if I hadnt known the reason for the delay. Actually customs will get cleared in a few days. It was just sittin there since 19th due to Lenovo screwing up the papers on the entire consignment (I clarified this with the sales team).

hootpie · #25 Post by **hootpie** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:43 pm

ddutta wrote:
hootpie wrote:Ordered my laptop the 16th, it arrived in Ontario, CA on Thursday the 27th with a scheduled final delivery of Friday the 28th.

The FDA hold still has not been cleared and no one knows why
I called UPS and it seems that Lenovo didnt send the right documents with the container that had my T43. So it has been delayed since 19th. It has been released by the broker and is going through customs as I write this.

I would not be upset with the shippin delay if I hadnt known the reason for the delay. Actually customs will get cleared in a few days. It was just sittin there since 19th due to Lenovo screwing up the papers on the entire consignment (I clarified this with the sales team).

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened with mine.

#26 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:52 pm

On a different note, Lenovo is expanding its current facility in the Research Triangle Park, NC, by an estimated 400 jobs. Could this mean home grown PC's? That would be nice. I live about 20 minutes from there

LFO · #27 Post by **LFO** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:06 pm

christopher_wolf & guys- for the last time;

I ordered a T42, not a T43, and quite honestly regret even mentioning that part because of the inevitable debate. Please read what I said before starting the lecture.

The last time I checked (although things do change quickly these days) you were allowed to have an opinion in this country without getting blasted. It used to be that people could disagree without this sort of rancor, but I guess not anymore.

Just want my laptop and be done with it- hootpie seems to confirm my suspicions- they messed up the shipment.

#28 Post by **daeojkim** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:18 pm

LFO,

I do not think it is a matter of whether you can disagree or not. You have every right to debate and disagree. However, from reading all the posts on this thread, I do felt hostility in your writings, and that did bother me and I believe many felt the same way.

As you may find out soon, almost everyone here conduct very polite discussion and that is the best feature of this community. Even in highly controversial topics such as evolution vs. ID, discussion have been extremely well progressed.

We certainly would like to keep it that way.

Anyways, welcome to the forum and hope the delay will be resolved ASAP.

JK

christopher_wolf · #29 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:21 pm

I don't think anybody here has any problem with your opinion; we didn't start blasting/trolling this subject at all; the very title of this thread is "You'd be Nuts to order from Lenovo now;" kindly go back and look at all the threads that have discussed this subject and note that none of their opening titles or posts sound even remotely similar to this one. I gave that post because of a concern this is going to end up like a flame thread....which is a waste of everyone's time. I believe it is stated in the Forum Rules that Mr.Bill Morrow posted,, it clearly states that you must use

"descriptive subject lines and research your post. This reduces the chances of double-posting, and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do/don't want to read. Also, scan the subjects of the last several days' posts to make sure you aren't duplicating posts."

I think I am going to leave it at that

LFO · #30 Post by **LFO** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 1:46 am

OK Christopher- whatever. If I'm so hostile, it surprises me that all of you have the time and energy to confront it- I’m wrong, you’re right, I’m hostile and Lenovo is saintly. But, I had a life, pre-Lenovo screw-ups, and will continue to do so, which doesn’t include blasting people for their observations and frustrations about a laptop. It's a LAPTOP, not brain surgery.

Believe it or not, (and you won’t), I just wanted to warn people of what was happening to me- at least from my poor, pathetic, incorrect viewpoint. I wish I had known before I ordered. But, I digress- Lenovo is saintly, I am a hostile, ill-informed troll, according to this forum.

It seems that Guru-King is right; I should have ordered a Dell and saved you all the trouble. My bad.

You'd be nuts to order from Lenovo now

You'd be nuts to order from Lenovo now

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